Murdock Village transfer gets county OK

PORT CHARLOTTE — Charlotte County commissioners approved an amended deal for the last sections of Murdock Village on Tuesday.

The deal regards the former Lost Lagoon property on State Road 776, encompassing 101 acres in the eastern part of the Murdock Village area, as well as the remaining nearby 54 acres still owned by Charlotte County.

The vote came after a last-minute alteration to the proposed amendment clarifying that a Master Development Agreement and improvements to Toledo Blade Boulevard would be mandatory parts of the deal.

County Commission Chair Bill Truex said during the meeting that commissioners were eager to pursue a good deal for the county and get the land back on tax rolls.

"I would like to keep this moving … I don't want to see us drag this out," he said.

The county's Murdock Village Community Redevelopment Agency entered an agreement in 2017 with Lost Lagoon Development, LLLP to purchase the 101-acre property.

In that agreement, the company paid into an escrow account controlled by the MVCRA and then would pay for various infrastructure improvements in anticipation of building a water park on the property. As the infrastructure improvements were made, the escrow would be paid as reimbursement.

The final purchase price was estimated at roughly $6.6 million, with up to $2.5 million in impact fee credits to further stabilize costs.

The Lost Lagoon project failed to make progress over the years, however, with the company citing supply chain and inflation costs.

County commissioners, in their role as the MVCRA board, voted to unwind the contract with Lost Lagoon in 2023. By then, about $4 million had been placed into escrow.

Kolter Group Acquisitions LLC, entered into an agreement with Lost Lagoon to take over its property responsibilities for Murdock Village. Kolter plans to incorporate the area as an expansion site for the existing West Port development.

Kolter previously approached the county in late 2023 and early 2024 about formally taking over development responsibilities and drafting an amended deal with the MVCRA.

However, county commissioners expressed caution about flipping the agreement from one party to another on short notice. County staff were instructed to investigate the deal and review possibilities for the property in question.

At its regular meeting Tuesday, the County Commission heard from Assistant County Administrator Claire Jubb and Kolter representative Troy Simpson about the latest offer from Kolter.

The version presented Tuesday eliminated the $2.5 million in impact fee credits and limited any reimbursement to the original $6.6 million price tag.

The amended deal also allowed the county to retain 20 acres of "flex space" for particular development — 15 acres recommended for government facilities and 5 acres for affordable housing.

County Commissioner Joe Tiseo was the most supportive of the new deal among the county board, arguing Kolter had a proven track record.

He said the MVCRA had just closed on a separate deal with Kolter last month to have them purchase another Murdock Village property between West Port's current position and the Lost Lagoon property.

"I see more certainty with this deal than with our current position," Tiseo said during the meeting.

Vice Chair Christopher Constance and Commissioner Ken Doherty expressed some skepticism about the deal before ultimately voting in favor.

Constance repeatedly expressed concerns about contract language that he felt was ambiguous in allowing the company to recover the land if Kolter was unable to continue, however unlikely that scenario was.

"Time is on our side, gentlemen," he said.

Doherty noted that the price tag of Kolter and Lost Lagoon's agreement had not been made public knowledge, something which put him on edge when considering whether to vote on amended contract.

"We're looking at an entirely new deal," he said.

Doherty said that he did make some calculations about the cost per acre, leading him to estimate the private agreement being worth between $2.5 million to $3 million.

When questioned directly, Troy Simpson said that he and Lost Lagoon had already negotiated some buy-in from the latter but that there was little room for more.

"I can state on the record that it's a tight deal for us," Simpson told commissioners during the meeting.

Over the Tuesday lunch break, county staff and Kolter representatives hammered out additional clarification about a Master Development Agreement being required for the amended property deal.

The latest amended deal also specified that public infrastructure improvements would include the implementation of a four-lane road on Toledo Boulevard leading to S.R. 776.

Doherty and Constance subsequently lent their vote to a unanimous decision to go forward with the amended deal, with a note that Kolter would need to come back for specific plans for a buildout.

Commissioner Stephen R. Deutsch said that he was glad to see progress being made on the last parts of Murdock Village, referring to the travails of seeking buyers as "an albatross around our neck."