West Port East expansion on track for closing

PORT CHARLOTTE — Charlotte County is due to close a land sale in Murdock Village with the developers of West Port by the end of the month.

The Board of County Commissioners voted 4-1 on Tuesday to approve the development agreement with KL Westport Expansion, LLC, a designated entity for Kolter Group Acquisitions, LLC.

The vote once again saw Vice Chair Christopher Constance as the only dissenting vote on moving forward with the deal.

Kolter had originally signed a deal with the county to purchase a 186-acre property in late 2021. The property is between El Jobean Road and U.S. 41 near Toledo Blade Boulevard, just each of the company's West Port development.

The purchase price came to just over $13.8 million, with some payments by the company for infrastructure in the area being credited for the purchase payment.

The agreement stipulates the deal must reach its closing by May 31, or Kolter can end the agreement while forfeiting purchase payments the company has already paid into escrow accounts.

During the vote on Tuesday, Constance and Commissioner Ken Doherty briefly left the room following a lengthy discussion on the county's Boater Revolving Funding Grant program.

Chair Bill Truex noted he and the two remaining commissioners, Joe Tiseo and Stephen R. Deutsch, had no additional questions on the property deal and had a quorum. The agreement was approved by a vote of 3-0.

Doherty shortly returned to add his vote to the majority.

Constance returned just after Doherty, asking if there was still a chance to discuss a topic of Kolter altering the property's planned landscaping. He was informed the item being voted on did not include the landscaping issue.

Truex appeared ready to allow discussion, but Constance deferred after registering his dissent on moving forward.

Constance has repeatedly expressed skepticism with the planned deal.

He has drawn particular attention to an automatic transfer clause — which would immediately transfer the title of some properties to third parties upon the completion of the sale closing — and plans to move away from standard language regarding maintaining trees on the property.