There is a huge plot of land at the edge of Ocala’s city limits up for grabs, 465 acres to be exact, but whether or not it will be used for land conservation or commercial and residential development is still yet to be determined.
The land is bordered to the south by Northeast 35th Street and is neighbored by Lake State Forest and Coehadjoe Park. It is also “ground zero” for the recharge of Silver Springs, which is located only one mile away from the property. On the contrary, also within a five minute drive are two Publix supermarkets, a Wal-Mart, a Kmart, east Ocala restaurants and the Ocala Golf Club, as well as two bus stops on the property’s southern border.
The Silver Springs Sandhill Site, which is the state’s program for acquiring conservation and recreation lands, is at the top of the project list for 2016 for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The state has approved funding for protecting the springs, however the state and the property’s owners have yet to come to an agreement regarding how to allocate the 465 acres that is up for grabs. Conservationists and developers alike are both after the land.
The state has been offered the land at a discounted price of $2,500 per acre, but no purchases have been made. Conservation of the land would protect the Silver Springs watershed, create more recreation options for the public and further ecotourism efforts.
There is still an option for the land to be home to an adult retirement community, where it would be surrounded by amenities at little to no cost, including walking, jogging, hiking, biking and horseback riding at Indian Lake State Forest, as well as tennis, racquetball and volleyball at Coehadjoe Park, and also easy access to the nearby Silver Springs State Park.
For more details on the land project and its potential, check out the article at ocala.com.
