Lazaro Aleman
ECB Publishing, Inc.
In light of Westchester Magnolia’s recent application to rezone a large parcel of land near Lloyd from agricultural to commercial, it’s worth noting that the company was not an insignificant player in the effort to get state funding to bring a sewer line to the I-10 and State Road 59 interchange.
Westchester Magnolia’s role in the effort is readily appreciable in the 29-page grant application that the City of Monticello first submitted to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (FDEO) in 2020, in conjunction with Jefferson County, to secure the $4.2 million that it was recently awarded for the project.
A limited liability company, Westchester Magnolia describes itself as a subsidiary of Greenwood Collection Opportunity Fund I and another federal qualified opportunity zone fund.
Qualified opportunity zones, such as the Lloyd interchange, are basically areas that are identified by the state or federal governments as economically distressed and hence eligible for preferential tax treatment for investors with the specified funds.
Westchester Magnolia’s immediate goal is to change the land-use designation of a 172-acre property that it owns on the northwest quadrant of the I-10 and SR-59 interchange from agricultural to mixed-use business interchange to allow for commercial and industrial development.
Throughout the city’s grant application to the FDEO, the argument for the sewer extension is that it will facilitate economic development, with an environmental side benefit of protecting the sensitive Wacissa Springs Basin by reducing the number of septic tanks.
The main focus, however, is to provide an impetus for numerous kinds of industry and commercial businesses to locate at the Lloyd interchange and create diverse employment opportunities for county residents.
The application identifies at least 13 businesses that it states have plans to proceed with developments on the north and south sides of I-10, most of which is land that is federally identified as an economically distressed zone.
The application mentions a major commercial developer who had just purchased 449 acres of the northwest quadrant of I-10 and SR-59 interchange, and was in the process of designating the acreage for mixed-use commercial/light industrial use and some residential.
It likewise mentions a second developer who plans to build a mega-Travel Center and a 100-room upscale hotel in the southwest quadrant of the interchange.
The two developers, per the application, “are planning for a minimum of 8-10 new businesses/companies in the targeted industries within 3-4 years, generating an estimated $32 million in capital expenditures and a minimum of 450 new jobs.”
The application argues that the sewer project will serve as a catalyst for economic development and critical job diversification, leading to an increase in the local tax base for Jefferson County that will be extremely beneficial to all sectors of the population.
Supporting the extension, per the application, are the city and county commissions, as well as several property owners and business people at the interchange.
The application promises that work on the sewer extension project will begin within 30 days of award of the state funding.
States the application: “Both the City of Monticello and Jefferson County are in support of the extension of the wastewater collection lines from the City to the I-10/SR 59 interchange. The City is ready to move forward immediately within 30 days of receiving a fully executed grant agreement.”
The application to the FDEO contains resolutions of support from the Monticello City Council and the Jefferson County Commission, signed in June and August 2021, respectively.
The application also contains letters of support written to Gov. Ron DeSantis from several of the property owners at the interchange, including R. Richard Yates Jr., managing member of Westchester Magnolia.
Yates’ letter states that Westchester Magnolia’s aim in purchasing the local properties is to advance its opportunity zone business platform’s job creation plans. It identifies the addition of its Florida holdings as a component to its existing Georgia and New Jersey properties, which include commercial, residential and industrial projects.
“We expect to acquire additional properties in Jefferson County with an eye to continuing expansion of our commercial, industrial and residential business development,” Yates writes in the letter to the governor, dated July 2021.
The letter identifies the company’s then recent acquisition of the 172-acre property in Lloyd, along with an adjacent 277 acres in Leon County, as the focus of its business plan for the area. Which plan became more evident with the company’s recent application to the Jefferson County Planning Commission for the land-use change to the property.
As things stand now, the Lloyd sewer project is uncertain, given local officials’ decision to ask the state to allow them to redirect the $4.2 million grant from the Lloyd to the Monticello interchange because of a lack of readiness to proceed with the former project. How this change will affect Westchester Magnolia’s prospects is unclear. However, a hearing on the company’s application for the land-use change was recently postponed for unstated reasons at the applicant’s request.