The Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency Board unanimously approved the purchase of land located at the southeast corner of Alabama and Harlem Streets within Tallahassee’s Griffin Heights Neighborhood. The land is roughly 0.25 acres, and after closing fees, the purchase will cost the city approximately $174,000.
The land procurement is one of the first steps in implementing the Griffin Heights Neighborhood First Plan. In September 2021, the city commissioners adopted the plan with an initial investment of $2 million.
The Neighborhood First Plan highlights areas that the Griffin Heights Community Action Team and the City of Tallahassee are collaborating on to improve the neighborhood. The $2 million will generate economic development, neighborhood infrastructure, and community beautification.
“We are addressing a very serious need in the Griffin Heights community,” said Commissioner Curtis Richardson. The funding of the project “will impact the food desert or food insecurity in Griffin Heights.” Currently, the nearest market to the area is four and a half miles away, according to a report by local tv network WTXL.
A neighborhood market will be built on the lot on Alabama Street to increase accessibility to healthy foods in the community. According to the plan, the community lacks opportunities for residents to sell and purchase healthy foods. The purchasing of this lot will begin the short-term goal to increase retail spaces to sell food and other food business in the neighborhood.
Blueprint Purchases Griffin Heights Lot for Neighborhood Market added by Lynsey Kirk on
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If you give a man a fish he will eat for a day. If you teach him to fish he will eat for a lifetime. The local residents must learn to fish. And take care of their problems themselves.
I am with Edward Lyle. Face and cure the real problems. Don’t just treat symptoms. Residents of these areas need to rise up and fix their problems themselves. Become self sufficient. No more government assistance spent on symptoms. This always fails.
This is the community, as Liberals say, “…isn’t paying their fair share of income taxes…”, if they are paying anything, at all. The more lottery Tickets, booze and cigarette you sell them the more of your tax dollars are returned.
I will bet 5 to 1 that it will be mostly Junk being sold their instead of Food.
Will the neighborhood market be selling lotto tickits, beer and wine, cigarettes and black & milds ? What about cashing paychecks for a fee. Are the Blueprint leaders in contact with payday loan companies to set up shop in the neighborhood market?
I would not put anything past our elected nannies.
City Hall should be renamed to:
Dailey Re-Election Campaign Headquarters
Know the area well and that price is outrageous for the property on that area. I want to know that somebody elaborate little more about what kind of healthy food. What about better public transportation and more funds for law enforcement. There is a lot that going on that area daily. It’s no hard to miss. I also question the price. More continuous patrols of the area.
This is proof positive our elected officials have no idea how to solve problems. We are in the midst of an “Entitlement Cancer” epidemic that will destroy our country and our communities in one more generation.
According to the property appraiser’s website, the lot has a market value of $8,500. The vacant lot next to it is approximately the same size and is also valued at $8,500. The other adjacent lot is about 50% larger, has a structure on it. and is valued at less than $50,000.
$174,000 is enough to wrap in construction costs, but there’s no indication of that in the story.
This is payola.
If you look on the Leon County Property Appraisers site and pull up the property info for the parcel in the SE corner of that intersection, and then click on google maps, you’ll see a picture of what looks like an abandoned/empty “market” there. It was built in 1953 and has 3230 heated/cooled square feet space. Zoned retail. I doubt the building is serviceable in its present state, but maybe rehab is a possibility. Owners have had so long the last sale is not listed (perhaps original owner, as it’s an estate).
Ummm there is a Publix at 800 Ocala which is 1.5 miles from Griffin heights and a Family Dollar at 932 W Tharpe which is 1.2 miles away. Meanwhile I have to drive 5.2 to get to the nearest.
Meanwhile… back in Dogpatch, they want to GIVE five acres of prime real-estate in the middle of town away to one of their patrons so they can build an opera house for the rest of the patrons.
These people are unbelievable. So why am I not shocked…?
I am with Snidely on this, That too was my first reaction, $174K for a Quarter Acre Lot in that area is CRAZY MONEY. I want to know who owns the Land and who did they use to Broker this Deal. That Lot should have cost between $25,000 and $40,000 at best, WITH Closing Costs if zoned Commercial, less if not. You could have bought a decent House in that area for about $80K and do the same thing PLUS use the House as a Community Center.
@ Stanley ……Get off your Racist Soapbox. TR is just Reporting what is happening. HOW is this “WHITE PRIVILEGED AT ITS FINEST”?
* be
Was this a transaction that will ultimately beef siphoned into some re-election campaigns? Who owns the land and who benefited from the sale?
Why wasn’t this money taken from the CRA where they wrongly gave money to J T Burnett instead of Blueprint money meant for infrastructure?
Another reason to do a nationwide search for a new city manager that will shake up some of the nonsense that is prevailing at the moment.
Wow… someone made serious bank on that deal. So.. who made the bank?
Food Deserts is the PC term for “high crime area that retailers avoid”. Until you face the reality of the problem, you will continue to waste taxpayer dollars on futile endeavors… (see homelessness and countless entitlement programs)
$174,000.00 for a quarter acre in one of Tallahassee’s most impoverished neighborhoods?
Boy, do I have a deal for the city, I’ve got a thousand acres 30 miles east of Miami I’ll sell them for $200,000.00.
Richardson and Cox think we’re all idiots, they think we’ll forget about the 20 million for FSU if they pay way too much to do way too little in Griffin Heights… Our city commission is corrupt as heck. I hope they all fall off a ladder…from the top step!
$174,000.00 for a 1/4 acre lot??? Thats way too high. We need more information please. Who owns the land, why such a jacked up price, stuff like that.
We should not just have things presented to the public like $174,000.00 for a tiny 1/4 acre of land is normal or even OK.
More information please.
What were any 1/4 acre lots in the area recently sold for. What does the property appraiser value simmilar land in the area for…stuff like that please. Reporting a $174,000.00 price for a tiny 1/4 acre of land without justification in that part of town seems to be – on the surface – supporting everything that is wrong with local government.
Go get ’em Steve: please dig up some more information on the jacked up price for a tiny 1/4 acre of land.
@ Stanley…
You should direct your complaints to Curtis Richardson and Dianne Williams-Cox as they are the holdouts for not moving forward with the nationwide search for a new city manager. Also, they seem to be representing and supporting the mayor’s fiefdom which is a changing of the old guard into the new guard corruption.
… “Who is going to own and operate the market”?
Blueprint will solicit bids from Trader Joes, Whole Foods, Publix, Wal-Mart, Meijer, Aldi, FreshMarket, Piggly Wiggly, IGA
The food desert issue is significant, and leads to increased health costs in the long run. The key will be how to keep customers safe and to stay on top of loss prevention. The shoplifting issue has driven southside businesses under. It is also a real issue.
Wow…. The Tallahassee Report now is selling Blueprint projects now??? The Tallahassee Democrat is going to be upset about the Tallahassee Report taking their spot. Things like this happens when Tallahassee has a “white” Mayor and City Manager….
WHITE PRIVILEGED AT ITS FINEST!!!
Who is going to own and operate the market?