Centerville & Harpers Ferry Intersection Turn Lane Approved

On April 9^th, the Leon County Commission approved a counteroffer received from Ox Bottom Mortgage Holdings, LLC in the amount of $200,000, for the County to acquire the property interests needed for the Centerville Road at Harpers Ferry Drive Turn Lane Improvement Project.

The parcel needed for the project is 0.84 acres in size. If the Board did not accept the counteroffer from the property owner, staff would have asked for approval to exercise its eminent domain authority by authorizing the County Attorney to file an eminent domain lawsuit to acquire the parcel needed for the project.

According to the agenda item, the project objective is to reduce traffic incidents by constructing a dedicated north-bound turn lane from Centerville Road into Centerville Trace Subdivision at Harpers Ferry Drive. The Project is fully budgeted and the design is complete.

Once the parcel is acquired, construction is anticipated to immediately begin, utilizing a continuing service contractor in accordance with County policy, and shall last six months through completion.

The County’s final offer was $153,700. However, the property owner provided a final counteroffer of $200,000. This amount is inclusive of attorney’s fees and cost and also includes any damages caused to the owner’s remaining real estate.

Previously, the County obtained a certified appraisal that indicated a fair market value of $63,000. A written offer in this amount was provided to the property owner in July, 2022. Thereafter, County staff addressed multiple concerns with the property owner. The County assisted in the property owner’s independent review that ultimately provided satisfactory answers for the property owner. In large part due to these issues, pre-suit negotiations have been extensive and culminated in the property owner’s final counter offer of $200,000, which exceeds the County Administrator’s full compensation authority of $153,750.