The New Yorker, in turn, would recoup his investment by selling seasonal hunting licenses to the public and harvesting the timber. The land itself would be preserved as a wildlife habitat.

The tract crosses State Road 40 and is about 60 miles north of Downtown Orlando and 10 miles north of Daytona Beach. The 12,198 acres link Tiger Bay State Forest with the Heart Island Conservation Area, the Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge and the Ocala national Forest--a contiguous stretch of 650,000 acres of publicly owned conservation land.

Dean Fritchen, senior associate, Arvida Realty Services Commercial Division, Winter Park, FL, calls the deal "a bargain for the public."

Deducting the $10.5 million from the $16 million sales price leaves an effective land cost to taxpayers of $5.5 million or $451 per acre (one cent per sf). "You can't do much better than that with public money," Fritchen says.

The effect of the deal is to block commercial development on the western end of Ormond Beach where growth has been rapid. The Rockefeller family of New York had winter homes here years ago.

Area brokers familiar with the deal tell GlobeSt.com on condition of anonymity that although the contract with the New York investor hasn't been signed yet, the deal is expected to go through within 30 days.