For two years, elected officials in Umatilla, FL (Pop. 2,214) were stymied in efforts to apply for a $1 million maintenance/repair grant from the Federal Aviation Administration for the local airport.
To qualify, they needed to own two small privately owned lots totaling 4.76 acres at the end of a runway protection zone.
The two lot owners haggled with the city over price, largely because they didn't want to sell the land in the first place. They had planned to build dream homes on the dirt overlooking scenic Lake Umatilla, one of 1,400 lakes in Lake County.
Umatilla appraised the 4.76 acres at $209,100 or $43,929 per acre ($1 per sf). To sweeten the deal, elected officials offered to pay $72,460 over the appraised value. That sealed the deal with owners Paul Abrahamson and Clarke Sturgis.
Abrahamson will receive $122,650 for his lot. Sturgis will get $158,910. The same lots 30 years ago were valued at $5,000 each, Lake County real estate records show. Umatilla wound up paying $59,151 or $1.36 per sf for both lots.
Umatilla is 35 miles northwest of Downtown Orlando.
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