His ruling, which followed a hearing, stems from a lawsuit filed against the corps by a coalition of environmental groups. Judge Middlebrooks' 62-page ruling rebukes the corps for limiting its review to just a 535-acre portion of the village, saying the project was "conceptualized as an integrated whole, progressing in phases," and that the reviewed parcel "was never intended to stand alone--not, that is, until time came to apply for a clean water permit." He called the limited review "a post-hoc rationalization to secure a permit as quickly as possible."
The county acquired the former citrus grove for $60 million and is also providing approximately $200 million in incentives while the state is contributing an additional $310 million in incentives. The county turned a portion of the 535 acres mentioned in the judge's ruling over to La Jolla, CA-based Scripps for construction of a 364,000-sf biotech research facility that is projected to cost $112 million. Construction, which began on Sept. 27, has drawn to a halt.
"Obviously, we are disappointed that there might be any further delay," says Richard Lerner, president of Scripps, in a statement. "We remain committed to working with the state of Florida and Palm Beach County to make Scripps Florida an even greater success than it already is," he adds. A smaller facility is operating from temporary quarters.
In August, the county also awarded marketing of 163 acres of the park to CB Richard Ellis with the objective of recruiting technology-related companies to locating there. One member of the approximately 44-member nationwide CBRE life science group, who spoke to GlobeSt.com on condition of anonymity, acknowledged that the judge's ruling put a stop to marketing efforts under way. "There are prospects," he says, "and we're awaiting the county's direction on this as we speak. It's wait-and-see for at least the next week or so," he said, declining to discuss "legal matters" further.
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