SUBJECT/RECOMMENDATION:
Title
Approve the Contract for Exchange of Real Property providing for the exchange of certain city-owned real property for a strategic parcel in the downtown core which is of greater value and is owned by the Church of Scientology Flag Service Organization, Inc. (COS), authorize the appropriate officials to execute same, together with all other instruments necessary to affect closing.
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SUMMARY:
The Nolen Project in the downtown core creates a need for public parking. The property at the Southwest corner of Cleveland Street and S. Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue at 1133 Cleveland Street abuts the Nolen Project and will provide needed parking. This property will be conveyed to the City by COS in exchange for three city-owned properties as more particularly described below. The COS property appraised at $640,000.00 by James Millspaugh & Associates, Inc.
In exchange for this COS property, the City of Clearwater will convey three parcels of land more particularly described as:
1. 600 Franklin Street - The South 60’ of Lot 1, Block 7, Gould & Ewing’s 1st and 2nd Addition to Clearwater-Harbor Fla, Plat Book 1, Page 52, Public Records of Hillsborough County, of which Pinellas County was formerly a part.
2. Dedicated Right-of-way - a portion of Lot 34 and a portion of the vacated Haven Street, Court Square Subdivision, Plat Book 5, Page 53, Public Records of Pinellas County, Florida.
3. The North 37’ of the West 121’ of the South half of Lot 1, Block 5, of Gould & Ewing’s 1st and 2nd Addition to Clearwater-Harbor Fla., Plat Book 1, Page 52, of the Public Records of Hillsborough County, Florida, of which Pinellas County was formerly a part.
The first parcel, 600 Franklin Street, supported the old Fire Station 45. The property is approximately 3,660 square feet and the appraised value of the parcel has been determined by James Millspaugh & Associates, Inc., to be $165,000.00.
The second parcel, the right-of-way parcel, is located North of Court Street, between S. Garden Avenue and S. Fort Harrison Avenue, and contains right-of-way both dedicated as Haven Street by plat and right-of-way dedicated by a Resolution of the Clearwater City Council.
The Haven Street portion of the right-of-way parcel was dedicated in Plat Book 5, Page 53, Official Records of Pinellas County, Florida in 1922, and will join the adjacent fee-owned lots by operation of law upon vacation. The right-of-way over city-owned lots 34 and 45 of Court Square Subdivision was dedicated by Resolution 79-50 in Official Records Book 4867, Page 1478, Official Records of Pinellas County. Following the vacation of the right-of-way parcel in accordance with Vacation Ordinance 9129-18, being presented for Council approval simultaneously herewith, the remaining City-owned property will be approximately 4,750 square feet. The appraised value of right-of-way/city-owned parcel has been determined by Jim Millspaugh & Associates, Inc., to be $200,000.00.
The third parcel, located at 28 North Garden Avenue (commonly known as the City of Clearwater’s North Garden Avenue Parking Lot) lying east of Watterson Avenue, north of Cleveland Street, south of Hendricks Street, and west of N Garden Avenue. This lot is approximately 4,500 square feet and includes 9 parking spaces, open to the public. The parking rate at this lot is $0.50 an hour with a maximum time limit of 2 hours. The appraised value of this property, as determined by James Millspaugh & Associates, Inc, is $90,000.00.
This contract is contingent upon three pre-requisites. The first being the declaration of surplus of these three City owned parcels. The second pre-requisite is the vacation of Haven Street, along with real property dedicated as right-of-way in Official Records Book 4867, Page 1478, of the Public Records of Pinellas County, Florida. The third is the City being granted adequate access to the COS Property in accordance with the timeframes contemplated in the contract for purposes of conducting inspections and investigations, including environmental investigations. If any of these pre-requisite items fail to come to fruition, this contract will be null and void.