Submitted By: Tye Chighizola
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Presentation By: Tye Chighizola
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Department: Growth Management
STAFF RECOMMENDATION (Motion Ready):
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Approve a quit claim deed from the City of Ocala to Episcopal Children's Services (ECS) for property located at 1701 NW 10th Street
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OCALA'S RELEVANT STRATEGIC GOALS:
Operational Excellence, Economic Hub
PROOF OF PUBLICATION:
N/A
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BACKGROUND: In the late 1990s, the City and the Marion County School Board (MCSB) engaged in a property exchange. The city received 1.63 acres on NW 10th Street south of Howard Middle School. MCSB acquired a portion of the property where Madison Street Elementary is located on Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard. At that time, the city planned to build a new fire station on the NW 10th Street property but later decided on a different location.
In 1999, the city also worked with Childhood Development Services (CDS) to locate a new daycare facility in West Ocala. The initial site was the former landfill property on SW 20th Court. However, after further review of the property, CDS requested to switch from the landfill site to the property on NW 10th Street that the city had acquired from MCSB.
On April 18, 2000, the City Council agreed to donate the property to CDS for the new daycare facility. In June 2000, the City's real estate division prepared a draft deed; however, the deed needed to be recorded, and the transfer did not happen. CDS received all the approvals from the City to construct the daycare (approximately 8,000 square feet). The building was constructed with federal funds as part of the Head Start program and occupied by CDS until June 30, 2016, when it lost the Head Start contract for Marion County and six other counties.
In July 2016, the new Head Start program provider, ECS, from Jacksonville contacted the real estate division to inquire why the transfer of the property did not go forward. At that time, staff was unable to determine the reason the propert...
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