Southern Grove Summary and Fact Sheet Southern Grove Fact Sheet | Page 3

How is this possible?
Just like any property owner, you can choose to stop paying taxes on your property. Eventually,
you will lose this property. In this case, Tradition Land Co. deemed the annual costs of taxes and
assessments greater than the value of holding the property. As an alternative to just ‘walking
away,’ Tradition Land Co. has offered to transfer 1,247 acres of land to the City. This allows the
City to develop a focused disposition action plan and it will avoid disrupting the robust market
in Southern Grove.
What options does the City have now that Tradition Land Co. is pulling out of the market and
will no longer pay the special assessments and taxes?
Representatives of Tradition Land Co. are offering to transfer 1,247 acres of unsold commercial
land to the City of Port St. Lucie in Southern Grove.
The City Council has three options to consider. Because of the Covenant to Budget and
Appropriate, the City is responsible for paying the special assessments until the land is sold
no matter which option is chosen. At a special meeting on March 29, 2018, the City voted to
approve option 3. This will be brought to the Port St. Lucie Governmental Finance Corp for final
approval at the June 25 meeting. Staff is recommending GFC accept the transfer of 1,223 acres.
The remaining ares would be transferred to the City at a later date.
THE CITY’S THREE OPTIONS
OPTION 1:
TAKE NO ACTION The City could take no action. The property would go to a tax certificate
sale, and it would be tied up and off the market for several years during
this process similar to the situation with City Center. Throughout this
period, the City would continue to be obligated to pay the taxes and
assessment until another entity begins paying them. Mattamy Homes
has stated it will not buy the residential sections of Southern Grove if
this option is chosen because of the uncertainty surrounding the non-
residential property. The City would have no control over who purchases
the non-residential property, which could put its vision for a jobs corridor
in jeopardy.
OPTION 2:
TAKE NO ACTION, BUT
AGGRESSIVELY PURCHASE TAX
CERTIFICATES The City could take no action and aggressively pursue tax certificates,
which would enable the City to push for a quick sale by the tax collector.
However, this still could take several years, with no guarantee the City
would be the highest bidder on the tax certificates. The City would have
to continue paying taxes and assessments during this period. Mattamy
Homes has stated it will not buy the residential sections of Southern
Grove if this option is chosen because of the uncertainty surrounding
the nonresidential property. The City would have no control over who
purchases the non-residential property, which could put its vision for a
jobs corridor in jeopardy.
OPTION 3:
ACCEPT THE TRANSFER The GFC could accept this transfer of 1,223 acres of land from Tradition
Land Co. The City would have to continue paying taxes and assessments,
but this obligation will decline as parcels are sold back into the private
sector. Staff is recommending this option as most beneficial to the City
because the City would occupy the position of master developer of the
jobs corridor and thus control its destiny. Mattamy Homes has said this is
its preferred option and it will continue with the purchase of the balance
of the residential parcels if the City takes possession of the land.