FLORIDA SITE FIGHT: WAL-MART DESPERATE TO GET IN TO LYNN HAVEN

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Wal-Mart gets land at a very high price [Panama City News Herald (Fla.)]

Wal-Mart is technically a buyer in the current “buyer’s market,” but the retail giant paid 15 to 20 times the market value of two parcels to build a new Supercenter in Lynn Haven.
Courthouse records show the deed from property owners James Maulden, Gary Seymour and Clayton and Elizabeth Syfrett to Wal-Mart Stores East, LP, was signed on Aug. 26 and recorded on Sept. 3. An 8-acre parcel assessed at $133,042 by the Bay County property appraiser sold for $2 million, or $250,000 per acre. About half the property was wetlands, but since has been filled in.
The larger, abutting 30-acre tract (owned just by Maulden and Seymour) was assessed at $574,490 and sold for $12 million, or $400,000 per acre.
Neither the Realtor for the site nor a Wal-Mart spokesperson could be reached for comment about the deal on Monday. However, Chief Deputy Property Appraiser Russ Mathis said he was not entirely shocked by the price tag.

“It depends on how badly they wanted (the property),” Mathis said. “There are not many parcels where a customer like Wal-Mart could build since so much of Bay County is wetlands.”
Residents first received confirmation about Wal-Mart’s plans for the property, just north of the Lynn Haven Post Office, in December.
Lynn Haven City Manager John Lynch has insisted the new store will have a more modern design than the Supercenters in Callaway and Panama City Beach, one that compliments the existing development in the area. Preliminary drawings show a beige and off-white mix of colors, as opposed to the traditional blue and white. Architecturally, the store would feature intermittent roof peaks and archways, which is akin to the look of South Florida Wal-Mart Supercenters.
In April, the Lynn Haven City Commission approved a development order for Wal-Mart and plans for four smaller lots allowing construction of a bank, restaurant and general office space. Ground breaking is expected later this year, with project build out to be complete by fall 2009.

Posted by Luke West on Tuesday, September 09, 2008