City council approves sale of Rollerson Ranch property to K. C. Patel agreement after lengthy debate

After extended questions from council members, the City of Temple Terrace on Sept. 20 approved an agreement to sell the Rollerson Ranch property to a buyer affiliated with Dr. K. C. Patel for $5,400,000.

City Attorney Pam Sichone summarized the process and said the city received four qualifying sealed bids and that the council earlier selected Dr. Patel's proposal. The proposed purchaser will take title via Terrace Real Estate Holdings LLC and earlier presented a concept to build a College of Trade and Technology on most of the property. Under the contract the buyer agreed the property must be used for a taxable use for at least 20 years and that at least 90 percent of the property be dedicated to the primary use (the college) as proposed.

Council discussion focused on paragraph 10.1 of the contract, which allows the purchaser to notify the city and provide commercially reasonable documentation if it determines the college use is not economically viable; the contract gives the city opportunity to rebut that determination and requires good faith negotiations before litigation if the parties cannot agree. Several council members sought a clearer and time-limited mechanism for invoking that clause; the buyer's representatives (Dr. Patel and counsel) said they are committed to the college but asked for limited flexibility in case of changes in market conditions or timing. The city attorney said the 20-year taxable-use requirement was included to ensure the city would receive ad valorem taxes rather than losing the site to a non-taxable use.

After discussion and several members' requests for clarity, a motion to approve the agreement passed. Council also asked staff to continue to work through details of timing and the 10.1 language if needed; the motion approved the sale agreement as negotiated and recorded in the meeting packet.