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CRA debates buying thrift-store site, eminent domain to secure hotel parking
Summary
The CRA discussed two options to provide about 100 hotel parking spaces: buy the Care Center thrift-store property (staff cited a $6,100,000 purchase price) or pursue eminent domain on a nearby vacant 1.1-acre lot (staff estimated market comps near $150,000 but owner asking $895,000). Commissioners asked staff for more legal and cost details and directed prioritization of property adjacent to the hotel.
City of Lake Wales Community Redevelopment Agency members spent the bulk of the meeting weighing how to secure roughly 100 parking spaces for a planned downtown hotel, debating whether to buy the Care Center thrift-store property, pursue eminent domain on a nearby vacant lot, or attempt both.
Executive Director (reporting at the CRA meeting) said the thrift-store site could be sold to the CRA for $6,100,000 and that the city could absorb the cost into its loan package for the hotel. He told the board two appraisals for the thrift store averaged $1,500,000 and staff had not yet broken out how much of the $6.1 million would be purchase price versus reimbursement for the Care Center’s relocation expenses. “I think in summary, the thrift store, could be sold to the CRA, for $6,100,000 we can absolutely afford it,” the executive director said.
Staff also identified an alternate option: a roughly 1.1-acre vacant lot on Park Avenue owned by an out-of-town individual. Staff provided market comps of approximately $150,000 and said the owner was asking $895,000; the city had previously offered $400,000 and the offer was rejected. Commissioners and staff discussed that the vacant lot could yield “over a 100 spaces” in surface parking, and that a long-term parking garage could cost on the order of $12–13 million.
Commissioners raised policy and tax implications of buying property that a nonprofit (the Care Center) currently owns. One commissioner cautioned that if a nonprofit owns downtown parcels, those properties would not generate tax increment for the CRA; another said acquiring property into CRA control could help shape downtown reuse and future private investment. Commissioners also discussed timing: staff reported the hotel timeline could be about three years and said eminent domain for a single parcel could be faster than multi-parcel cases but that staff would confirm legal timeline and quick-take options.
Several commissioners urged pursuing both tracks if feasible: start eminent domain on the vacant lot while negotiating with the Care Center so the city does not lose the opportunity if the owner sells to a third party. Commissioners asked staff to return with more detail on the eminent domain process and precise breakdowns of the $6.1 million figure, including relocation costs and the thrift store’s appraised value.
Board direction: commissioners prioritized acquiring property adjacent to the hotel and instructed staff to pursue next steps, including obtaining eminent domain counsel input, confirming cost breakdowns and appraisals, and engaging Restoration Saint Louis (the hotel developer) to ensure alternative parking arrangements meet the project’s needs.
The meeting closed with tributes to the chair and adjournment.
