Okaloosa County Commissioners voted 5-0 Tuesday to approve the results of a months-long due diligence review of a 1.7-acre waterfront property at the northeast corner of the Shalimar Bridge, clearing the last contingency standing between the county and the closing of its planned purchase of the site for a new public park.

• When commissioners first approved the $3 million purchase and sale agreement in March, they added a provision requiring county staff to complete all due diligence — including the appraisal, seawall inspection and verification of funding sources — and bring the results back to the full board for review before the county could proceed to closing. Tuesday’s vote satisfies that requirement.

Deputy County Administrator Craig Coffey told commissioners that every item on the checklist came back satisfactory.

“All the due diligence items have been completed, and they all are satisfactory per our terms and anticipation,” Coffey said. “All the pieces kinda did come together.”

The property at 901 Eglin Parkway North, owned by John. Dowd Jr., would become “Dowd Park,” named for Dowd’s father, longtime county attorney John Dowd Sr. The county plans to develop it as a passive, family-oriented park with pavilions, trails, a playground, restrooms, parking, a waterfront observation platform and a shallow wading area. Fishing would not be permitted at the site; the county’s existing park property on the southeast corner of the bridge is being designed to accommodate fishing and boating access.

The appraisal, which had been a point of discussion when commissioners first approved the deal in March, came in at $2,950,000, just under the $3 million purchase price but within the 90% threshold required by the purchase and sale agreement.

The condition of the property’s existing seawall turned out to be one of the biggest surprises of the review. Coffey said it is a reinforced concrete seawall with layered concrete slab armoring that runs the full length of the shoreline. He said a local company that specializes in seawall work evaluated the structure and estimated only about $50,000 in minor repairs would be needed.

“That seawall’s in very good condition,” Coffey said. He told commissioners the condition of the seawall would save the county more than $1 million in construction costs and significant time on permitting, allowing the county to move forward on landside improvements while waterside permits are processed separately.

The final piece to fall into place was the $1.5 million state legislative appropriation, which was approved by the legislature and signed into the budget by the governor. Coffey said he has already been in contact with state officials and expects a funding agreement through the Florida Department of Environmental Protection in the coming weeks. He said the county will not close on the property until that agreement is signed.

The Town of Shalimar’s contribution of up to $1.5 million, funded through its annual tourism development tax allocation, was formalized in an interlocal agreement both parties approved earlier this year. The county’s share of the estimated $6.5 million total project cost is approximately $3.5 million, also funded through tourist development tax revenue.

Commissioner Carolyn Ketchel, whose district includes the property and championed the project, thanked Coffey for the work he put into assembling the deal and recognized Sen. Jay Trumbull and Rep. Patt Maney for securing the state funding.

Ketchel called the project one she expects to look back on for the rest of her career.

• “This is one of those legacy projects that I’ll probably look at the rest of my life..thinking, ‘We did that,'” she said.

Closing on the property is expected between Oct. 31 and the end of the year.