The Okaloosa County School Board unanimously approved the sale of a 17.43-acre parcel of vacant land located at Lovejoy Road and Hill Avenue in Fort Walton Beach to D.R. Horton, Inc. for $2.1 million during a public hearing at their regular meeting on Monday, March 25, 2024.

• The board had previously declared the property as surplus under Resolution 22-03, stating that it was no longer necessary for educational or ancillary purposes. 
• The property is the old New Heights Elementary P.E. area that sits north of the current Okaloosa Academy.

The resolution directed Superintendent Marcus Chambers to advertise the property for sale by sealed proposals and return with a recommendation for disposal of the property.

Proposals were opened on June 7, 2022, but the purchase prices received were significantly below the appraised fair market value of the property, which ranged from $1,650,000 to $1,800,000 according to appraisals. 

• The Facilities Planning Department and the School Board Attorney reviewed the proposals and recommended rejecting all bids, which the board accepted at their June 27, 2022 meeting.

Following the rejection of bids, D.R. Horton, Inc. submitted an unsolicited proposal to purchase the property. A Land Purchase Contract was negotiated for a purchase price of $2,100,000, which the Superintendent recommended for approval subject to the board’s review at a public hearing.

The resolution stated that based on the appraisals of the property, the school board determined that the sale transaction was “fair, equitable, and in the best interests of the school district and the public.”