MILTON — Navarre has outgrown its community center built more than 25 years ago, and Santa Rosa County commissioners might declare the building surplus and sell it.
In recent months, commissioners have discussed ways to better utilize the Navarre Community Center. Among the alternative uses looked at was having the Sheriff’s Office take over the building as a substation.
With no suitable alternatives, commissioners will vote on Thursday to surplus the building and seek bids to sell it.
“It appears to me to be surplus in our hands,” said Commissioner Jim Melvin. “There’s no way we can improve it. It’s adequate for 50 to 75 people and that’s it. That’s not adequate for the Navarre community for a community center, and the property itself doesn’t lend itself to anything else.
“We should put it up for bids and see what the market tells us it’s worth,” he said.
The Navarre Community Center, located at 1917 Navarre School Road, was built in 1987 and features office space and a large meeting room. Although the facility can seat up to 75 people, one of the problems with the site is that it only has parking for fewer than 15 vehicles.
The building was used for several years to house the Santa Rosa County Tourist Development Council and the Navarre Beach Area Chamber of Commerce after the Navarre Visitors Center was destroyed by Hurricane Ivan. In recent years, the Navarre Area Board of Realtors has rented the building from the county.
Angela Campbell, executive director of NABOR, indicated the group might place a bid to try to purchase the building and keep the large conference room available to the public.
“The board haven’t given direction as to what they would like to do once the term of our lease expires, but should we be successful in the bid and purchase the property, the inference is we would continue to rent it to the community, so there wouldn’t be a lack of space for the community. The current arrangement would continue.”
Commissioner Bob Cole said one caveat to the sale should be that the entire amount of the proceeds be put away in reserves for the future development of a new community center in Navarre, with the other commissioners agreeing with him.
Contact Daily News Business Editor Dusty Ricketts at 850-315-4448 or dricketts@nwfdailynews.com. Follow him on Twitter @DustyRnwfdn.