MILTON — Santa Rosa County is closing in on a site for a new judicial center.
County commissioners voted unanimously Thursday to direct their staff to develop an official Request for Proposals for a suitable property.
“Everybody knows this is long overdue for us to replace our existing judicial facility,” Commissioner Bob Cole said. “I encourage anybody that may have property in the radius that we depicted, using Highway 90 and Avalon Boulevard as the center point and going out two miles in a radius around there. We are looking at 12- to 20-acre parcels. If you have a piece of property that fits that bill … bring that forward to us for consideration.”
Four property owners already have unofficially submitted their parcels for consideration, County Administrator Hunter Walker said. Two of those sites, one on Avalon Boulevard and the other on the eastern edge of the two-mile radius on U.S. Highway 90, were considered by the county in 2008 for a judicial center.
Walker will bring the RFP back to the commissioners for approval at a future meeting. After the board approves the request, he said the county likely will accept proposals for 21 days.
He hopes a site can be finalized by the end of the year.
Contact Daily News Business Editor Dusty Ricketts at 850-315-4448 or dricketts@nwfdailynews.com. Follow him on Twitter @DustyRnwfdn.
