DEFUNIAK SPRINGS — Mayor Bob Campbell has heard the complaints and debated the naysayers, but he remains nothing short of cheerful about his proposal to sell City Hall to an Atlanta development firm for $3 million.
He sees the opportunity as a no-brainer that will provide “free cash.”
“We weren’t just looking to sell off City Hall,” said Campbell, who’s been in office for eight months. “They came to us. … I said, ‘Boys, we are about crazy if we let this pass by.’ ”
Although it was a tough sell, the City Council gave Campbell the green light in late December. Now the company, Crim & Associates, has 180 days to finalize the sale.
Once completed, it plans to put a gas station-eatery combo and two stand-alone fast food restaurants on the 4-acre parcel at the corner of U.S. Highway 331 and U.S. Highway 90.
Campbell, who was born and raised in DeFuniak Springs, is quick to point out that he’s not content to rely on the fast food industry to shore up the city’s economy.
“But when it furnishes cash for us to move (City Hall), I’ll take fast food any day of the week,” he said.
It could be two years before the city has a new permanent home, but Campbell has a vision already forming. He’s got his eye on the property at the corner of 10th Street and U.S. 90 on the edge of the downtown historic district.
“We’d have the whole block,” he said of the lots that once were home to the city’s Piggly Wiggly.
He also likes the idea of designing the new City Hall to blend in with the existing historic district.
“I’m excited,” Campbell said. “It’s a $3 million investment (in downtown).”
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Kari C. Barlow at 850-315-4438 or kbarlow@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @KariBnwfdn.