BigBendFishing.Net

Taylor County officials expect federal and state agencies to complete their part of permitting later this year for a plan by a University of Florida benefactor to develop about 600 acres of his nearly 4,000 acres with five miles of waterfront along the coastline. Plans for the vacation destination development include 1,400 condominiums and a public boat launch the size of a football field.

From Cedar Key north to the beaches of Taylor County, the only remaining large tract of privately owned, undeveloped land belongs to Dr. J. Crayton Pruitt, a 74-year-old St. Petersburg heart surgeon who underwent a heart transplant at Shands at UF a few years ago and recently made two donations totaling $10 million to UF to help develop a department of biomedical engineering. Pruitt is working with Treasure Island developer Chuck Olson to develop Magnolia Bay and Marina, a tourist condominium resort with a public access marina, on Pruitt's Taylor County land.

The single most ambitious project being planned along the region's coastline is Magnolia Bay near Dekle Beach.

Taylor County Manager Buddy Humphries said the county has not received a development plan yet for Magnolia Bay, but he has been in discussions with the developer for more than three years. Project developer Chuck Olson submitted plans for the project to the Suwannee River Water Management District in December to begin the permitting process.

"This will be a public access marina with a resort that would attract tourists and be good for the economy," Olson said.

The plans include 1,400 condominiums that could be leased but not used for permanent residences, a marina with nearly 800 boat slips and access to a deep water channel originally dredged during World War II for military training exercises.

"We want this to strike a balance somewhere between Key West and Fort Lauderdale - a place that will take on its own personality for this part of Florida," Olson said. "If this were all built today, it would be close to a billion-dollar project. We aren't going to be building little fishing village shacks."

Olson said the price of the project will continue to rise as time goes on because building materials, fuel and labor costs are all likely to increase.

"Now we are doing the sea grass research and we expect to go through another round or two of questions and answers with the government agencies before we can move on to the next step of the permitting process," Olson said. "We are trying to do something positive for Taylor County and so we want to take our time and do this right so it may take another year or 18 months before we begin construction."

The plans include 1,400 condominiums that could be leased but not used for permanent residences.

Chalk wrote:Somebody tell me where that WWII channel is....There ain't no stink'n channel other than the Dekle channel that is 6 foot wide and maybe 300 yards long...I don't think Perry could keep up with the growth.