The Three Acres Have Sold

In 2008, the congregation of Wekiva Presbyterian Church voted to sell the three acres on the far side of the Bank of America that were purchased from what was then Barnett Bank in the early 1990s;  the land was marketed with the concurrence of Central Florida Presbytery, in whose name the church holds all of its property, in trust.

On Wednesday, June 13, 2012, the closing took place. 

The process of selling the property was spearheaded by a committee appointed by the Session, led by our church member Gary Adams, with the help of church members Ken Moseley, Janet Everett and Bruce Rogers, with Dr. Dalles serving as the staff support person.  They have been working consistently since 2008; with changes in the economy, the marketing and sale of the land has taken longer than anyone anticipated.  Without Gary Adams' leadership, it is probable that the land would still be on the markt; the church is blessed because of his labor of love on our behalf.  The church was also greatly assisted by James Barks, an attorney in Sanford, who provided legal services for the church pro bono.  Jim is an active member of our sister PC (USA) congregation, Markham Woods Presbyterian Church. 

The new owners, who are franchisees of Primrose Schools, have already begun clearing the land, as you can see if you take a look at the property.  What was until Tuesday of this week a three acre woodland that perhaps had never been built upon, is now being prepared for the new educational child care complex, access driveway off of 434 and parking.  You can see some of what is happening from the road, or from the Bank of America drive up window lanes.


The back story of the land is interesting, to say the least.  It was part of a development that was only partially completed, of which the next streets over, Briar Cliff Drive and Meadowfield Lane, are a part,  That small development was brought to completion as you see it now, many years ago.  In the early 90s the bank, sold most of the parcel that wraps around their branch office to our church, keeping a section of land that made the new three acres non-contiguous to the church's main property.  The agreement was that an easement would exist over that still-bank-owned sliver, once the church moved an existing retention pond.  Down the decades, as the bank was acquired and went from being local to regional to a national bank (first Barnett Bank, then Nations Bank, and currently Bank of America), it was difficult to discover who in their corporate structure might be able to offer permissions when the church sought, at various times, to perfect that easement.

Photos of that retention pond, which I have dubbed "Lake ..." follow:

 

It was in 2008 that, having more or less exhausted all other avenues, the Session and Deacons discussed and then recommended to the congregation that the church no longer keep this land, since it seemed unlikely that the church would ever be able to use it.  The congregation and the presbytery both concurred with this plan at that time.


Long time church members will recall that Ron Tyo and Don Blackadar were instrumental in our purchasing the property in the early 1990s; we are grateful to them for their efforts, as well as to all who helped to pay for the land by their donations (the church paid off the mortgage for that parcel of land in 1998).


For the second time in the past fifteen years that I have served as its pastor, Wekiva Presbyterian Church is essentially debt free.  For the first time in its young 35 years, the church has a sizeable endowment fund.  God has done marvelous things and it is wondrous in our eyes. 

All who have been involved in this process, from start to finish, richly deserve the congregation's thanks and appreciation, as do all who have prayed for the sale to occur.