Land deal in the works
By WILLIAM SNOWDEN Editor
A deal is moving forward to purchase the land on Bloxham Cutoff that had been a proposed location for a controversial gas station.
Southwest Georgia Oil had proposed building a gas station and car wash on a parcel at the corner of Bloxham and U.S. Highway 319 which was recently mapped with underground caves with water that flows from Chip’s Hole sinkhole to Wakulla Springs.
Talks are underway for Conservation Florida to buy the 224-acre parcel owned by St. Joe Co. for $3.4 million, according to Rep. Jason Shoaf at last week’s legislative delegation meeting.
Conservation Florida would purchase the land with private funds.
Shoaf said he would work to get a state appropriation to reimburse Conservation Florida for the land purchase.
The parcel with the mapped underground caves is proposed to be some sort of park with trails and information about karst features and underground rivers in Wakulla.
According to the Wakulla Springs Alliance, Southwest Georgia Oil would do a land swap to build a gas station on the south side of the intersection where there are no known underground caves.
The Wakulla Karst Plain Project completed the link between Chip’s Hole and Wakulla Springs in January.
Hundreds of people turned out to a county commission meeting several months ago to object to the location of the gas station and express concerns about contaminating groundwater and degrading Wakulla Springs. The proposal was pulled by the oil company.
