Lee County buys land near Six Mile Cypress

BUYER: Lee County

SELLER: C-Hack LLC

PROPERTY: 9601, 9901 and 10631 State Road 82 and additional land, Fort Myers

PRICE: $16.26 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $209,900, August 2003, $306,000, March 2003, $1.95 million, January 2003, $900,000 and $2.23 million, June 2003

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Pavese Law Firm, Fort Myers

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Lee County purchased 467 acres of conservation land in Buckingham for $16.26 million.

The price equated to $34,818 per acre.

The county considers the property to be important to the health of the Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve and it will be used to improve the water flow to the slough. The property will also likely be used for passive recreation, such as hiking, biking and walking trails. The county will consider leasing the property for cattle grazing while a plan is developed to manage it.

The former owners also donated another 16.5 acres to the county, which covers land that links the property and the slough.

The purchase was the second of at least three planned acquisitions by the county, which plans to buy 1,213 acres of environmental land through its Conservation 20/20 program.

The county acquired the first portion, 517 acres, in May for $10.83 million, equal to $20,944 per acre. It is scheduled to buy another 218 acres of nearby land from the same ownership group for $9.12 million.

Conservation 20/20, which is funded from property taxes, has made 105 land purchases covering 23,805 acres in its 13-year history.