![Santa Rosa County Commissioner Sam Parker secured an agreement with a Pace man to donate up to 15 acres of property located on the south side of Sterling Way immediately east of Bell Lane for a new courthouse. [Special to the Press Gazette]](http://127.0.0.1/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/ghows-DA-49877b25-3f97-75ed-e053-0100007f30e0-1222d129.jpeg)
MILTON — Santa Rosa County Commissioner Sam Parker has reached an agreement with Edwin Henry to donate up to 15 acres of property in the Pace area for a future courthouse.
After Monday’s discussion, the Board of County Commissioners will put out a request for proposals to see if any other local property owners would be interested in donating or selling for a new courthouse.
Henry’s property is located on the south side of Sterling Way, immediately east of Bell Lane. The two parcel numbers related to this property are 28-1N-29-0000-00101-0000 and 28-1N-29-0000-00102-0000.
In Parker’s letter to County Administrator Tony Gomillion, he cited the following benefits to the location:
This location conforms to suggestions made from a 2013 study as far as the proximity from Highway 90 and the Avalon Boulevard intersection.
Residents coming from Gulf Breeze or Navarre could easily access this location via Avalon Boulevard, and the Sheriff’s Office could access the location via the interstate, with only three traffic lights along that route between the jail and the proposed location.
The land isn’t located in a flood zone.
Pace Water System already has water and sewer service available along Bell Lane, and fiber optic cable service is available within close proximity.
Henry isn’t the first to donate land for a courthouse. Following the courthouse sales tax failure in 2016, Milton attorney Jennifer Byrom — daughter of the late William "Cotton" Byrom, former mayor of Milton and former city judge — said east Milton property her father offered to donate for a new courthouse is still available.
According to Byrom, the plot is a 47-acre parcel on Highway 90 near the jail with exits to Interstate 10, Navarre and Milton.
“We’ve all been diligent on this subject,” Cole said. “I feel if that if an RFP moves forward, we owe it to the other citizens to include property they’ve put up.”
Commissioners Don Salter and Bob Cole did not want the courthouse’s next location to hinge on the availability of free property.
“My position has always been if we’re going to make a $35-40 million investment, we should not make free land dictate where to put it,” Salter said.
“I’m glad to have no defined geographic boundary. I’d like to have (the RFP) open to anywhere in the county,” Commission Chairman Rob Williamson said.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Property donations sought for courthouse