was the main ticket. On the docket was also a bond fund. Broward County wanted to raise 400 mils to buy the rest of the green space left in Broward County. There weren’t many places left. The Bond fund passed. Shortly thereafter we are offered 500K for the portion of the land that was forested with a wetland. That could have paid for 1/2 the property giving us the best part. I was in no rush to make such a deal. I was still learning. I went to Tallahassee for Broward days and I met a developer. The developer asked, ‘What do you want to do with the land?’ I told him I wanted to build eight buildings. He said, do you have any idea of what the cost of dirt would be for a project of that scale? He guessed it would be 500K! He was explaining that the swamp side could be used to gather the dirt creating huge savings and a reason to hold upon selling the wetlands. When the commissioners of Broward County heard what we were thinking about using the dirt they said you can’t do that. But, Bob Mehanan explained, yes you can. There were no easements. Things start heating up for Real Estate from 2002 to 2004. Property values were climbing quickly. Seeing all of this, I was in no rush to sell. At the time I was also a member of a CEO group. I would ask them and they would say sell. I waited. In time I got to meet some of the commissioners. I walked on the wooded path with Ilene Lieberman, she seemed disinter- ested. Then, I walked on the same path with Kristen Jacobs. She said, “If this land ever gets developed I’m going to cry.” Offers started coming in. Each one was bigger than the last. Bob Meehan and I decided to share what we were learning with Broward County. I took all the offers and showed them to Kristin Jacobs. The highest offer was for four mils. I told her we are willing to sell it at the same price as long as we can move all the building rights to the front part of the property. They were making a park, so they did not need those rights. I also said we want the preserve to be named after our parents. Broward County sent a formal offer and their attorney, Lourdes Kline, sent us a contract.
The Herman and Dorothy Shooster Preserve
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