Discussion around the sale of two downtown blocks took a turn when Tallahassee Mayor John Dailey and others scolded the attorney representing the top bidder.
The 908 Group, a real estate firm with a history of student housing projects in CollegeTown, made a $11 million offer for the city-owned Chevron and Johns parcels totaling about 5 acres — arguably the two largest undeveloped sites downtown.
Dailey, along with Commissioners Dianne Williams-Cox and Curtis Richardson, took issue with the developer meeting with Commissioner Jeremy Matlow and Jack Porter before the meeting and not them.
Matlow said he expressed an interest in seeing additional public green space be incorporated on the sites.
“Does your client have an interest in meeting with all of us to talk about design standards or just one or two of us,” said Dailey, directing his question to Erin Tilton, an attorney at Stearns Weaver Miller law firm in Tallahassee. “I was caught a little off guard that meeting’s taking place before an official approval took place.”
“I am certain they would be happy to meet with all of you individually,” Tilton said, who apologized for the oversight.
Dailey, who said he saw the 908 Group developer earlier that day at City Hall, said he doesn’t typically engage with project representatives prior to a vote and said he’d have “serious concerns” about changing what’s been submitted.
Williams-Cox appeared to be ready to pull her support completely if she didn’t hear assurances that the project presented and ranked as the top offer was going to be what moves forward.
“If we’re going to be changing things on the fly after having a meeting with one commissioner or however many commissioners … that causes me some concerns,” she said. “And that could be a game changer. That could stop what we’re trying to do here right now.”
In Porter’s discussion with the developer, she said he seemed open to “doing whatever they could, design-wise, so that the look would be consistent with the downtown. There was no guarantee of that, but I don’t think that changes the project.”
Porter said she’d heard concerns from Downtown Improvement Authority CEO Elias Mathes on the project’s aesthetic so that it not mirror the student housing apartments already in the Gaines Street District.
Another layer to the top offer came down to the vote itself.
Dailey made a motion to accept the staff’s recommendation to accept the 908 Group’s offer and to begin negotiations and proceed with the second-best ranked offer, an $8.2 million offer by Florida State University to expand its campus, if the top offer falls through.
Another option, presented by Porter, still pushed the top offer forward but removed automatic acceptance of FSU’s offer as the second-ranked bid. In a near unanimous vote, commissioners favored Porter’s motion; Williams-Cox was the sole ‘no’ vote.
FSU made the second best offer for a campus expansion project
The two city-owned blocks sit in a highly visible strip along Gaines Street, where student housing development and other projects have mushroomed around its borders.
The 2.41-acre Chevron and 2.68-acre Johns parcels became available again after an $8-million Hotel Valencia project fell through in 2024. At the time, the developer allowed an extension within the Purchase Sale Agreement to expire, making it no longer valid.
That pushed the city back to square one and launched a new Request for Proposals process, netting six responses.
An $11 million offer from the 908 Group, a Tampa-based real estate firm with student housing properties in CollegeTown in Tallahassee, was considered the top offer.
Tilton said the developer estimates the project would add $1.25 million annually in tax revenue. The estimated cost for the project is $125 million for the student apartments and $45 million for the hotel.
Offers came in ranging from $5 to $11 million, along with a bid of $25 million that was deemed an outliner offer in city documents. One company made two offers, including the highest bid, which was deemed to be unrealistic and more of a negotiation tactic than a real offer.
Here’s a breakdown of the offers:
The 908 Group has built several student housing projects in Tallahassee, including The Nine at Tallahassee on West Pensacola Street, and The Hall on West Gaines Street at The Tribe on Madison and Gaines streets, as previously reported.
Contact Economic Development Reporter TaMaryn Waters at tlwaters@tallahassee.com and follow @TaMarynWaters on X.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Commissioners accept $11M offer for two downtown blocks. What’s coming?
Reporting by TaMaryn Waters, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
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