County to buy Girl Scouts camp, create park, save Rocklands

Miami-Dade is buying 20.2 acres from the Girl Scouts where Camp Choee stands for about $2.7 million. The land is to be used for public park and conservation purposes. The property includes 14 acres designated as a Natural Forest Community by the county and about six acres with camp improvements and supporting facilities in poor to average condition.

The Girls Scouts are to retain a leasehold of about 2,077 square feet within an on-site administrative building on the property for 20 years and about 5,107 square feet of shared use common areas, county documents show.

“GSTF’s [Girl Scout Council of Tropical Florida Inc.] board of directors recognized that council’s property portfolio provided challenges due to maintenance issues, and lack of sufficient resources to address them all,” CEO Chelsea Wilkerson said in a statement.

The Girls Scouts would pay the county $1 in rent for the first 10 years, which would increase to a flat annual rate for years 11 through 20 equal to 70% of the market value in the 11th year. The cost of utilities servicing the office building are to be shared between the county and Girl Scouts.

The 14 acres designated as a Natural Forest Community is home to the pine rockland habitat and will be managed by the County Department of Environmental Resources Management.

“The sale to the county is a win-win-win as it will result in the preservation of a Pine Rockland, an endangered natural habitat; create a new public park to serve the community; and allow GSTF to maintain a presence on-site in our “service center” building,” Ms. Wilkerson said.

The six acres to be used for park purposes will be managed by the Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department, a memorandum from county Chief Financial Officer Edward Marquez says.

The parks department is to pay $2.25 million of the purchase and $180,000 in closing costs and the Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources is to pay $250,000 of the purchase price and up to $20,000 in closing costs, of which 10% would come from the Tree Trust Fund to acquire and restore pine rocklands in the area.

The site is to be named Camp Choee in perpetuity “honoring the Girl Scout legacy of the location,” Ms. Wilkerson said.

“[T]his acquisition allows the county to restore a truly unique pine rockland habitat to a high functioning forest that preserves the existing and diverse community of native and endangered species that call Miami-Dade home,” said Mayor Daniella Levine Cava in a written statement.

After the sale, the county is to begin plans for a new park that would include public engagement, the development of the general plan for the property, the intended program for the site, and identifying structures to be repaired, renovated, demolished or newly constructed.

“For Miami-Dade County, the opportunity to purchase over 20 acres of land in a fully built-out suburban area is rare, and it is strongly recommended that the Board approve this purchase of property,” Mr. Marquez wrote in the memo seeking county commission approval this week.

“With this acquisition, the county will also preserve six acres of the Girl Scouts’ property, supporting their long tradition of education and nature-based recreation opportunities for the community,” said Mayor Levine Cava, a Girl Scout alum.