OCALA, FL (352today.com) – Time is money and the SW 40 Ave. and SW 49th Ave. Construction Project may be moving forward at a more rapid rate, with the update that was provided by the Office of the County Engineer during the Marion County Board of County Commissioners meeting on Sept. 3, 2025.

A walk-on item from the county attorney during the commission meeting was in relation to the SW 40th and SW 49th Ave. Construction Project, regarding a request to approve a settlement between Marion County and New Ocala, LLC, a property owner who owns a parcel on both the east and the west side, of SW 40th Ave. The properties are currently vacant; however, they’re fully entitled for a multi-family residential project. They’ve obtained the entitlements from the City of Ocala, said Matthew “Guy” Minter, Marion County attorney.

The settlement involves obtaining multiple property interests, including a drainage retention area, a right-of-way for the road, temporary construction easements, drainage easements, and the settlement amount for the owner is $1.6 million and that includes any severance damages and consequential damages. There are additional amounts for attorney fees, appraisal fees, planner fees and engineering fees, which the county is obligated for under Florida statutes in imminent domain. It brings the total settlement value to $1.972,187,

The county attorney asked the board for approval so he and the county engineer can move forward with the finalizing of the actual contractual documents.

The contractual documents would incorporate these essential terms of the settlement agreement, said Minter.

It’s important for the county to acquire these properties, so the contractor, Art Walker Construction, Inc., who’s already working on the job can proceed with the work in this particular area of the project, said Minter.

The statutory attorney fees are $329,000, the appraiser fees are $9,937, planner’s fees $8,160 and the engineer’s fees are $24,750.

The right-of-way acquisition will play a significant role in getting a road project done that will make life easier for commuters in Marion County.

Marion County Engineer Steven Cohoon said, “Time is Money,” and when it comes to this particular project, the acquisition of the property, provides a major time saving variable.

The previous pre-mitigation costs were significant, said Cohoon.

“We actually finalized negotiations earlier this week with the alternate attorney,” said Cohoon. “This was a huge cost savings to the county to get this moved forward. I have one more parcel that will come before the board that should be a no cost scenario at the next board meeting, and then we will have all the property that we need for construction. We still have one more negotiation to finalize further to the south.”

The project is moving forward, although there has been an impact with the time it has taken, but the contractor is committed to getting the project completed before December.

‘This acquisition held up progress for our project,” said Cohoon.

The Marion County Board of County Commissioners gave direction to move forward in whatever way was needed to move forward, getting the road open and completing the project is the top priority when it comes to roadway projects, said Kathy Bryant, Marion County Commission chair.

The Florida Department is holding back on the full closure of SW 66th St., so they can repair that bridge, and are waiting for the SW 40th and SW 49th Ave. project to be completed, with the objective of having the work done by December, which will enable the FDOT to get their work completed as well in the first quarter of 2026, said Cohoon.

“There’s a lot moving on this project,” said Cohoon. “We did a unique advertisement. We did have some properties that we did have to acquire during construction, but we were able to do concurrent activities. Had I waited until this came before the board, we wouldn’t see any ground broke out there today. So, that would’ve been another 12-month delay. We are moving quickly. There are some things coming before the board. We don’t desire to do walk-ons but sometimes that’s the nature of the beast to get the job done in a timely manner.”