Bodez Fitness helps the kids

Ormond Beach Observer
Business

Bodez Fitness Center, 1140 W. Granada Blvd., presented a check for $4,412.16 to Food Brings Hope after raising the money at a fundraiser called “A Greek Night” at St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Community Center. Food Brings Hope works to eradicate hunger and homelessness in the student population throughout Volusia County.

At the fundraiser, Bodez Fitness was presented with the 2019 International Club of the Year Award by Club Marketing and Management Services. Criteria for the award was based on service to the community and member satisfaction. Visit bodezfitness.com.

MARGARITAVILLE PLANS PARTY

Latitude Margaritaville Daytona Beach has announced the grand opening of the Latitude Town Center on Sat., June 8, from noon to 4 p.m. The public is invited for food, music, dancing, entertainment and model home tours.

The center now features a bandshell, fitness center, pool, restaurants and recreation. More amenities are underway, including a Publix-anchored retail center, according to a press release. More than 3,000 homes are expected to be built at the development. Visit LatitudeMargaritaville.com/Event.

PROPERTY VALUES NEAR RECORD LEVEL

The property tax role for Volusia County continues to climb, reaching $59.5 billion this year, which is 95% of the record set in 2007.

“We’ll probably set that new record in 2020,” said Larry Bartlett, Volusia County property appraiser.

All of the property value figures now being issued are preliminary and will be finalized in the next few months.

The $59.5 billion is 8% higher than the 2018 value. The amount includes new construction, as well as the rising value of existing residential and commercial property, which is based on selling prices.

“People think we set the values,” Bartlett said. “The market sets the values.”

Bartlett pointed out that Amazon has placed a distribution center near the interstate, showing a confidence by the business community in the area’s growth. Also, residential construction bodes well for future growth, such as Margaritaville and the Mosaic community, both in the LPGA Boulevard/Interstate 95 area.

“Additionally, 2,200 apartment units have been added to the tax roll the past four years,” Bartlett said.

He sees the beach and location on the I-4 corridor as being attractive for business and residents.

Bartlett said the 8% increase in property value is comparable to the growth in years since the recession and called it sustainable growth.

When values rise, the county and cities can collect more property tax money by keeping millage rates the same. Ormond Beach and other municipalities will set millage rates later this year. Millage rates can also be lowered to collect the same amount as the previous year, called the “roll-back rate.”

ORMOND BEACH GROWTH

The preliminary figures show property value in Ormond Beach up 5.93% from 2018 to $3.6 billion. New construction was $35 million of that total.

There was some new residential construction in the city, notably in Chelsea Place and River Oaks, according to the property appraiser’s office. But rising value of existing homes also boosts the total property value, in addition to new construction.

The Community Redevelopment Area of Granada Boulevard showed a 4.1% increase in property value to about $116 million. There was expansion of one restaurant, but the CRA increase was mostly due to overall rising property values. The area includes Granada Boulevard from the ocean to Orchard Avenue and a few blocks north and south.

The property value in the Ormond Crossings CRA increased 4.9% to about $9.5 million. The purchase of property by Security First influenced the rise, but land value in general caused the increase. Security First is not yet on the tax roll, but when it’s completed, it will be a boost to the tax value, according to a spokesman in the property appraiser’s office.

FLAGLER COUNTY VALUES

Jay Gardner, property appraiser for Flagler County, believes the rate of growth is at a healthy pace, unlike the sudden increases that led up to the recession.

“The values kept going until the wheels came off,” he said.

Flagler County overall shows a 6.58% increase over 2018, reaching about $9 billion. The city with the biggest increase was Bunnell with an 8.89% increase and the lowest were Beverly Beach at 3.78% and Marineland at 0.27%.

Other cities were Flagler Beach at 8.7% and Palm Coast at 6.09%.

Gardner said the growth figure has been similar each year since the recession, when the low point was $6.2 billion in 2012.

He said new construction is a big factor in the increase, and that’s important because construction is the main economic driver in Flagler County.