- April 19, 2024
-
-
Loading
Loading
What can you do with an underwater property?
That's a question brokers Jim Cooksey and Bill Dodson are hoping is explored regarding a 0.87-acre submerged parcel of land in the Halifax River near Cassen Park in Ormond Beach. They acquired the property in 2015 following a dinner conversation at the former Captain Daddy's floating riverboat restaurant at Riverwalk in Port Orange. With no dining establishment located right on the river in Ormond Beach, Cooksey and Dodson commented that it would be nice to have something like the riverboat restaurant in the city.
Cooksey, president of Cooksey and Associates, was familiar with the Riverwalk project and knew that the riverboat was located atop a submerged parcel of privately-owned land. If the land had been owned by the state, he explained in an email, the restaurant use would not have been possible.
"Otherwise, the restaurant use would not have been possible as the state did not lease submerged land for non-marine related uses," Cooksey said. "Subsequently, Bill and I looked at the tax parcel map for Cassen Park and discovered a 0.87-acre privately-owned submerged parcel. After tracking down the owner the Dodson’s and I acquired it at a 'quick sale' price."
According to the Volusia County Property Appraiser, the land sold for $25,000.
Cooksey and Dodson are hoping to lease the land to an entrepreneur ready and willing to bring something new to Ormond's riverfront. With the redevelopment of Cassen Park coming soon, Cooksey said they felt the timing was right.
Their initial vision was to develop a restaurant similar to the McCoy Brothers steamer lunch cabin, named "Uncle Sam," that launched in 1904 as a way to tie in a bit of Ormond history into the project. The steamer, according to an article by the Ormond Beach Historical Society, conducted lunch excursions on the Tomoka River until its engine caught fire in 1907.
Cooksey said city staff was receptive to the idea, but that there were "practical issues to address and resolve." Their other concept for the parcel involves a replica of the lunch cabin on the Tomoka River that catered to river cruise participants that departed from the Ormond Hotel in the early 20th century.
“Those were our thoughts in what we thought would work," Cooksey said. "The city has to agree to whatever goes down there...So the historical part of it we felt would really compliment the park.”
The property is also available for sale for $225,000. It's been on the market for the last couple of months.
