Due diligence + Loan/Investor for FL development (land/wetland)

Due diligence + Loan/Investor for FL development (land/wetland)

Developer · Naples, FL · Member since 2021 · 20 posts · 9 votes

Hello,

I have 3.7 acres of land under contract that I need to do my due diligence on. Part of the land from a 2018 survey shows wetlands on the front of the property. Visually it looks dry though and not wet at all. Only 2 acres are uplands but I was hoping to develop all of the 3.7 acres. Who may I contact to find out cost and timelines for mitigating wetlands in FL and how to mitigate (dig a lake?).

My goal is to rezone (agricultural with residential use to residential) and subdivide the land as it is on a busy/main street with major residential single family and multi family developments around it. I spoke with the zoning manager and rezoning is possible for me to build 2-3 single family homes per acre to make a small development/HOA with ~10 homes.

This is my first land purchase (we are contractors) so I need advice on what due diligence to do on it and who to call about the wetland mitigation. The property is in Naples, FL. I also need some advice on how to find a bank or an investor for the loan for land and/or land construction. Need to close 4/1/22. Any help/suggestions/advice would be very appreciated. 

Thank you!

Anna

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Investor · Ballston Spa, NY · Member since 2016 · 2 posts · 5 votes
4y

As Mason said, an environmental engineer would be the contact for that.

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  • Specialist · Midland, TX · Member since 2018 · 198 posts · 148 votes
    4y

    Hmm, wetlands do not necessarily "look wet" all of the time. Many types of regulated wetlands are actually dry for large chunks of a typical year and inundated during the rest. Just a heads-up. (my background: been doing wetland delineations and permitting in the gulf coast states for 10 years)

    I'd recommend you contact a local environmental consultant on that one. Wetlands are regulated by the state in FL (with permission of the federal gov) and it is fairly strict. You are not always allowed to mitigate and you may not be allowed to destroy them at all. Find out fast, not something you want to get stuck with. I hear about this a lot in FL.

    Cheers,

    -Mason

  • Investor · Ballston Spa, NY · Member since 2016 · 2 posts · 5 votes
    4y

    As Mason said, an environmental engineer would be the contact for that.

  • Surveyor · Denver, CO · Member since 2013 · 33 posts · 15 votes
    4y

    Anna - As @Mason Moreland & @David M. mentioned, you'd need an environmental engineer to start the due diligence. I'm not sure about FL, but in CO wetlands are taken very seriously & the municipalities very rarely budge on them (especially for development purposes). I'd imagine things would be very similar, even though not exactly the same.

    A place to start though; Since the previous survey shows the wetlands, you might be able to contact that surveying company (all company info should be on the survey) & they could tell you how the wetlands were defined & possibly start you down the right path. Surveyors can't define wetlands, so they had to get that info from somewhere. Maybe they have the environmental engineering firm that delineated them (and all are still active businesses). This doesn't necessarily mean the deal won't work, you just might have to get creative on how to maximize the 2 acres instead of the full 3.7.

    Hope this helps.

  • Specialist · Midland, TX · Member since 2018 · 198 posts · 148 votes
    4y

    To clarify, it would NOT be an environmental ENGINEER, but an environmental consultant (IE a biologist). Just to keep you from running down the wrong trail here.

    Environmental engineers do some tangentially related work to wetlands, but primarily focus on waste management, water management, soils/erosion management, public health (water/sewers), and environmental protections. Not so much wetland delineation (need really strong plant ID, soil science, and ecology knowledge) and wetland/waters permitting unless they specifically stumbled into/specialized in that field. Engineers focus on systems and design, calcs, and safety measures for the most part.


    the folks above are correct in that the rules should be somewhat similar. The baseline rules are set by US EPA and US Army Corps of Engineers, then many states implement them and add their own more restrictive regs over the top. Florida is one of those. 

  • Surveyor · Denver, CO · Member since 2013 · 33 posts · 15 votes
    4y

    @Mason Moreland thanks for the clarification & correction! 

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