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Page B5 OCTOBER 7 - OCTOBER 13, 2022
ARToberfest
City follows county in renewing contract with CEP The Ocala Metro Chamber and Economic Partnership, which turns 10 this year, has received millions in cash, real estate and utility costs.
File photo: Ocala Arts Festival presented by Fine Arts For Ocala (FAFO) [Meagan Gumpert Photography]
By Jennifer Hunt Murty jennifer@ocalagazette.com
T
he Marion County Board of County Commissioners (MCBOCC) renewed their annual commitment to pay the Ocala Metro Chamber and Economic Partnership, or CEP, $300,000 for its annual economic development efforts. It was passed on the county’s consent agenda without discussion on Sept. 20, 2022. This is the tenth year MCBOCC has entered into a similar agreement with the CEP. For contracts dated October 2014 through September 2017, the county paid the CEP $245,000 annually and for contracts October 2017 through September 2021, $285,000 annually. Since October 2021, the county has paid the CEP $300,000 annually. Although the county did not have on hand the earlier contracts, the Marion County Clerk of Court provided a printout reflecting payments totaling $610,147 in 2012, 2013 and January through September of 2014. The county has paid a total of at least $2,500,147 for economic development services to the CEP since 2012. On Oct. 4, during a regularly scheduled Ocala City Council meeting, council members continued their commitment to pay the CEP $190,000 annually for economic development efforts in a 3-1 vote, with Councilman James Hilty not in attendance. Councilman Jay Musleh, who gave See Local, page A7
“We’re All Mad Here” by Jade Amber, Oil painting, 24x36”, at Marion Cultural Alliance
File photo: Ocala Symphony Orchestra [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2020.
Ocala gathers a cornucopia of talent for the first time By Julie Garisto julie@magnoliamediaco.com
A
fter a near miss from Hurricane Ian, a seize-the-day energy fills the air like the early-fall breezes that followed in the wake of the storm. And as we count our blessings and donate to causes that help those whose lives were affected by the
storm, Ocala-area residents can also take advantage of the pleasant weather to celebrate ARToberfest, a new event series that provides diverse entertainment and educational offerings from North Central Floridabased painters, sculptors, photographers, writers, musicians, dancers and other creatives and performers. “This is our first-ever
ARToberfest,” effused Jaye Baillie, executive director of the Marion Cultural Alliance (MCA), which is based at the Brick City Center for the Arts in downtown Ocala. “For our inaugural event, we pulled together local art leaders and we’ve been planning this since early spring. It has a really simple mission: to showcase our arts and cultural assets in
this community. Also, it’s an invitation for residents and art tourists to explore and experience all that we have to offer,” Baillie said. From the Appleton Museum of Art’s “Treasures from Aztlán: Hispanic Women’s Voices” (Oct. 8, 11:30 a.m.) to local theater shows, galleries and studio tours, See ARTober, page A5
Former Sears at Paddock Mall Slated for Redevelopment “Our client plans to unlock the tremendous potential of this site.” Louie Granteed
Tobin Real Estate Senior Vice President
The old Sears store is shown at Paddock Mall in Ocala on Monday, Oct. 3, 2022. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.
By Ocala Gazette Staff
T
he former Sears department store site in Ocala has changed ownership and its new proprietors plan to turn the property into a modern retail and entertainment complex, according to a Tuesday press release by Tobin Real Estate which
represented the buyer, BSD Capital. The 12-plus acre site, acquired via private auction for $3.2 million, is located at 3100 SW College Road, and was formerly part of the Paddock Mall. Seritage SRC Finance LLC, an affiliate of New York-based Seritage Growth Properties, was the seller. The total 148,857-square-foot redevelopment also includes an outparcel building that previously operated as the Sears Automotive Center. The two buildings were shuttered nearly four years ago after Sears Holding Corp., the parent company of Sears and Kmart, filed for bankruptcy and announced plans to close underperforming stores. Now residents of Marion County can look forward to new options in the retail and entertainment scene soon. “Our client plans to unlock the tremendous potential of this site,” said Tobin Real Estate Senior Vice President Louie Granteed, who is leading the project’s leasing efforts,
in the release. “The redeveloped space is suitable for a wide variety of tenants, including big-box retailers, groceries and entertainment operators,” he said. The site’s proximity to the mall, which features anchor stores Belk, Macy’s, JC Penny and more than 90 specialty retail stores, as well as its location off the Southwest 27th Avenue business corridor and nearby Interstate 75, should benefit the development. The Paddock Mall is the only enclosed mall in a 30mile radius and attracts 3.3 million annual visitors from five surrounding counties. “We are already getting significant interest from potential tenants,” said Granteed in the release. South Florida-based Tobin Real Estate is a familyowned real estate, management, and construction company founded in 1926.
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