A beloved reactional park in the heart of rural Southwest Florida is closing down after this weekend.
Lazy Springs was a place where children rode their first dirt bikes. It was a place where Jeep enthusiasts tested their buggy’s might at climbing over rocks and mounds of mud and sand. And it was a place to also soak in the stillness atop a kayak.
Wedged between Hendry, Collier and Lee counties, this gem of a park in Felda is going away after Texas land-owners sold the property.
“It's been a business that we've, we started from scratch and have grown it to what in fact, it is. So I'm gonna miss it all,” said Bill McDaniel.
McDaniel has been involved with the park for 13 years, both as an owner and then as someone who rents the land.
The Collier County Commissioner said his lease was not renewed and the decision to close the park was out of his control.
MORE
- Lazy Springs Recreation Park's future unknown after it closes at end of November
- 'More than just a park' -- Lazy Springs Recreational Park operators confirm closure; follows $5M property sale
The land, he tells WGCU News, will revert back to a mining operation.
McDaniel previously owned the land when it was used for mining.
“It's been a big part of our life. We've had that operation going now for a little over 13 years, and having, having it go away," he said pausing, "you know, change is inevitable."
A Fort Myers company called S&O Ranch, LLC now owns the land. Multiple attempts to reach the owner were unsuccessful beyond a brief initial contact early in October.
McDaniel said the Texas company he’s been leasing from told him the land was reverting back to a mine.
McDaniel will miss his park.
"So there's kids that have been coming there since they were pups. But ... as of November 30, it's over. "
According to the Hendry County Property Appraiser web site, the sale was made on Sept. 22 from Lazy Ventures LLC of Prosper, Texas, to S&O Ranch LLC of Fort Myers for $5 million.
Previously, the property was sold in 2019 for $600,400 from Riverpoint Bridge LLC to Lazy Ventures LLC, Big Island Excavating Inc, Shaggy Cypress Mine LLC, Lazy Springs LLC, Neese Pierce T Estate Of, Ivey James E Jr, McDaniel William L Jr, PDJW LLC.
The property sold is listed as vacant commercial and "pits." Included are several sections from the Hendry County line south along Route 82 to just north of Calumet Road.
S&O is listed with properties in Hendry, Lee and Collier Counties.
A person listed as an S&O manager in state business records, Sana Abuoqab, spoke briefly to WGCU Sunday.
Asked about the future of the property, she said: "We're trying to figure it out. We just signed for it."
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