Watchtower Buys Former FAA Training Facility in Palm Coast for $7,025,000
The facility was owned by Embry Riddle and had been leased to the FAA. Watchtower plans to use the facility in much the same manner as did the FAA.
By Toby Tobin Add a Comment
Palm Coast, FL – June 30, 2014 – Watchtower, an entity ofJehovah’s Witnesses, purchased the former FAA training facility in Palm Coast from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University for $7,025,000. The sale closed last Friday. Tom Tallaksen, of WatsonRealty’s Palm Coast office, represented the buyer. Claude Gardner, ofPrudential Commercial Real Estate in Daytona Beach, represented the seller.
The facility is at 4500 SE Palm Coast Pkwy, between the eastbound and westbound lanes, just west of the Toll Bridge. The 13.45acre property has a 53,504 square foot administrative building and two 44,704 square foot dormitories, each with 100 rooms. The Flagler County Property Appraiser‘s assessed value is $8,891,305. For years, the property was leased from Embry Riddle by the FAA as a training facility. That lease expired at the end of 2012 when the FAA relocated their training mission and was not renewed.
“The people from Watchtower were great to work with. They are a quality organization,” said Rodney Cruise, V.P. for Administration at Embry Riddle. “As the seller, we wanted to make sure any buyer would continue to provide Palm Coast with the same level of economic activity as the FAA had and that they would maintain the beauty of the location. We could not be more pleased with the outcome.”
Watchtower plans to use the site as a training facility in much the same manner as did the FAA. No major renovations are planned or needed. “Embry Riddle had been a good steward of the property. Everything had been maintained at a high level,” said Tallaksen.