Jeffrey Philip Cynamon

An E&E Publishing Service Greenwire -- Thursday, March 22, 2007 EVERGLADES: Fla. seals $9.5M deal for last parcel of land for restoration project A Florida judge this week approved the $9.5 million sale of the last parcel of West Broward wetlands needed for the state's $365 million Everglades restoration project.   Judge Patti Englander Henning of the Florida 4th District Court of Appeal ordered the South Florida Water Management District to pay the $9.5 million to 21 owners of the land and an additional $2.1 million for interest and owner fees, bringing the total sale value to $11.6 million.   The water district forced the sale of the 45 acres of land in 2004 through the invocation of eminent domain rights. The district appraised the property at $4.8 million, then the appraisal increased to $8.3 million, property owner attorney Jeff Cynamon said. But the land owners valued the property at $10.15 million (Natalie P. McNeal, Miami Herald, March 22). The parcel will eventually be flooded to help restore the natural flow of the Everglades.   The settlement deal may be the highest per-acre price paid by the water district for vacant land set to become part of a reservoir. The area will hold polluted storm water that is now being pumped directly into the Everglades. So far, the district has invested $147 million in land acquisition and project design for the project, water district Project Manager Mike Hind said (Susannah Bryan, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, March 21). -- RJD