With little time to spare, the Broward County Commission is set to decide Tuesday whether to try to acquire the Dania Beach headquarters of Spirit Airlines to serve as a new county government center.
The budget airline abruptly went out of business in May, leaving behind a six-story, 180,000-square-foot office building just east of Interstate 95 between Stirling Road and Griffin Road. Spirit also had more than 900 parking spaces and an additional 108,085-square-foot training center.
The entire property is scheduled to go up for bankruptcy auction July 22.
Broward County has long recognized the need for a new headquarters and was already in the process of securing a new location at 201 W. Broward Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale. The renovation and upgrading of that site to meet the county’s needs is estimated at $663 million.
Last week, county commissioners were presented with estimates putting the cost of the Spirit headquarters acquisition and transformation at around $450 million. Some officials, including Mayor Mark Bogen and Commissioner Michael Udine, savored the prospect of saving taxpayers more than $200 million.
Others, including Vice Mayor Robert McKinzie and Commissioners Steve Geller and Hazelle Rogers, cautioned that the Spirit site comes with a plethora of unanswered questions.
A motion on Tuesday’s meeting agenda authorizes County Administrator Monica Cepero to enter bids of up to $100 million (plus associated fees and costs).
The money would come from the county’s reserve funds to avoid the need to take on new debt. Part of the motion would require the county to waive some of its usual procedures involving public notice because there is not enough time before the auction to follow them. The bidding would still comply with all state laws, according to the motion’s language, which was written by the County Attorney.
Rafael Olmeda can be reached at rolmeda@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4457.