A Miami developer who wants to build 4,000 homes and apartments atop a World War II-era bombing range near Orlando International Airport is suing the federal government for cleanup costs.
John Brunetti won unanimous approval from the Orlando City Council for the development, despite the objections of some nearby residents, in February. At the time, he and others made it clear further cleanup of bombs was needed.
Now Brunetti is asking an Orlando federal judge to order the government to pay him at least $30.5 million, which is the best estimate he and his company have obtained from inspectors and contractors. Brunetti alleges he’s already shelled out $11.5 million for cleanup and wetlands remediation.
According to the lawsuit, Brunetti plans to finish cleanup of the area by mid-2018. He cites the federal government’s CERCLA law, or Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980.
Brunetti’s grandfather purchased thousands of acres, including the former Pinecastle Bomb Range, near the airport in 1956, passing it down to his son and grandson. Since then, nearby areas were swallowed up by sprawl from Orlando, including the upscale Lake Nona developments.
The most immediate plans for development would be on a 1,500-acre tract, where Brunetti and the city have envisioned an area called Vista Park.
The development would see as many as 4,300 homes and apartments, plus about 20,000 square feet each of office and commercial space, built on land once occupied by the Pinecastle Jeep Range. During the Second World War, soldiers practiced firing machine guns, launching rockets, strafing convoys and dropping bombs there, and many explosives are thought to still be buried there. Brunetti told city officials a private cleanup would make the property safe.
The lawsuit offers some more insight into what’s being found by private companies that Brunetti has hired, Alabama-based Buffalo Restoration. The company calls the bombs Munitions and Explosives of Concern, or MEC, and unexploded ordnance, or UXO.
“Buffalo Restoration has encountered many and various types of MEC and munitions debris... including 2.36" rockets, rocket warheads, and practice rockets; 37MM projectiles, including high-explosive 37MM projectiles; parts of practice bombs and general purpose bombs; various other UXO, including explosive bomb tail fuzes, high-explosive 75MM projectiles, pyrotechnic devices, high-explosive fuzes including live high velocity aircraft base fuzes, rifle grenades, and unfired 37MM cartridges with propellant; small arms projectiles; and various discarded military munitions,” the lawsuit says.
During City Council meetings, some residents expressed worry about the impact thousands of new residents will have on local roads and schools, and some said the cleanup should be done by the government. Many residents lived through a previous scare in 2007, when bombs were found at İllegal Bahis Odyssey Middle School — forcing a cleanup conducted by the Army Corps of Engineers.
Vista Park and its sister development, Starwood, would bring 10,000 new homes to the burgeoning Lake Nona area.
(This is a developing story, check back for updates.)
Contact me with a business news tip at pbrinkmann@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5660; Twitter is @PaulBrinkmann
Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen will turn the Redbury Hotel in Hollywood into a club for entrepreneurs. (Jan. 31, 2017)
Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen will turn the Redbury Hotel in Hollywood into a club for entrepreneurs. (Jan. 31, 2017)
Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen will turn the Redbury Hotel in Hollywood into a club for entrepreneurs. (Jan. 31, 2017)
Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen will turn the Redbury Hotel in Hollywood into a club for entrepreneurs. (Jan. 31, 2017)
Uber faced criticism for sending drivers to the airport and suspending surge pricing, while Lyft co-founders announced they would donate $1 million to the American Civil Liberties Union. (Jan. 30, 2017)
Uber faced criticism for sending drivers to the airport and suspending surge pricing, while Lyft co-founders announced they would donate $1 million to the American Civil Liberties Union. (Jan. 30, 2017)
After finally breaking a record and clearing 20,000 points, the market and local companies took a hit following Donal Trump's immigration ban.
After finally breaking a record and clearing 20,000 points, the market and local companies took a hit following Donal Trump's immigration ban.
Americans who were misled by two mortgage servicers while trying to save their homes from foreclosure will be compensated. (Jan. 25, 2017)
Americans who were misled by two mortgage servicers while trying to save their homes from foreclosure will be compensated. (Jan. 25, 2017)
Wi-fi connectivity has become an expectation for any large event. The global market for optical transceivers, which serve as the access points needed to keep wi-fi users logged into large locations’ networks, grew to $4.6 billion in 2015, up more than 40 percent from $3.2 billion two years earlier.
Wi-fi connectivity has become an expectation for any large event. The global market for optical transceivers, which serve as the access points needed to keep wi-fi users logged into large locations’ networks, grew to $4.6 billion in 2015, up more than 40 percent from $3.2 billion two years earlier.
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
