OKEECHOBEE – The property previously used by the Okeechobee School for Boys will be transferred to Indian River State College, under House Bill 1603 which was signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis on June 21.
The 205-acre property is between U.S. 441 N. and Taylor Creek, northwest of Williamson Ditch.
In 1956, the Okeechobee County Board of County Commissioners purchased, at the county’s sole cost and expense, approximately 1,100 acres of land from Caloosa Ranch, Inc. The county then conveyed this property at no cost to the State of Florida, for the specific purpose of housing the Florida School for Boys at Okeechobee.
Portions of the Florida School for Boys at Okeechobee property have been vacant for many years, and there are currently 96 old and abandoned derelict structures on the property.
The facility was privatized in 1982 by the non-profit Eckard Foundation and renamed the Eckard Youth Development Center. In 2009 the for-profit G4S Youth Services took control of the property.
In 2017 G4S Youth Services was renamed TrueCore Behavioral after being bought by BHSB Holdings Inc. TrueCore lost the state contract in December 2020. The Department of Juvenile Justice has closed the facility.
Since the facility closed, Okeechobee County officials have been lobbying the State of Florida to return the property to the county.
At their Oct. 6, 2022 meeting, commissioners agreed to support efforts by Indian River State College to obtain ownership of the property. IRSC will work with the Okeechobee County Economic Development Corporation to develop the property. “Ultimately the idea is to get the state-owned property back to the county so we can develop it and support our economy,” said Russ Brown of IRSC at that meeting.
“It’s going to take a property manager to manage it,” said then-Commission Chairman Terry Burroughs. He said IRSC is better equipped than the county to manage the property.
Brown said the existing leases on portions of the property by the South Florida Water Management District and Okeechobee Utility Authority will continue. IRSC’s initial plan will be to build a data center. According to Brown, the abandoned structures on the site are in poor condition and will not be usable.
Prior to any development, IRSC plans to double check for human remains. In an April 5, 2023 meeting with the Okeechobee City Council, Brown said they are certain they will not find any remains but want to be thorough. Three days of searching using cadaver dogs in 2015 revealed no remains.
Cathy Womble and Richard Marion contributed to this article.
