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FDOT has programmed money to buy land for widening I-10 east of SR 87 in Santa Rosa County, and every dollar of it sits in fiscal years 2030 and 2031. Design money comes first, in fiscal year 2027. That gap is the lead time owners along the corridor get, and it is public today.
Is FDOT Planning to Buy Land on I-10 East of SR 87?
Yes. FDOT’s Adopted Work Program 07/01/2026 (B) carries item 413062-8, “SR 8 (I-10) from east of SR 87 to Miller Bluff Road,” classified as add lanes and reconstruct. The program funds three phases on it:
- Design: $5,400,000 in fiscal year 2027.
- Right-of-way purchase: $1,302,400 in fiscal year 2030 and $1,000,000 in fiscal year 2031.
- Right-of-way services: $206,400 in fiscal year 2030.
No construction phase is funded in fiscal years 2027 through 2031, and none of the right-of-way money on this item has been authorized or committed. FDOT lists the item’s status as “adopted, not begun.” On this item, the land purchase is still ahead.
Why Does FDOT Budget the Land Years Before Construction?
Because the phases run in sequence, and design has to finish first. Design produces the right-of-way maps that show which strips, corners, and easements FDOT needs. Only then can appraisers value them and agents make offers. On this item, design money lands three fiscal years before the first purchase dollar.
A work program year shows when money is budgeted, not when a letter reaches a particular owner. The program lists no parcels, notice dates, or negotiation windows. We use the same item-level method in our Alternate US 19 and Gulf Boulevard analysis, and it reads the same way here.
Plans Move From One Program to the Next
The year-to-year change on this item proves the point. FDOT’s fiscal year 2026 through 2030 program funded design on 413062-8 at $4,500,000 and carried no right-of-way money at all. The fiscal year 2027 through 2031 program raised design to $5,400,000 and added the land purchase lines. Owners who check once and stop can miss that shift. If you want the program read for your parcel, Jimerson Birr’s eminent domain and condemnation attorneys do this work item by item.
What Else Is FDOT Buying in Santa Rosa County?
Less than you might expect. The I-10 item accounts for $2,508,800 of the $3,255,885 in right-of-way money programmed countywide for fiscal years 2027 through 2031, about 77 percent. Two nearby items are worth knowing:
- SR 87 (Stewart Street) from US 90 to south of Clear Creek, item 452945-1. $204,200 to purchase and $102,300 in services in fiscal year 2027 on a resurfacing project. FDOT lists this item’s status as right-of-way acquisition begun, so owners here sit further along than those on I-10.
- SR 87 at I-10 interchange improvements, item 458165-1. A $600,000 study phase in fiscal year 2027, with no right-of-way money programmed.
Condemnation cases in Santa Rosa County are heard in circuit court in the First Judicial Circuit. For the I-10 projects to the west, see our Escambia County right-of-way analysis. For another Panhandle corridor, read what FDOT must pay on US 231 in Panama City.
What Does the Lead Time Actually Buy You?
A record, and time to use it. Photograph and measure your property while it is intact: access points, parking, signs, drainage, and improvements near the right-of-way line. Those conditions are hard to reconstruct years later, and they are what appraisers and juries weigh.
Owners who start before the offer avoid the common mistakes that cluster after it. Early review also lets you spot deficiencies in the condemnor’s appraisal instead of reacting to them.
What Must FDOT Pay When It Takes Part of Your Land?
More than the strip itself. Section 73.071(3) covers the value of the property appropriated and, where less than the entire property is taken, damages to the remainder caused by the taking. Subsection (5) excludes value changes that occur after the project scope is known in the market and result solely from knowledge of the project location.
On a partial taking, the damage to what you keep can exceed the value of what FDOT takes. Our guide to severance damages in Florida explains how that loss is measured. Lost access, parking, and signage often drive the number, and a temporary construction easement is compensable too.
Do You Have a Business Damages Claim?
Possibly. Section 73.071(3)(b) allows business damages where the taking is partial, the condemnor is FDOT or another listed public body acquiring a right of way, and the taking may damage or destroy an established business of more than five years’ standing, owned by the party whose land is taken and located on adjoining land that party owns or holds.
Business damages are a separate claim with a separate deadline, and the owner must make the first move. Start with our introduction to business damages, then read how to calculate and prove business damages.
Which Clocks Start When FDOT’s Letter Arrives?
Four, under Section 73.015:
- At least 30 days to respond to the offer before FDOT may file suit, measured from receipt of the notice or the date it is returned as undeliverable.
- 15 business days after your request for FDOT to provide its appraisal, plus right-of-way maps and construction plans to the extent prepared.
- 180 days from the business owner notice, or the date it is returned as undeliverable, for a qualifying business to submit a good faith written offer settling business damages.
- 120 days after FDOT receives that offer and the accompanying business records to accept, reject, or counter by certified mail.
Miss the 180-day deadline without a good faith justification, and the court must strike the business damages claim. FDOT may also proceed under chapter 74, the quick-take process, which runs on its own timelines. Call Jimerson Birr before any of these clocks starts.
Who Pays for Your Lawyer?
In most cases, the condemning authority. Section 73.092(1) bases fees on benefits achieved, the difference, exclusive of interest, between the final judgment or settlement and the last written offer made before you hire an attorney. The schedule is 33 percent of the first $250,000 of benefit, 25 percent of the portion between $250,000 and $1 million, and 20 percent above $1 million.
If you hire counsel before any written offer exists, the baseline becomes the first written offer that follows. Section 73.091(1) requires the condemnor to pay reasonable costs of defense, including appraisal fees and, when business damages are compensable, an accountant’s fee. Section 73.015(4) extends cost and fee recovery to owners who settle before suit. Recovery depends on the outcome, and an owner may be responsible for costs and expenses in addition to any fee.
What Should Santa Rosa County Owners Do Now?
Five things, each easier before the offer:
- Confirm whether your parcel sits near the segment from east of SR 87 to Miller Bluff Road, and track item 413062-8 each July.
- Document the site, with measurements, photographs, and parking counts.
- Pull five years of business financial records if a business operates there.
- Review leases, easements, and title. Title defects and zoning approvals affect who gets paid and how much.
- Retain counsel before responding to any written offer, and prepare for negotiation on your terms.
The full process overview is a good next read.
Talk to Jimerson Birr Before FDOT Talks to You
Jimerson Birr represents Florida property and business owners in condemnation matters brought by the state, counties, municipalities, and utilities. We research corridor projects at the work program item level and publish what we find, so you walk into the first meeting knowing how your project is funded and scheduled.
If you own property or run a business along I-10 in Santa Rosa County, the most useful conversation happens years before the offer, not days after it. Our Florida eminent domain attorneys and real estate development and construction group handle valuation, access, business damages, and land use questions together. Call Jimerson Birr to have your parcel reviewed against the program.