By agreeing to the tentative proposal, the company is forsaking the possibility of substantial long-term gross profits, Charles "Chip" Abele, a Southern Facilities co-managing director, tells GlobeSt.com.

Acknowledging that a windfall of $5.6 million is considerable, Abele also argues the deal could provide the company with substantial goodwill value when it comes to its long-term relationship as a developer in Broward County.

"Certainly, (the net profit) figured into our math," Abele says. "We're businessmen as well as good citizens." He adds, "One of the first things you learn in business school is how to earn more money faster."

It would probably take the company five years, maybe more, to see a profitable return on its investment by developing the site into a property similar to the 700,000 sf of industrial spec space the company has completed so far in the 106-acre Seneca Industrial Park at Hallandale Beach Boulevard and Interstate 95.

"It's worth a lot more money as an industrial property," Abele tells GlobeSt.com. "Our gross profits would have been in the neighborhood of $30 million. But we were really thinking seriously it might be better for our business to forego the park because of the altruistic value."

The proposed sale, which is scheduled to close in 90 days, actually is $100,000 less than the lower of two recent appraisals on the property, according to a memo County Administrator Roger J. Desjariais provided county commissioners.

The price is also substantially less than the $389,976 the county paid per acre in an earlier deal to preserve green space in the city of Hollywood, FL.

"While the developer stands to make a profit, the fact is we have no control nor do we know all of the circumstances that surround this deal or (the) negotiations with AT&T," according to the memo.

"Given Broward's real estate market, it is not unreasonable to assume that each property acquisition will likely result in a profit for the owner of record."