Cypress Gardens Owners Mull Siegel's Buy Offer

ORLANDO-In an unconventional deal, Orlando timeshare developer David A. Siegel has offered to buy the shuttered 67-year-old, 230-acre Cypress Gardens water attraction for an estimated $17 million or $73,913 per acre ($1.70 per sf) and then resell the property immediately to the state, area brokers and Siegel’s aides confirm to GlobeSt.com. Siegel was in Las Vegas attending to his other commercial properties and couldn’t be immediately reached for comment.

The state is specifically interested in saving the 36-acre botanical gardens section and the most historical parts of Cypress Gardens, according to sources in the governor’s office. The state could accomplish that task by buying a conservation easement and not the entire park from an owner or owners, an Orlando real estate appraiser tells GlobeSt.com.

“That could throw another wrench into the sale proceedings,” says the appraiser, who has completed assignments for the state in the past.