ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla — First Coast News has confirmed that the company interested in acquiring 600 acres of conservation land within the GTM Reserve has retracted its application as of early Monday evening. 

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection stated, “The applicant has notified the Florida Department of Environmental Protection about its decision to withdraw the land exchange request. Consequently, this item will be excluded from the upcoming Acquisition and Restoration Council agenda.”

The applicant, an enigmatic company known as The Upland, LLC, was proposing to secure 600 acres within the Guana River Wildlife Management Area, located in the northeast part of St. Johns County. In return, The Upland, LLC offered the state 3,000 acres consisting of a patchwork of land spread across four counties within the state.

“This is a major victory for our community, our environment, and for the future of Florida’s natural treasures,” said State Rep. Kim Kendall. “Thank you to everyone who signed petitions, sent emails, and raised their voices — your efforts made all the difference. This was truly a team effort, and I’m incredibly proud of what we accomplished together.”

“It appears they want to do some sort of development. That’s the way it looks,” Kendall told First Coast News earlier Monday. 

Kendall was appalled at the idea of developing the conservation land, and she led the charge to stop the swap. 

In fact, Monday morning, she told First Coast News, she wanted to make a different deal. 

“I’m totally prepared to sponsor an appropriations request to request money to purchase their 104 acres,” Kendall said.

According to the vague agenda item information provided by the state, the applicant owns 104 acres right next to the 600 acres it wants in the Guana River Wildlife Management Area. 

According to our research, the only approximately 100-acre parcel of land next to the Guana River WMA is owned by another mysterious company called The New Outpost, LLC, and The New Outpost, LLC is registered to the same lawyer’s address as that of the land swap applicant (The Upland, LLC). 

Even though the land swap application has been withdrawn, Kendall still wants the state to obtain that 104 acres — that the Upland, LLC, says it owns —  and preserve it.

“For me, this highlighted the situation not of the 600 acres, but their 104. That’s the last little space in this 10,000 acres of green space that needs to be acquired and seal it off for state land,” Kendall told First Coast News. 

She doesn’t know who is behind The Upland, LLC. Rumors swirled about who it was. She wants to know, even though the land swap is dead.

Two of the big names mentioned in rumors were Dream Finders Homes and Gate Petroleum.

First Coast News reached out to both, and both responded, stating it’s not them. 

Dream Finders Homes told First Coast News, it has “no ownership in The Upland, LLC and is not involved with or does not have any interest in the land swap application.”

Gate Petroleum said, “GATE Petroleum Company and the Peyton family have no ownership or affiliation with The Upland, LLC or its efforts to swap land with the State of Florida in exchange for property within Guana.” In addition, “In fact, the Peyton family is opposed to the proposed Guana land swap proposal.”