TAMPA, Fla. — A property investor who purchased a century-old Black cemetery in an online auction after the city of Tampa placed liens on the property and foreclosed says he may reject an offer from the city to buy the historic site.
Nicole Travis, the Economic Development and Opportunity administrator for the city of Tampa, told council members during a Thursday meeting the city made an offer on Memorial Park Cemetery.
She did not specify an amount, but new owner Alexis Arteaga of 2714 West Sligh LLC, said it is around what he paid for it, which was $18,000 plus about $12,000 in additional taxes and fees.
Arteaga, who bought the 20-acre site in a January Hillsborough County auction that lasted less than four minutes, said of the offer, "No, I probably won't accept it."
He said he would like to get a third-party appraisal of the site before further considering an offer.
The Hillsborough County Property Appraiser currently has a $100 assessed value of the cemetery. A spokesperson says it looks at the percentage sold versus the percentage vacant, and if there is still vacant land, then there is still value. However, the land for the cemetery was "sold out" in 2010, meaning there is no more vacant land or inventory to increase value.
Ray Nugent, principal of Tampa-based ValuePros, said there is a strong argument for it not having a higher assessed value.
"The property really can't be used for anything else," he said. "I don't know an appraiser that would even take this on."
Arteaga told 10 Investigates he did not initially know the land was a cemetery when he placed his online bid. He said he only looked at the acreage.
Hillsborough County's foreclosure sale site warns bidders it is their responsibility to research the properties they want to buy. Properties are posted weeks in advance of the sale so that there is enough time for bidders to do their due diligence.
City spokesperson Adam Smith says attorneys offered Arteaga a way out of the deal. Smith says he refused.
"The new owner had 10 days to back out – and his real estate representative spoke to the city attorney’s office about this being a protected cemetery – but he chose to go ahead and close on the purchase," Smith said.
Aileen Henderson of The Cemetery Society says she is disappointed by all parties — the city for placing the cemetery in foreclosure and allowing it to go to auction, and Arteaga for not more quickly working to resolve the issue.
"My anger was not just with the city of Tampa," she said. "My anger now has grown to [Arteaga] because he has a responsibility to the city of Tampa as well, including the Black community and those families that have people buried here," she said.
Emerald Morrow is an investigative reporter with 10 Tampa Bay. Like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter. You can also email her at emorrow@10TampaBay.com. To read more about the search for lost African American burial grounds in the Tampa Bay area, head to wtsp.com/erased.