A Florida company has been revealed as the winner in a bidding war for a prime piece of undeveloped property in the Animas Valley previously owned by the U.S. Forest Service that sold for nearly $1.7 million in August.

Bidding opened in June for the 20-acre property, about 8 miles north of Durango at 373 Trimble Lane, behind the Trimble True Value hardware store. The online auction closed a few months later, with the winning bid at $1,690,000.

At the time, the U.S. Forest Service said it could not disclose the winners until the sale was finalized and the property deeded.

A spokesman with the General Services Administration, which facilitated the sale, said Tuesday the buyer is listed as Kurt Daniel & Co. LLC, based at 1385 South Wickham Road in Melbourne, Florida.

According to federal records, the manager of the company is listed as Kurt D. Carter. Attempts to reach Carter and the company were unsuccessful.

Bidding went live for the Trimble property June 13.

The property in question has been a long-vacant horse pasture with a few structures on it, surrounded by luxury subdivisions. The Forest Service a few years ago announced its intent to sell the property, saying the agency no longer has a use for it.

The Animas Valley is one of the only parts in unincorporated La Plata County with zoning. The property is zoned “neighborhood commercial,” which according to county records, carries no “uses permitted by right.”

Instead, there are a variety of possible development options for the property under a special-use permit. That process requires a developer to propose the project to the county and ultimately obtain a special-use permit.

Recently, another developer proposed a new 28-lot RV park and tavern on 4 acres adjacent to the property.

For the Forest Service’s part, the agency has said it will use money from the sale to help fund a new office building for the Columbine Ranger District in Bayfield.

James Simino, Columbine district ranger, said the sale of the Trimble property will not cover the complete cost of removing the existing office building and constructing a new one. He said the Forest Service is in the design stages of the new office, and the agency doesn’t have a timeline for when construction will start.

jromeo@durangoherald.com