Dunedin opens Gladys E. Douglas Preserve after citizens helped save it

DUNEDIN — These 44 acres of native scrub and endangered foliage almost became another subdivision in Florida’s most densely populated county.

Two years ago, a bulldozer rolled onto the land for soil testing, ready to make way for more homes in this growing state and more profit for a developer.

But then came an unprecedented feat of environmental activism between citizens and local government. Dunedin, Pinellas County and private donors banded together to raise $10 million to buy the land in May 2021, ensuring the land will stay wild forever.

On Saturday, the city opened the first phase of the Gladys E. Douglas Preserve, fulfilling the dying wish of its namesake and giving residents access to a natural oasis they helped save. After nearly two years of preparation by the city and county, the public has a chance to wander native sand pine scrub and get a glimpse of Florida rosemary — some of the last remaining bush of its kind in Pinellas.

“We can walk through there and think about what Florida used to be like before we built all the condos and shopping centers,” said Dave Perkey of the Pinellas County Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society.

The first phase of the preserve at the corner of Virginia Avenue and Keene Road includes a half-mile of trails and signage to identify plants along the way.

Last year, Dunedin also purchased Jerry Lake on the northeast edge of the Douglas property using $500,000 of parkland impact fees.

The second phase, expected to open in 2025, will open public access to Jerry Lake and the eastern portion of the property with construction of a fishing pier, a canoe and kayak launch, restrooms, a picnic pavilion, a wildlife observation platform and more trails. The addition of Jerry Lake will expand the preserve to 124 acres.

But much of the northern half of the preserve will remain inaccessible to the public for conservation. The newly installed trails wind through the southern half of the property. They give visitors a glimpse of the rare Florida rosemary and the pale reindeer moss that grows among it “like Florida snow,” as city arborist Craig Wilson puts it.

“This is a preserve, so there’s not going to be a lot of active recreation activities,” said Dunedin Parks and Recreation Director Vince Gizzi. “This is what people wanted. We wanted to make sure we saved the land, saved it from development and keep it in its natural state.”

For generations, these 44 acres were owned by the Douglas family, early settlers of the Dunedin area.

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As of 1942, much of the site was cleared of native scrub and planted with citrus, according to a survey by Bowman and Blair Ecology and Design. But after citrus growing ended on the property sometime between 1957 and 1970, the oaks, sand pine and scrub regenerated.

Today, the property is filled with 143 native plant species, the survey states. Eleven are endangered, threatened or exploited, including Curtiss’ milkweed and giant orchid.

There are also significant invasive plants, but Gizzi said the city will develop a removal program in order to foster native species.

During her life, philanthropist Gladys Douglas loved to walk this land and listen to the birds. It “was her soul,” said her widower Bob Hackworth Sr., 91, who still lives on the homestead on the east side of the property.

She moved to the Dunedin area in 1950 after working as an administrative assistant for the Air Force and Navy in Washington, D.C.

She met Stanley Douglas in her job as a sales agent for his Douglas Arms Construction Company and married into one of Pinellas’ founding families in 1965. After Stanley Douglas died in 1988, she married Hackworth.

For more than a decade, she worked to convince city and county officials to buy her land and preserve it so the proceeds could be donated to charity.

She planned with her estate attorney and kept extensive notes on the project with her personal assistant. But Douglas did not memorialize this wish in her will.

After she died in July 2019 at 95, her stepson, Bob Hackworth Jr., pushed the issue with local government. With appraisal prices topping $11 million, it went nowhere.

After more than a year with no action, attorney Nathan Hightower, a co-trustee of Douglas’ estate, said he had an obligation to sell the property and disburse the proceeds.

In August 2020, the Tampa Bay Times reported that the land was under contract for $14.5 million with Pulte Homes, the third-largest homebuilder in the U.S.

Michelle Birnbaum, an archaeologist who lives across the street from the property, read the story and rallied neighbors for sign-waving events at the site. A Facebook page dedicated to the cause run by biologist Nichole Mattheus helped residents organize and lobby city and county officials.

In late October 2020, the estate’s contract with Pulte fell through. Hightower gave local government two months to make an offer. That week, Dunedin redirected $2 million allocated for a downtown parking garage toward buying the land.

During a ceremony before the ribbon cutting on Saturday, city officials tearfully recalled the agonizing months of phone calls, Zoom meetings and strategy sessions it took to secure the remaining funding during the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

At first, the city and county “were not on the same page,” City Manager Jennifer Bramley acknowledged.

“There were so many times during that negotiation when we all got discouraged and I really wasn’t sure that this was going to happen,” Bramley said. “You felt this slipping through our fingers.”

But by December 2020, Pinellas County pledged $3.5 million, which then covered the $5.5 million appraisal based on the land’s existing zoning of one-unit per acre. The Pinellas Community Foundation stepped up to be the repository for private donations.

Stu Sjouwerman, founder of Clearwater cyber security company KnowBe4, and his wife, Rebecca, pledged $2 million. Hightower set a firm price of $10 million but gave them more time.

Residents organized a fundraiser at a brewery and online campaigns. Then came another $2 million from an anonymous donor. By Feb. 1, 2021, city leaders stood in City Hall to announce they met the $10 million goal by raising $4.5 million from more than 1,100 donors.

Through tears, Mayor Julie Ward-Bujalski told the dozens gathered on Saturday that the story of how the community and local government came together to save some of the last green space in Pinellas County is a legacy that will be passed on to their grandchildren and beyond.

“This will never be forgotten,” she said. “All the future generations will remember this.”

If you go:

The Gladys E. Douglas Preserve is open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to sunset. It is located at 1900 Virginia Ave. in Dunedin. Alcohol, smoking and dogs are prohibited.