OWC Foundation Closes Sale of Kelly Estate to Fund Mattie Kelly Cultural and Environmental Institute
01/26/2007
The Okaloosa-Walton College Foundation closed January 26 on the sale of 12 acres of the nearly 13 acre Mattie Kelly estate parcel in Destin.
"The cultural and environmental endeavors of a fully funded OWC Mattie Kelly Cultural and Environmental Institute will now move forward," said Dr. Bob Richburg, OWC president. "We are honored to carry on the legacy and vision of this longtime friend of the college."
The residentially zoned property was sold for $8.1 million to Titan Development Enterprises, LLC. The OWC Foundation will continue to own and maintain a more than half-acre parcel that includes Mattie Kelly's mausoleum, which is located on the far western edge of the property. The OWC Foundation moved to finalize the sale by January 31 in order for OWC to be eligible for a potential $5.4 million in state matching funds.
The late Kelly of Destin made a bequest of $500,000 and her residence to the college for the creation of an OWC Mattie Kelly Cultural and Environmental Institute, an entity which OWC established in 1997. The proceeds from the sale will go into the institute's permanent endowment fund through the OWC Foundation. The endowment's earnings will underwrite the cultural and environmental work highlighted in Mrs. Kelly's gift to the college, through an implementation plan approved by the foundation's board of directors. Included will be:
- Naming the entire OWC Arts Center complex in honor of Mrs. Kelly as the "Mattie Kelly Fine and Performing Arts Center" to memorialize Mrs. Kelly's love of the arts and make her dream of a fine arts center for the community a reality;
- Support for biological and marine science studies associated with the Choctawhatchee Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, including the establishment of a Mattie Kelly Distinguished Endowed Teaching Chair in the Environmental Sciences; an annual Mattie Kelly Environmental Symposium on the Choctaw Bay, and support of the OWC Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance's environmental work to monitor and improve the quality of the bay;
- A Mattie Kelly Sculpture and Art Acquisition Collection to bring more art work and exhibitions to the public through the OWC galleries with an emphasis on works that express the coastal heritage of Northwest Florida;
- The establishment of a Mattie Kelly Distinguished Endowed Teaching Chair in Orchestral Music, and other cultural and environmental endeavors in keeping with the goals Mrs. Kelly established for the institute.
