In December, the Georgia State Properties Commission unanimously approved the acquisition of 10,015 acres of land in Houston County for $28.7 million from Oaky Woods Properties LLC. The Middle Georgia acreage is part of 16,000 acres in Oaky Woods west of the Ocmulgee River already under lease by the state.

At $2,865 per acre, the acquisition cost is almost double the property’s price in 2004, which is when the State of Georgia declined the opportunity to acquire it previously.