"This is someone special," he said.

Palm Bay city officials soon may deem his property -- what Berman said could have been an American Indian mound overlooking the Palm Bay, among the oldest in Palm Bay, along with Evan's Grocery in Powell's Subdivision and several establishments in the city's northeast neighborhoods.

The city approved half of a $30,000 effort to fund a historical survey of buildings in the Bayfront redevelopment district. The Bayfront area where Berman's property is stretches from Hiawatha Avenue N.E. south along U.S. 1 to the mouth of the Turkey Creek, and is the centerpiece in the city's push to turn the area into a commercial and entertainment district.

"We applied for a grant. If we get it, then we will carry out a historical survey," City Manager Lee Feldman said.

The city promised to use $15,000 from the taxpayers' general fund contingency account at its Nov. 6 meeting, and is seeking the other $15,000 through grants. The community planning division is expected to carry out the survey.

Berman said he had long admired the property, which boasts two World War I-era homes with carriage houses in the rear. He and his wife bought the property in 1999, and he worked to restore each home by himself.

Old photographs and letters show the land Berman owns was used as a military encampment during the Seminole wars, as an orange grove, and to raise turkeys. The homes feature foundations out of coquina rock, the material used to build Spanish forts in Florida and throughout the Caribbean, as well as former owners' personal touches.