March 29, 2024

Development

Small Town, Big Plans

Cynthia Barnett | 9/1/2007

Forested with tall pines and dotted with prisons, tiny Union County and its county seat, Lake Butler, haven’t experienced much development creep from Gainesville, 30 miles south, and Jacksonville, 50 miles northeast.


CHANGES IN THE WORKS:
Plum Creek Timber Co. is planning a major development on 3,861 acres it owns in Lake Butler.
[Photo: Tom Hurst]

One issue: More than half of the county is owned by Plum Creek Timber Co., the largest private landowner in the U.S. and second-largest in Florida. The lonely forestland has helped keep Union so far off the beaten path, in fact, that it is the only county in Florida that has no lodging facilities whatsoever, according to Visit Florida, the state’s tourism agency — no place for visitors or passers-through to spend the night.

But preliminary plans unveiled by Plum Creek this summer suggest change is coming. In meetings with local officials, business owners and residents, the company has rolled out a plan to annex 3,861 acres into the city of Lake Butler, including most of the town’s signature lake, as a first step toward a master-planned development.

The Seattle-based company has turned to real estate in recent years to diversify operations in the wake of softening timber prices. While the decline in the U.S. housing market has brought lumber prices down with it, rural land values remain firm, says the company, which expects increasing revenue from its real estate division this year compared to 2006.

Plum Creek’s Florida director, Todd Powell, says the company hasn’t yet decided whether the Lake Butler project will proceed as a development of regional impact. “But I can tell you that we are so invested in this community, we want to make sure we’re involved throughout,” he says. “This is not one where we’ll sell it off and let someone else do it all.”

In other rural parts of the nation, such as Maine’s Moosehead Lake area, Plum Creek’s development plans have met fierce opposition. But Lake Butler and Union County officials are optimistic. The county is designated a Rural Area of Critical Economic Concern, with relatively low income and taxable values compared to state averages. Developing via master plan, officials say, rather than in the disjointed sprawl that covers so much of Florida, will give Lake Butler an opportunity to retain its waterfront and woods while growing new business. Maybe even a place to spend the night.

Tags: Northeast, Housing/Construction

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