Photo: Carlton Ward Jr./wildpath
Photo: Tampa Bay Times
Photo: Rendering: Ellison Developmen
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Southwest Florida Roundup
Big Deal
SPOTLIGHT
The Horse Creek Ranch conservation easement deal, costing $51 million and spanning more than 16,000 acres across DeSoto and Hardee counties, ranks as one of Florida’s biggest single conservation agreements in 20 years. As part of the easement, the Carlton family-owned ranch will continue to be used to raise cattle while the land will be permanently protected from development.
The tract includes 4,000 acres of wetlands and more than 12 miles of frontage along Horse Creek, a tributary of the Peace River, which supplies drinking water to more than 1 million Southwest Floridians. The deal was funded by both the state of Florida (11,958 acres) and the Southwest Florida Water Management District (4,357 acres).
“Horse Creek Ranch is critical to the health of the Peace River and the Charlotte Harbor Estuary, one of the most important recreational fisheries in the state and a primary economic engine of Southwest Florida,” says Julie Morris, who helped broker the deal as director of the Florida Conservation Group and a program manager of the National Wildlife Refuge Association. “The property is also an important part of the Florida Wildlife Corridor, serving as a keystone for wildlife-ecological corridors connecting the Peace River and Myakka River watersheds and providing opportunities for panthers, bears and other species to move and persist in an otherwise rapidly developing region.”
DEVELOPMENT
- Charlotte County commissioners approved preliminary plans for two subdivisions, one with 110 single-family lots on the eastern side of the county and another planned for 82 single-family lots in Port Charlotte.
- A 51-home housing development is planned for a 50-acre tract in Golden Gates Estates near Naples. Fort Myers-based Seagate Development Group is the developer.
- The St. Petersburg Yacht Club announced it plans to replace its downtown waterfront headquarters with a $40-million building within five years.
- Developers Property Markets Group/PMG Affordable and Feldman Equities have proposed building a 111-unit affordable housing building near St. Petersburg’s Tropicana Field.
- A 96-unit condo complex and a 92-room hotel are planned for a 3.7-acre tract along U.S. 19 in New Port Richey.
- Construction is underway on Casa Bel-Mar, a 100-unit apartment complex being developed by the Tampa Housing Authority, the city of Tampa, Hillsborough County, Archway Partners and Signature Property Services.
GOVERNMENT
- Lakeland, Bartow, Lake Wales and nearly a dozen other Polk County communities will share $4.1 million in state grants to bolster broadband service in areas where connectivity is lacking.
- Polk County’s Fort Meade will get nearly $1 million in state funds to upgrade stormwater infrastructure in the city’s downtown district.
HEALTH CARE
- Collier County is the healthiest county in Florida, according to a 2023 report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. The report also determined that Union County is Florida’s unhealthiest county. The study looked at more than 90 health factors, including life expectancy, premature death, low birthweight and frequency of physical and mental distress.
HIGHER EDUCATION
- The University of South Florida has been invited to join the Association of American Universities, which includes many of the country’s top research universities.
INSURANCE
- Equity firms Bregal Sagemount and FTV Capital have purchased a minority share of Neptune Flood, a St. Petersburg-based flood insurance company founded in 2018. Bregal Sagemount is based in New York City and FTV Capital is based in San Francisco.
REAL ESTATE
- Downtown Sarasota’s Mira Mar Plaza, home to 40 businesses including the popular Caragiulos Italian American Restaurant, has sold for $17.3 million. The new owner — Miramar Acquisition Company — says it plans to maintain the property, which last sold in 1989 for $1.8 million. A deal to sell the historic property last year and replace it with residential and commercial development fell through.
RETAIL
- The Citrus Park Town Center, a mall in northwest Tampa, has replaced a one-time Sears department store with a 125,000-sq.-ft. entertainment center called Elev8.
- A combination food truck court and marina is under construction in Cape Coral. The $20-million facility, to open in 2024, will have space for 10 food trucks and slips for 30 boats.
SPORTS
- Trustees at the University of South Florida announced the projected cost for the university’s planned 35,000-seat, on-campus football stadium: $340 million, including $200 million to be financed over 20 years. The USF football team currently plays at Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium, home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
TRANSPORTATION
- Lee County commissioners agreed to spend $26.8 million to build a 2.5-mile, four-lane extension of the Three Oaks Parkway The project is scheduled to start this year.
