"They are doing what every good developer and landowner considers over time," Tom D. Cook, vice president/business development in the Orlando office of Carter & Associates-ONCOR, tells GlobeSt.com. "They are reviewing their assets so that they can position them for the highest and best use."

The city plans to sell a portion of the prime dirt to developers and entrepreneurs, betting the deals will spur new growth, tax and impact fee revenue. City commissioners are studying how much land to sell off. At the same time, they will have to acquire additional nearby tracts from private owners for new wastewater treatment areas.

Under study is a 160-acre uplands tract from a private owner for $2.4 million or $15,000 per acre (34 cents per sf). That dirt is part of a 730-acre tract that would be priced at $10.95 million if sold at the same $15,000-per-acre tag. So far, the city is budgeting $2.1 million for the 160-acre parcel. That would give the dirt a $13,125-per-acre price or 30 cents per sf.

The interchange is planned at County Road 470, seven miles north of the Florida Turnpike's US 27 interchange, north of Clermont, FL. Clermont is 25 miles west of Downtown Orlando.

What makes Leesburg's plans to sell its dirt noteworthy is that the state's Environmental Protection Agency killed a $30 million retail distribution center deal proposed by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. last year. The agency decreed the 200-acre site Wal-Mart sought to buy near the sprayfield was too environmentally sensitive for immediate development.

Leesburg hasn't set a preliminary asking price for the sprayfield dirt, but area land brokers tell GlobeSt.com it probably will be under the $35,000-per-acre number (80 cents per sf) currently asked at the nearby Christopher C. Ford Industrial Park, off US 27 near Groveland, FL in south Lake County.

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Leesburg Betting Land Sales Will Spur New Area Growth and Revenue

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