The site is at the confluence of U.S. 27, State Road 19 and the Florida Turnpike, directly across from the nine-year-old, 640-acre Christopher C. Ford Industrial Park, a Lake County-owned enterprise. The Economic Development Commission of Mid-Florida Inc. is assisting a prospective buyer for the warehouse undertaking. The EDC declines to identify the prospect.

EDC officials couldn't be reached at GlobeSt.com's publication deadline to learn the size of Crystal Lake Executive Park or the asking prices of the developable tracts. But Lake County land management officials confirm for GlobeSt.com the firm price at its industrial park is $35,000 per acre or 80 cents per sf. There are 122 developable acres remaining.

The Christopher C. Ford park's prices are still about $70,000 under the average $100,000 per-acre price ($2.30 per sf) at most business parks in metro Orlando 500 acres or larger , area brokers tell GlobeSt.com. When the Lake park opened in 1992, for example, the dirt went for $10,000 per acre or 23 cents per sf.

Among the Lake park's tenants are Marriott International, Circuit City, Goodyear, Sprint, Domino's and Home Depot. Marriott thought it had struck gold in 1996 when it bought a 10-acre parcel for $141,000 or 32 cents per sf. The land price rose to $32,000 per acre (73 cents per sf) in 1998 and $35,000 per acre in 2000.

The Crystal Lake Executive Park venture comes as the nearby city of Leesburg (Pop. 16,595) plans to annex a 3,441-acre cattle pasture which its owner, Dr. Clayton Pruitt of Clearwater, FL, hopes to sell off as the area's newest business park. The park has 2,770 developable acres and would be among the five largest industrial locations in Central Florida when completed in 10 years.

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