Prime Airport Area Tract Sells for Nearly $4M

Longtime area citrus grower Earl M. Crittenden and his wife, Helen J. Crittenden, sold the strategically located dirt on Boggy Creek Road to Centerline Homes which took title to the property as North Shore LLC and Boggy Creek LLC, according to Orange County real estate records. The Crittendens, one of the largest citrus grove operators in Central Florida at one time, had owned the 100-acre tract for 30 years, brokers familiar with the deal tell GlobeSt.com.

"Orlando has been rapidly running out of industrial land for the past few years," says Lisa M. DeVore, research director in the local office of Advantis Real Estate Services Co. "Companies that require large tracts for the development of distribution centers have been forced out into peripheral areas, including Lake, Osceola and Polk counties."

DeVore adds, "The recent sale of International Corporate Park, a 2,400-acre, fully entitled industrial park in Orange County, has further tightened the availability of land as the new owner plans to develop the property as a mixed-use residential project."

In other newly recorded area land sales, SouthTrust Bank paid Orlando Triangle LLC $925,000, or $770,833 per acre, for a corner 1.2-acre lot at Dr. Phillips Boulevard and Della Drive in southwest Orange County. At $17.70 per sf, the price ranks with recent retail land transactions on tourist-oriented International Drive, brokers who have done deals in both submarkets, tell GlobeSt.com.

In neighboring Seminole County, Dix Ventures Inc. purchased 26 acres off Markham Woods Road, south of Lake Mary Boulevard in Seminole County, for $4 million or $153,846 per acre. Dante and Marlana Bichette sold the land for about $3.53 per sf. Markham Woods Road is one of Seminole County's most affluent neighborhoods, brokers note.