Tavares city officials and sources at the packing company confirm to GlobeSt.com that a contract has been signed with an undisclosed developer for the Lake Dora-situated tract. The plant is being demolished. The new owner is expected to consider a mix of condominiums, retail, restaurants and office space on the site, area brokers in a position to know tell GlobeSt.com.
The speculated price for the property is $7 million or about $1 million per acre. At about $22.96 per sf, the sale would easily rank as the largest of its kind here in the last decade, area brokers tell GlobeSt.com. A previous contract for the property fell through.
Lake Region Packing Association officials confirm they have had about 12 offers for the site with only three considered "serious." The property includes the main plant and two parcels on Ruby Street. The company had offered the site to the city and the county for $4 million, or $571,429 per acre, last year but neither governmental body had the funding to consider a purchase.
For Tavares, the county seat, redeveloping the seven-acre site quickly is important because the city currently receives $8,000 annually in property tax revenue. The site is assessed for tax purposes at $1.5 million. A company-commissioned appraisal in 1995 put the site at $4.1 million. A 2002 appraisal valued the property at $6.9 million. The plant employed about 300 workers during peak orange and grapefruit processing seasons but the workforce dropped to about 110 in the off season.
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