875-acre parcel sold for $52 million to West Palm Beach developer

PASCO — More than 870 acres of agricultural property was sold in Pasco County Dec. 21 for $52 million.

The 875 acres, on the southeast corner of State Road 52 and Interstate 275, will be rezoned and the new owners will build a mixed-use development that will be part of the Connected City overlay district.

Ryan Sampson, who brokered the sale for Eshenbaugh Land Company, says the buyer was West Palm Beach-based Columnar Holdings. He says it “likely will be two years or so to get rezoned and permitted before going vertical.” 

Connected City, according to the county's website, is a “state-initiated pilot program that is unique to Pasco County, and will be the first planned community to be built from the ground-up with a fiber network that will provide the fastest gigabit internet service in the country.”

According to an FAQ on the site, the internet service will be available to any person and business in the city and is to “become a catalyst to attract start-up technologies and other businesses to locate here, thus generating high-paying jobs to Pasco County residents, while also providing a unique, contemporary lifestyle for those who choose to reside in this master planned mixed-use suburban and urban design setting.”

Sampson, in a statement announcing the sale, says  there had been offers on the property before, but the seller, Kingsley Asset Management, “waited for the right partner to bring the proposed development to life.”

Eshenbaugh, with this sale, has closed or has pending contracts worth $750 million within the 7,000-acre Connected City overlay.