Tampa Port Authority buys land for expansion

BUYER: Tampa Port Authority, Tampa

SELLER: South Bay Corp. & Industrial Park Inc.

PROPERTY: 12602 and 12612 S. U.S. 41, Gibsonton

PRICE: $8.97 million

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Frank Charles Miranda PA, Tampa

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: The Tampa Port Authority purchased 110 acres adjacent to its Port Redwing facilities in south Hillsborough County for $8.97 million.

The price equated to $81,583 per acre.

The property, combined with the Port Redwing and the Hanson Pipe properties, gives the port authority 250 acres for future development.

Having acquired the Port Redwing property in the late '90s, the Tampa Port Authority has already developed a dock and expanded the road and utilities for its tenant, Andino Cements LLC. The port acquired the nearby 31-acre Hanson Pipe property north of Pembroke Road in early 2011 for $4.97 million.

“This 250 acres should carry us for 10 to 15 years of development,” says Jim Renner, director of real estate for the Tampa Port Authority. “We're still in the development phases, so we haven't determined exactly what we'll do out there.”

The 110-acre site is adjacent to the CSX railway mainline and was expected to allow the port to extend direct rail connections to Port Redwing.

The Tampa Port Authority used its cash reserves to buy the property. It could use those reserves, grants and/or its bonding capabilities to finance improvements to the property.

The 5,000-acre Port of Tampa is one of the nation's largest ports.