Bailey Investment Holdings buys Wimauma borrow pit

BUYER: Razorback Ranch LLC (principal: Ron Bailey), Tampa
SELLER: Tampa Groves LLC
PROPERTY: 16410 Balm Wimauma Road, Wimauma
PRICE: $3.1 million
PREVIOUS PRICE: $6.78 million, March 2005
TITLE FIRM ON DEED: South Bay Title Insurance Agency Inc., Ruskin

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Bailey Investment Holdings LLC, a family investment group led by Tampa businessman Ron Bailey, purchased a 453-acre borrow pit in Wimauma for $3.1 million.

The price equated to $6,843 per acre.

The borrow pit had previously been shut but all of its permits were still active. The property has 7.5 million cubic yards of fill dirt with a large percentage comprised of Florida Department of Transportation-approved A-3 select fill dirt.

Ryan Sampson of Eshenbaugh Land Co. and Ben Crosby of Crosby and Associates represented the seller. Melanie Jackson of Colliers International Tampa Bay represented the buyer, Razorback Ranch LLC.

According to Jackson the property stands to benefit from the need for fill dirt for construction projects and also offered the buyer the possibility of using portions of the property for agricultural uses.

“The permit on it is good for seven years before it expires or needs to be renewed,” she says. “There's no infrastructure out there, but eventually someone could put home sites around the lakes when the pits are dug out. Or it could be a weekend playground for hunting, fishing or other outdoor recreation.”

Bailey is a former teacher who went on to invest in and operate Strayer College in Washington, D.C., before selling it in 2000. He is now better known for his nonprofit work, including his Bailey Family Foundation.

Late last year, the same family investment group purchased the 45,484-square-foot former Stajac Industries building near the new IKEA store for $1.6 million.