Developer snaps up 70 acres for massive spec warehouse project in Plant City
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Jul 15, 2016

A large chunk of Plant City farmland is officially in the hands of a South Florida group planning a massive warehouse development on the site.

McCraney Property Co., based in West Palm Beach, has closed on 70 acres at the intersection of County Line and Rice roads in Plant City. The land is part of the 250-acre Fancy Farms, a strawberry farm owned by the Grooms family.

McCraney is planning a speculative warehouse development that will total 1.325 million square feet.

It is one of the few sites in the area that can support a million-square-foot user, according to a news release from McCraney. Other distribution centers in the area include Amazon, Publix Super Markets, O'Reilly Auto Parts and Southern Wine & Spirits.

"This area of Central Florida is the new frontier for the convergence of development and commerce," Steven McCraney, president and CEO of McCraney Property Co., said in a statement. "The I-4 passage is attracting new business largely on the broad vision and commitment to the infrastructure of the community and its leaders."

Lisa Parks Abberger, a commercial broker with Hauger-Bunch Inc., represented the Grooms family in the transaction. Bruce Erhardt, executive director with Cushman & Wakefield, represented McCraney Property Co. "While the community has been proud of the agricultural heritage represented by Fancy Farms, it has embraced the next phase of commerce, including the burgeoning e-commerce trade heavily supported by the logistics industry,” Abberger said in a statement.

Here's a breakdown of the planned development, which will be named County Line Logistics Center at Fancy Farms:
â–ªBuilding 100: 131,200 square feet
â–ªBuilding 200: 168,480 square feet
â–ªBuilding 300: 173,600 square feet
â–ªBuilding 400: 876,240 square feet

Ashley Gurbal Kritzer is senior reporter for the Tampa Bay Business Journal.