Hillsborough buys $38M tract of land in lawsuit settlement
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Sep 20, 2021

Hillsborough County has closed on its $38 million land acquisition from Ag-Mart Produce Inc. as part of a lawsuit settlement.

The tomato grower filed a lawsuit against the county after its request to rezone its property for residential development was denied. The county agreed to buy the property, which is just under 800 acres and sits at the intersection of Balm Road and Balm Riverview Road, in October 2020.

County commissioners denied Ag-Mart's rezoning request in November 2019.

"As required by the settlement, now that we've been paid the $38 million, we will be dismissing our zoning lawsuit," Scott McLaren, a partner with Hill Ward Henderson in Tampa who represents Ag-Mart, told the Tampa Bay Business Journal.

The county's closing date was originally slated for Sept. 30, but property records show it closed on the land purchase on Sept. 13. The county has proposed building a water distribution facility on the property.