West Palm Beach developer pays $52 million for Pasco land
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Dec 22, 2021

A West Palm Beach developer has purchased 875 acres in Pasco County with preliminary plans to build a primarily commercial district on the property.

Columnar Holdings paid $52 million for the land, which is in the southeast corner of State Road 52 and Interstate 75. The land is zoned for agricultural uses, and Columnar will now begin a likely two-year rezoning process to make way for the development, said Ryan Sampson of Eshenbaugh Land Co.

Sampson and Bill Eshenbaugh represented the seller, Kingsley Asset Management LLC, in the transaction.

Columnar, Sampson said, plans to pursue office, retail and industrial on the site. The residential portion of the project will be multifamily buildings.

The land is in Pasco’s Connected Cities Stewardship District, where gigabit internet services are available, and the county is looking to attract high-paying jobs.

“This is the crown jewel of that overlay,” Sampson said.

Eshenbaugh and Sampson had the listing for two years. Columnar took less than 120 days to close from contract to signing.

“It was a long journey over the years with challenges along the way,” Eshenbaugh said in a statement. “We helped facilitate two cattle leases and one sod lease to help generate income for the agriculture greenbelt provision.”