Emerson Pays Bargain $8,354 Per Acre for 1,209 Acres in Area's Next Boom Corridor

ORLANDO-Savvy developers have long known their profit is made at the front end of a deal, not at a closing years later. The Orlando division of British-based Emerson International Inc. has locked up that strategic element by buying 1,209 acres in a potentially explosive development area at a market price that will ensure future profits.

Emerson paid Carter Land Trust $10.1 million or $8,354 acre (19 cents per sf) for the dirt off Narcoosee Road (County Road 15), south of Tyson Road near Orlando International Airport. The developer plans 200,000 sf of office/retail; 3,000 residences; and an 18-hole golf course. Construction is tentatively scheduled to start in 2002. Permitting and bureaucratic paperwork will take two years.