The Naples/Dallas Venture assigned the option earlier this year on the 2,500 acres when the partnership with a Texas-based investor fell apart.

"After that deal fell apart, we had several local people, and some not so local people, approach us about a joint venture," Richard L. Klaas, a Naples-based partner in Naples/Dallas Venture, tells GlobeSt.com.

"Ultimately, we reached an agreement with Ginn Development, and they wanted to buy the 2,500 acres that Naples/Dallas had under contract," Klaas says. "When they saw more land was available, they wanted to buy the other 2,100 acres."

Just about two weeks ago, Klaas says, Ginn Development received the go-ahead from officials at Alico to submit the proposed residential-golf project as a development of regional impact.

Besides requiring local government approval, a DRI in the community requires review by the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council.

"They're gong to do a DRI on the property even though they do not need to," Klaas says. "They just feel it's a better process."

Although no longer involved as a developer, Klaas is assisting Ginn Development as president of Naples-based Florida Real Estate Consultants Inc. with the local regulatory approval processes.

The Naples-based company maintains a business relationship with Alico that assists potential buyers with the planning, zoning and permitting processes.

Officials at Alico would not comment on details of the deals, though the publicly traded company made a brief reference to the transaction in a recent shareholder's report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. It did not mention the deals, however, in the earnings statement the agricultural producer released as a press release earlier this week.

"The new contract (with Ginn Development) calls for closings to occur on 450 acres per year for 10 years," according to the SEC document. "The first closing is expected during fiscal 2003."

Based on the review of SEC documents, Alico reported it owned about 6,000 acres of mostly agricultural-zoned property around the Lee County city of Fort Myers as of the fiscal ended Dec. 31.

The La Belle, FL-based agricultural producer is marketing its holdings in Lee County through Agri-Insurance Co. Ltd., a subsidiary the Alico board of directors formed in July last year.

In two other deals concluded over the past two years, Alico has sold about 1,900 acres of land around the university site to Miromar Development Corp., a Bonita Springs-based company controlled by Margaret Miller and Keith Jones.