"From a timing perspective, we expect to close on the property right after the plat is approved," Elam says. "Then permitting will take about six months. We should break ground in June of next year and deliver the first buildings by yearend next year."

Greystone expects county commissioners to approve the plat amendment this week, clearing the way for a closing within the next 30 to 60 days, the developer tells GlobeSt.com.

"This deal is by no means dead and is just about to get started," says Elam, commenting about a recent GlobeSt.com article that reported on a Broward County Commission decision to defer approval of the plat. "The county and city actually have been great to work with on it."

The pending sale comes as the locally based Kraft family decided to sell the site of a commercial nursery founded in 1947.

"Kraft was quietly marketing the property," says Elam. "A broker at Grubb & Ellis, Alan West, brought the site to us, and we jumped all over it. From literally the time I found out about it to the time we had a letter of intent, it was about a week."

The property's value is as an infill redevelopment site. "It's difficult to find land in South Florida, but to find land with good access to major transportation arteries is a tremendous win," Elam says. "If those arteries lead to Interstate 95, the Sawgrass Expressway and (Florida's) Turnpike, like this property, then it's a home run."