Paulucci is asking $8.5 million or $1 million ($22.96 per sf) for the 8.5-acre tract which is near Interstate 4 and the Beltway. On the second 156-acre property on Rinehart Road and Lake Mary Boulevard, Paulucci wants $22 million or $141,025 per acre ($3.24 per sf). Soderstrom acknowledges the $1 million price tag is at the top of the market but says the $141,025-per-acre price is in line with recent nearby sales numbers.

Paulucci couldn't be reached at GlobeSt.com's publication deadline. But Soderstrom tells GlobeSt.com the 84-year-old frozen food magnate and his family have owned the land since the 1960s. The two parcels are “the crown jewels” of Paulucci's vast land-holding portfolio, Soderstrom says. Ernst & Young named Paulucci Enterpreneur of the Year in the United States for 2002.

Soderstrom says Paulucci is also “considering the possibility of building a new Luigino's Restaurant” within the 8.5-acre site. He says the second 156-acre parcel is “one of the last large, mixed-use development sites remaining in Lake Mary.” The tract probably will be developed as a medium to high-density residential, commercial and office project, Soderstrom says.

Both Colonial Properties Trust and CNL Financial Group are likely bidders for the land because they are among the two biggest commercial real estate players in Florida, brokers tell GlobeSt.com. With 11 office properties totaling 1.47 million sf and seven apartment communities totaling 2,794 units, the publicly traded Alabama REIT has risen to become one of Central Florida's dominant development forces in less than five years.

CNL Financial Group, headed by James M. Seneff, is one of the largest property owners in the state through its network of Orlando-based entities in the hospitality, retail, office, senior housing and restaurant industries.

“Either player could purchase the dirt out of petty cash,” a Seminole County broker tells GlobeSt.com on condition of anonymity.