McCraney Picks 70 Acres in Plant City Strawberry Field

The acquisition sets the stage for McCraney to develop a class A industrial spec property totaling 1.325 million square feet.

ORLANDO— McCraney Property Company just snapped up 70 acres of land in the Tampa suburb of Plant City, FL. The industrial developer acquired 70 acres of Fancy Farms’ 250-acre Grooms’ family-owned strawberry farm that sits at the intersection of County Line Road and Rice Road. Plant City industrial is booming . The acquisition sets the stage for McCraney to develop a class A industrial spec property totaling 1.325 million square feet. The industrial park’s design will target high-quality end-users with freight forwarding and fulfillment needs while also seeking a business location that evokes a sense of place. “Demand for industrial product in Central Florida has exceeded the last peak, not by the quantity of users but by increases in size requirements,” Steven McCraney , president and CEO, McCraney Property, tells GlobeSt.com. “To accommodate tenants seeking to find a substantial foothold along the distribution channels connecting the state, we are strategically expanding our footprint in areas that meet the requirements for development. Plant City and the County Line Road corridor was a natural fit for us to build our next park.” Positioned near Amazon, Publix Super Markets, O’Reilly Auto Parts, and Southern Wine & Spirits’ distribution facilities, the industrial development will be one of the few sites that can support a single 1 million square foot user. Paying homage to the organic growth of Plant City as the winter strawberry capital of the world and the importance of County Line Road as a hub for distribution, the development will include the famed strawberry field in its name, “County Line Logistics Center at Fancy Farms.” “This area of Central Florida is the new frontier for the convergence of development and commerce,” McCraney says. “The I-4 passage is attracting new business largely on the broad vision and commitment to the infrastructure of the community and its leaders. An avid advocate of advancement, City Manager Mike Herr and the Plant City Economic president and CEO Jake Austin have been instrumental change agents in accelerating smart business growth and development within Plant City.” The Park will incorporate McCraney Property Company’s facades, which includes clear heights up to 36 feet, in four buildings. Building 100 will span 131,200 square feet; Building 200 will total 168,480 square feet; Building 300 will run 173,600 square feet; and Building 400 will span 876,240 square feet. “In order to know where you’re going, you need to know where you came from,” McCraney says. “I take great pride in being the one chosen by the Grooms’ family to lead this property towards the future. Their entrepreneurial spirit and community legacy will always remain in Plant City.” Lisa Parks Abberger , a commercial broker with Hauger-Bunch , represented the seller in this transaction. Bruce Erhardt , executive director with Cushman & Wakefield , represented McCraney. McCraney has completed or is under construction on nearly 4,000,000 square feet of speculative industrial space. In the past year, McCraney delivered 703,920 square feet and broke ground on 602,931 square feet in Central Florida. Central Florida CRE remains strong with Multifamily, Retail and Industrial leading the way. Are You In The Know? How can you profit? Join us at RealShare Central Florida on September 7th for impactful information from the leaders in Central Florida CRE.Learn more.