A longtime Osceola cattle ranching family that sold the bulk its land to Disney last year is now looking to rezone the acreage that was held out of the $11 million deal with an eye toward selling it for development.
Rj Whidden vice president John Adams is seeking the entitlements on behalf of Frankie Brown, who represents the Frank E. Brown estate. The Browns are descendants of the late Oren Brown, who famously refused to sell his ranch to Disney over 50 years ago.
Adams has applied for a Comprehensive Plan Amendment for the 115 acres at 1101 S. Poinciana Blvd., known as the”north parcel,” to change the future land use to Tourist Commercial and the zoning to Commercial Tourist. He filed a separate application for the south parcel to rezone 54 acres to Employment Center Perimeter. It already has an Employment Center future land use.
“The land is not under contract,” Adams said. “The owner is positioning it to sell.”
KV Land Group will have the exclusive listing for both sites.
The south parcel on Old Tampa Highway is adjacent to land that is slated for a future Frito Lay distribution plant. The snack food giant announced plans for the $130 million plant in 2018 on the site but then shelved the project indefinitely. Still, that site is closer to existing light industrial uses and to the Poinciana SunRail station, so Adams said it makes sense to rezone to a category that allows for multifamily residential development and other supportive uses.
Adams said both parcels have wetlands that would limit the amount of usable acreage. “There are site constraints that can be managed and permitted properly,” he said. “There has not been a formal wetland determination report. That would be a part of the due diligence once it goes under contract.”
The Brown estate previously contracted to sell 150 acres on Poinciana Boulevard to Hanover Land Co., which is scheduled to close on the land in March and will break ground this spring on a new 500+ home subdivision called Cypress Hammock.
The Disney sale comprised 1,575 acres and closed less than a month after Disney’s purchase of the neighboring 965-acre BK Ranch $23 million. And just like the BK Ranch purchase, this acquisition was expected to be used for water conservation and wetland mitigation.
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