Plant City leaders are focused on growth, and businesses are jumping on board.
Currently, the City of Plant City’s Planning and Zoning board is reviewing the first phase of buildings for the Rice Road Commerce Park, located at the intersection of Rice, County Line and Drane Field Roads.
At 72 acres with 1.5 million square feet, the first phase of the industrial project includes 280,000 square feet of buildings. Polk and Hillsborough Counties are also reviewing the development plans.
The Planning and Zoning board also is completing a transportation review for development of Fancy Farms, owned by strawberry grower Carl Grooms. Like the Rice Road industrial project, the land at Fancy Farms also is 72 acres and 1.5 million square feet. The land will be used for industrial purposes.
The site property manager is Steven McCraney, of McCraney Property Company.
“Steve McCraney is really excited about this site,” Phillip Scearce, principal planner for the City of Plant City, said.
It is expected that plans for Fancy Farms will be submitted in about 30 days.
ON THE HORIZON
The City of Plant City’s Planning Board will review modifications to the North Park Isles proposed development district at a Thursday, March 17 meeting. The plans are currently under review by the Planning & Zoning Board.
North Park Isles, which was approved in 2005 for residential uses, wants to expand from 947 to 1219 dwelling units. Currently, the plans include units for townhouses and single-family homes. A single-family cottage village also has been proposed. Planning the site development was a challenge, Scearce said, because of the wetlands in the proposed development area.
The Planning Board also will review the proposed rezoning of the vacant lot located at 1501 James L. Redman Parkway at the March 17 meeting. The lot is currently zoned for single-family dwelling, and a rezoning has been requested to change the zoning o the R-2 development district for duplexes.
Since December, the Planning & Zoning board has received six voluntary annexations, including the 27-acre Alderman Annexation next to Rice Road Commerce Park.
“That has not happened in a long time,” Scearce said.
There are no proposed plans for any of the annexations at the current time, Scearce said. The annexations are done for potential future development.
Contact Emily Topper at etopper@plantcityobserver.com.