Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Cabinet are being asked to spend more than $20 million to buy 30 acres at the northern end of Clearwater Beach Island and about $220 million to limit future development on just over 55,000 acres of agricultural land across the state.
The land deals were included in the Nov. 17 Cabinet meeting agenda. The key acquisition is $20.5 million in Florida Forever funds to buy the land at the tip of Clearwater Beach Island.
According to Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund staffers, the purchase will increase public access at Caladesi Island State Park and strengthen a network of nearly 18 miles of protected barrier islands within the Pinellas County Aquatic Preserve, which includes Caladesi Island State Park, Honeymoon Island State Park, and Anclote Key Preserve State Park.
“The subject property contains multiple coastal natural communities, including beach dune, coastal strand, coastal grassland, and mangrove swamp. These habitats are increasingly threatened by development, and protecting the property would help buffer Caladesi Island State Park while preserving one of Pinellas County’s remaining natural shorelines,” the staffers wrote in a report on the proposal.
The Tampa Bay Times reported that in 2024 the land was listed at $37.5 million as part of a package with a 3,400-square-foot beachfront mansion.
The staff report notes “a portion of the subject property contains an elevated 3,434-square-foot single-family residence constructed in 1987. This portion of the subject property is non-conservation lands that were acquired solely to facilitate the acquisition of the conservation lands contained within the subject property.”
Separately, a $10.9 million proposal using Florida Forever funds designates a conservation easement on 4,700-acres of the Pace Lake Ranch property, which would close a gap between conservation lands in southern Alachua County eastward to the Ocala National Forest.
The easement designation allows active agricultural operations to continue in exchange for prohibiting residential or commercial development.
Six other easements are proposed using funding from the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Rural and Family Lands Protection Program:
- Osceola Prairie LLC, 19,312-acres of active cattle and farm operations within the Kissimmee River Basin and Northern Everglades ecosystem, $77.75 million. The U.S. Department of Defense is expected to pick up $15 million of the cost through the Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration Program as the Avon Park Air Force Range is located less than one mile from the property.
- Spanish Trails Farming and Land Company LLC, 6,058-acres straddling Charlotte and DeSoto counties and used for cattle, watermelon and hay production, $33.3 million.
- U.S. Sugar Corporation, 10,208 acres of agricultural property within the Wildlife Corridor Connector – Hill Grade Tract project in Hendry County, $46 million.
- VCH Holdings LLC, three parcels containing more than 7,000 acres of ranch land in DeSoto and Hardee counties, $33.8 million. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is expected to cover $9.7 million of the acquisition cost.
- Pithlachocco Plantation LLC, nearly 4,700 acres of managed timber within the Donaldson Tract in Alachua County, $8.87 million.
- Groover Bros. Farms of Florida LLC, 3,370 acres of managed timber in Leon County, $9 million.
