Parrish Lakes developer pays $6.5 million for more land

Florida Land Management, the Brandon developer proposing to build 3,300 homes and 450,000 square feet of retail and office space on a 1,155-acre parcel called Parrish Lakes, has bought more land in the area for $6.5 million.

The seller was Tampa-based Moccasin Wallow LLC, which bought the property, located at 11855 Moccasin Wallow Road, in 2005 from George B. Karpay for $1, according to public records in the Manatee County Property Appraiser’s Office.

The 138-acre property, which is zoned for grazing and farming uses, is located west of U.S. 301 and extends from Moccasin Wallow Road in the north to Erie Road in the south.

Claude and Lydia Melli are listed as principals of Florida Land Management.

Parrish Lakes, also located between Moccasin Wallow Road and Erie Road, is so large that it is a development of regional impact.

The planned Robinson Gateway project with 900,000 square feet of retail space, 600,000 square feet of office space, hundreds of hotel rooms and 542 residential units, is situated just west of Parrish Lakes.

The Manatee County Planning Commission recommended approval of the Parrish Lakes project in August.

“This area is clearly transitioning from agricultural properties to development proposals,” Diane Chadwick, a Stantec planner working on the project, told planning commissioners in August. “There have been a lot approved in the area.”

The Parrish Lakes project was set to go before the county commission on Sept. 7 but was continued until Oct. 5.

This story was originally published September 19, 2017 at 1:59 PM with the headline "Parrish Lakes developer pays $6.5 million for more land."