Who are the top 10 private land owners in Bradenton’s Manatee County? Take a look
The ten largest non-governmental property owners in Manatee County are a diverse group of companies, a number of which are agricultural in nature, but have growth and development projects in the works.
Here is the list, according to the Manatee County Property Appraiser:
1. Mosaic Fertilizer LLC with 32,476.14 acres.
The company has been mining fertilizer in Northeast Manatee County for more than three decades.
2. John Falkner LLC with 21,758.73 acres.
Falkner is a farmer and developer. In 2021, his Rye Ranch LLC filed a rezoning application to develop a 3,500-unit residential development on 1,368.5 acres of farm land at 17855 County Road 675.
Also proposed for the property are 300,000-square feet of non-residential development, and 20,000-square-feet of public use facilities.
3. Florida Power & Light with 13,768.30 acres.
Best known for its twin smoke stacks in Parrish, the company has been aggressively expanding its solar energy centers in Manatee County.
4. McClure Properties Ltd. with 7,491.87 acres.
A farming presence in Manatee County for more than 50 years, McClure Properties in 2021 sought rezoning for acreage between Buckeye Road and Moccasin Wallow Road that would allow 1,900 residential units and 122,000-square-feet of nonresidential use.
5. Team Pentecost LLC with 5,264.0 acres.
Weight and wellness entrepreneur Mark Pentecost, who owns the It Works! multilevel marketing company based in Palmetto, has made several multi-million dollar purchases of land in the Myakka City area in recent years.
6. L3 Partnership with 5,024 acres.
It’s the proposed home of Gamble Creek Village two miles east of Manatee County’s future development line, just across State Road 62 from FPL’s Parrish Power Plant on a three-mile-by-three-mile chunk of real estate.
7. Jones Potato Farm Inc. with 4,649.79 acres.
Alan Jones moved to Manatee County in 1986 and began buying farm land.
In 2021, he applied for a rezone of 635-acres from general agriculture to planned development mixed use to allow 1,833 homes and 300,000-square feet of nonresidential space.
8. Blackbeard’s Ranch LLC with 4,468.09 acres.
In 2018, the U.S. government paid nearly $4 million for a conservation easement for 1,481.6 acres at Blackbeard’s Ranch.
The easement allows the federal government to restore the property to protect area waterways and provide a buffer to Myakka River State Park.
9. WFA Land Co. Inc. with 3,786.65 acres primarily in the Duette and Myakka City areas.
The company is headquartered in Immokalee.
10. Pacific Land Ltd. with 3,662. acres.
The company is based in Palmetto. Billy Heller Jr. is listed as the registered agent.
