LAND O’ LAKES — Despite continued massive growth and development, Pasco County has now preserved nearly 8,700 acres of land since 2004.
That includes the 1,893 acres it purchased for $68 million, also known as 4G Ranch, that will connect with Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Conner Preserve, creating connecting corridors in northern central Pasco County. The county, through its Environmental Lands Acquisition and Management Program, announced the acquisition during a June 1 event at the property.
It marks the county’s largest land acquisition to date.
ELAMP, since its inception in July 2004, has secured about 8,688 acres of land.
The funds for the purchase came through the Penny for Pasco sales tax, which sets aside about 20% of that revenue stream for environmental land preservation.
Since voters approved it in March 2004, Penny for Pasco has been renewed twice and now runs through December 2039. By then, it is expected to generate $1.9 billion in revenue, according to Pasco County.
Additionally, in that time, Penny for Pasco estimates that another 4,705 acres in corridors still need to be protected, while an estimated 1,200-1,600 acres may be acquired with current Penny revenue and an estimated 3,000-3,700 acres may be acquired with future Penny revenue.
“This purchase of 4G Ranch, all of this land, is because of the voters,” said Pasco County District 2 Commissioner Seth Weightman, whose district includes the newly purchased land. “Credit the Penny for Pasco taxes for making it possible to purchase this land and credit to (4G Ranch former owners) the Phillips Family for selling it to the county.”
The purchase of 4G Ranch comes as a relief of many residents that live nearby or up and down State Road 52. In March 2023, new development was proposed that would transform 2,900 acres of the ranch land into roughly 3,800 homes and 300,000 square feet of retail and office uses.
Keith Wiley, director of Pasco Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Department, said proposal ultimately goes by the wayside with this deal.
“There will never be any development or anything on this land, obviously,” said Wiley, whose department oversees the ecological corridors the department is working on connecting throughout the county.
The land purchase, however, will not affect the widening of about seven miles of State Road 52 to a four-lane highway from U.S. 41 to Bellamy Brothers Boulevard, just in front of the recently opened Amazon Distribution Center. While currently in the design phase, the widening project is tentatively set to start in the fall of 2027.
However, two development proposals are still on the table for State Road 52 — a 156-acre mixed-use development that would bring up to 108 single-family homes, 120 hotel rooms and 175,000 square feet of commercial and retail space; and the “Fletcher Project” — 350 multifamily units, 160 townhomes, 25,000 square feet of commercial space and park land.
Both developments would hug the Pilot Country Airport-X05, a small recreational airstrip off State Road 52.
This acquisition marks the second purchase of a large ranch in less than a calendar year in Pasco County.
In September, Swiftmud announced its $30.8 million purchase of the 974-acre Kirkland Ranch, also ensuring the land will remain off limits to developers in perpetuity.