Land doesn’t get cheaper than this.

Two years ago, Martin County commissioners approved plans for a 139-acre industrial park in Indiantown under rules that allow for quick development.

Now, Venture Park is still empty — and a developer is offering 2.6 acres for free in a bid to jump-start the local economy.

The parcel has a value of about $679,000, or about $6 per square foot.

The Business Development Board of Martin County is working with Venture’s developer, Paul Filipe, to gather applications. They will consider a variety of factors in giving the parcel away, including the number of jobs created, salary levels and the potential capital investment. The applicant also must apply for certain types of grants.

Business officials believe about 26,000 square feet of office space or 40,000 square feet of light industrial space could be built on the lot.

There have been a number of inquiries since the announcement two weeks ago, but no formal applications have come in yet, said Carla Brown Lucas, a spokeswoman for the Business Development Board.

The developer wants to attract light manufacturers in aviation, marine or similar industries, she said.
Venture Park, at Warfield Boulevard and Fox Brown Road, has 22 industrial
lots from just under 2 acres to 7 acres. Roadwork, utilities and other infrastructure are about half-way complete.

Under the county’s fast-track rules, which are intended to ease often-laborious county review, buildings can go up at the site without going through the county commission.
Instead plans are reviewed when owners apply for a building permit.

The developer plans to announce the award by the end of the year; applications are due in the next 60 days.

Tags: business, Economy, Indiantown, Martin County

This entry was posted on Monday, September 14th, 2009 at 9:45 am and is filed under Economy, Indiantown, Martin County, Treasure Coast business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.