POLK COUNTY, FL (WFTS) — There are 584 acres of citrus groves, lakefront property and rolling countryside in Polk County that are heading to auction, drawing interest from citrus growers, potential developers and environmental groups hoping to preserve the land.
The family-owned property is being auctioned following the death of owner Emery Etter. Located along Scenic Highway 17 between Babson Park and Frostproof, the land is divided into 27 parcels that can be purchased separately or in combination, ranging from five acres to the entire property.
Dean Saunders, owner of Saunders Real Estate, which is handling the auction through its Saunders Auctions division, said the property offers opportunities for several types of buyers, including homebuilders, farmers and citrus growers.
“It’s really good land and there’s something for everybody," Saunders said. "There’s something for a home builder if he wanted to try and buy and develop some property. There’s land for citrus growing, land for other kinds of farming."
Saunders said most of the interest so far has come from growers interested in continuing citrus operations on the property.
“We’ve had a lot of interest from various groups,” Saunders said. “We’ve had people interested in it from a conservation perspective, we’ve had people interested in it from continuing on with the citrus operation. I would say most of the interest has come from growers.”
Green Horizon Land Trust is among the organizations interested in the land, which sits between Crooked Lake and Tiger Creek Preserve.
Rachelle Selser, executive director of Green Horizon Land Trust, said the property could play an important role in connecting environmentally sensitive areas along the Lake Wales Ridge.
The organization, founded in 1991, works to preserve and protect environmentally sensitive land through partnerships with communities, agricultural groups and government agencies.
Selser said Green Horizon is working with other organizations and agencies that share its conservation goals to pool resources and potentially bid on the property.
“We see the potential for connectivity for wildlife, for aquifer recharge, for stormwater treatment, for agriculture to continue in the area,” Selser said.
She said conservation efforts do not necessarily mean eliminating agriculture. Instead, she envisions an opportunity to combine farming with wildlife corridors, trails and other conservation uses.
Across Polk County, citrus groves have increasingly given way to residential and other development as citrus greening disease and other challenges have affected the industry. The auction could offer buyers an opportunity to continue agricultural operations or pursue other uses for the land.
The online auction is scheduled for Oct. 20-22 and is open to the public.
The property's future will depend on who bids and how the new owners choose to use the land.
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