One of Florida’s largest citrus producers plans to build a 3,000 -acres community in southwest Florida, only months after announcing that it is abandoning its citrus growth operations at the end of this year’s season.
Fort Myers, Fla. – One of Florida’s largest citrus producers plan Abandoning its citrus growth Operations at the end of this year’s season.
Alico, Inc. said he has submitted a development request for the first of the two villages near the intersection of Collier, Lee and Hendry counties. Each town will have around 4,500 houses and will be integrated with 6,000 acres (2,400 hectares) of protected conservation land, said the company.
The Fort Myers -based company owns 53,371 Acres (21,600 hectares) in eight counties in Florida and 48,700 acres (19,700 hectares) of oil, gas and mineral rights in the state. When announcing its decision to end citrus operations last January, the company said its production has decreased by almost three quarters in a decade.
Alico’s problems are part of the bigger fight faced by Florida’s citrus industry.
Hurricanes and a vicious Green citrus disease They have contributed to a 90% decrease in the orange production of the State in the last two decades. Meanwhile, with a large number of people who move to Florida, developers are building more and more houses where orange forests were once.
Citrus Groves, which covered More than 832.00 acres (337,000 hectares) in Florida at the beginning of the century, villages just 275,000 acres (111,300 hectares) last year, and California has eclipsed Florida as the main nation of the nation Citrus producer.
