Agri-Insurance Buys Back 40 Acres for $9.5 Mil

FORT MYERS, FL-After selling 1,200 acres of land near Florida Gulf Coast University for an average of $12,000 per acre, or 28 cents per sf earlier this month, La Belle, FL-based Agri-Insurance Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of Alico, is purchasing 40 acres adjacent to that property from an unidentified trust for $9.5 million. The deal translates to $237,500 per acre or $5.46 per sf. Nine years ago, Alico sold the same property for $4.2 million.

The 40 acres are south of Alico road, directly across from the 1,200 acres sold earlier, and directly north of 244 acres that are now under contract by the Richard E. Jacobs Group. The Richard E. Jacobs’ plan is to build a regional mall that could stretch more than 1.8 million sf.

Bernie Lester, Alico’s president, tells GlobeSt.com that the company bought back the 40 acres because of some regulatory issues. Lester declined to discuss the “issues.” He says the property eventually “could well become part of the mall.