Sarasota County closes $19M deal for former fruit orchards

The former Albritton fruit orchards east of Interstate 75 near Clark Road are now owned by Sarasota County, which purchased the land this fall for $19 million. The seller was Albritton Groves, which previously operated fields there for blueberry picking from mid-March through the end of May.

Sarasota County will use the land for soil needed to cover waste at the Central County Solid Waste Disposal Complex, which is also on property the county bought from the Albritton family. When the county purchased the land 20 years ago for its landfill, it negotiated a first right to purchase option of any adjacent lands, according to a memo from County Administrator Jonathan Lewis in July, when commissioners approved the issuance of revenue bonds to finance the new land acquisition.

According to Lewis, the Albrittons notified the county in August 2022 that they planned to sell 341 acres at 9665 State Road 72.