Raymond James Financial closes on 65 acres of land in Pasco County

WESLEY CHAPEL — Five years after announcing plans for a satellite campus in the Wiregrass Ranch development, Raymond James Financial has purchased 65 acres here for an undisclosed price.

The sale closed Thursday, said Wiregrass Ranch's J.D. Porter, coming two days after Pasco County amended its incentive agreement with the company and Wiregrass Ranch Inc. to eliminate a deadline for construction to begin. Combined, the state and Pasco County incentives total $14 million.

The county already approved the company's preliminary plans for six, four-story buildings totaling 1 million square fee, plus a parking garage. Originally, the company said it would bring up to 750 newly created jobs to Pasco County. In July, after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approved an environmental permit for the site, Raymond James Financial was non-committal on when construction could begin.

Porter said he expected other economic development activity to follow.

"It takes somebody just be at the forefront, to be that leader and now that Raymond James Financial has taken that role, I think a lot of other office uses will follow,'' said Porter. "It bodes well for everybody.''

The Raymond James site is on the corner of State Road 56 and Mansfield Boulevard, east of the Shops at Wiregrass mall.