Miami Corp. project moving forward in south Volusia County

By Dinah Voyles Pulver, The Daytona Beach News-Journal

Once referred to as the “sleeping giant,” the Miami Corp. continues putting pieces into place for eventual development of thousands of acres it owns in southern Volusia County.

In recent weeks, the city of Edgewater agreed to annex part of the company’s land and approved an interlocal agreement governing its long-term development. That agreement with Volusia County was approved by the County Council unanimously on Thursday.

The agreement requires the city to ensure all the obligations and requirements of the Farmton local plan are met as development moves forward. A long-term land-use blueprint adopted by Volusia and Brevard counties in 2011, the Farmton plan governs 90 square miles the company owns in the two counties.

Meanwhile, county officials are nearing the point of opening public access to 1,400 acres of conservation land the company deeded to the county in 2013. And the company is pursuing plans for a new interchange at Maytown-Osteen Road and Interstate 95.

Miami Corp. began piecing together its holdings in Volusia in the 1920s, eventually amassing more than 59,000 acres in Volusia and Brevard counties it used mainly for timber farming and hunting. The Chicago-based, family-owned holding company launched the effort to develop the long-term plan and protect its development rights in 2007-2008, with the first approval coming from Volusia in 2009.

The Farmton local plan designated 15,081 acres in Volusia County for development, with up to 23,100 residential units and 4.7 million square feet of commercial, office and industrial space. The plan set aside 31,876 acres for conservation. Another 9,000 acres of the company’s land in Brevard County was deeded to conservation.