Sumter County and The Villages Land Operating Company LLC have announced a “landmark” economic development incentive agreement to assist with the construction of a new rail spur that will launch a new sidetrack and transflow facility in the Gov. Rick Scott Industrial Park, just south of the City of Coleman.
“The ability to bring freight cars into the park from CSX’s mainline rail will offer Sumter County businesses the opportunity to more efficiently import, export, and distribute goods and materials. The ability to transfer bulk freight from one mode of transport to another, from rail to commercial truck or vice versa depending on the direction the goods are flowing, means Sumter County will access the rest of the country and indeed the world through easy access to five of Florida’s deep-water ports,” the county said in a news release.
The news release described the Gov. Rick Scott Industrial Park as “the latest showcase of public/private partnerships” and said it boasts several projects under construction.
The site and several projects under construction can be seen from Interstate 75, just a couple of miles north of the County Road 470 Interchange.
“The park was already a premier site due to the availability of utilities and easy access to both Interstate 75 and the Florida’s Turnpike. The addition of the rail service and transflow capability to the park makes it one of just a handful of sites in the state that can offer the best access to transportation facilities and ports,” the county said in the news release.
