31 Produce to close as state takes land for road project

A Southwest Florida agricultural staple will close for good at the end of the week, after the state of Florida took over the 12 acres housing 31 Produce and its Cracker Shack Cafe.

The state this week paid about $2.6 million to Lee County Commissioner Mike Greenwell and his family for the land they owned at 18672 Babcock Ranch Road, a renamed section of State Road 31 north of the Caloosahatchee River in Alva.

Records show the state has paid the Greenwells $210,016 per acre for the 12.38-acre purchase. Property records show the Greenwells paid $2,564 per acre for the entire, 93.61-acre parcel almost 30 years ago.

The frontage parcel grew in value by about 8,000%.

It isn’t enough money considering the value of the land and how it will impact the value of Greenwell’s remaining parcels, said Michael Whitt, an attorney with Hahn Loeser in Fort Myers. He is representing the Greenwells and trying to get them more money.

Greenwell is a former Major League Baseball outfielder with the Boston Red Sox. He’s also a real estate investor and builder who represents Lee County’s District 5, which includes the adjacent land on which he lives in Alva.

Greenwell later divided the parcel, building his home on one piece and developing 31 Produce, a U-Pick farm on another. It has been operating for 17 years but is slated to close Sept. 21. For almost two decades, it has sold lunch and produce among many other items.

“I’ve been here every day, and my sister worked here,” store manager Paige Greenwell, Mike Greenwell’s daughter-in-law, told WINK News. “It’s been family here. It’s been hard. This week is going to be bittersweet for sure.”

With the taking of the land, the business had 30 days to vacate.

Mike Greenwell did not contest the seizure of the land, Whitt said, a process known as “quick take.” But they are contesting the amount of the value awarded by the state.

Mike Greenwell, who has not been attending or voting in recent county commission meetings, released a statement in early August saying he is undergoing treatment for medullary thyroid cancer. He could not be reached for comment.

Whitt explained how the law worked.

“In eminent domain cases like this, the government is going to take property for deeded right of way,” Whitt said. “They’re required by law to engage in negotiations prior to filing the lawsuit to take the property. They’re required to send a written offer to purchase the deeded right of way. They did all that.

“We did not believe that the offer that was made was sufficient to compensate the Greenwells for the impact to their property. The next step is the filing of the petition of eminent domain to actually take it from them. Once they filed that lawsuit, the next step is they set what’s called a hearing on the order of taking to get the court to allow them to take the right of way. That’s called a quick take. That’s allowed under Florida law. That’s been done.”

Florida will be widening Babcock Ranch Road from two to four lanes. The current two lanes will become an additional access road for businesses.

“We didn’t oppose the take,” Whitt said. “We know they’re going to take it. It’s for a public purpose. They meet the criteria. We said, fine. Take it. Put the money up. And then we’ll fight for the additional compensation we feel the Greenwells are entitled to.”

Mike Greenwell had the land rezoned in July 2023, receiving approval to build up to a 400,000-square-foot shopping center and up to 122 units of apartments.

Whitt said rezoning did not impact the land’s value, but market conditions do.

“FDOT is going to say it’s ‘X’ amount,” Whitt said. “Our appraiser is going to say it’s ‘Y’ dollars per acre. But that’s the dirt value. At some point the judge is going to require mediation. We’ll sit down and go through a formal mediation and try to come to a resolution.

“The strip is 200 feet deep. It’s a massive take on the front of the property. The Cracker Shack [will be] gone. The fields [will be] gone. It takes the entire frontage off their land. The law does not require that the property actually be rezoned in order for a real estate appraiser to consider the highest and best use of the property. The law only requires a probability that it be rezoned.”

Bill Moore, an eminent domain attorney based in Sarasota with Moore, Bowman & Reese, was not involved in this case. He said the key is determining the “highest and best use” of the land.

Getting the rezoning accomplished leaves no doubt.

“They generally look at what’s most probable,” Moore said. “Even if it’s not zoned, you have all the demographics and the traffic, and things have changed in the neighborhood.”

Getting the land rezoned, however, helps, he said.

“Yes, it would help somewhat,” Moore said. “But the key is really what’s happening to the surrounding area. It helps, for sure, but it’s not like the dramatic factor. It’s not like ‘Yes, you have to have it rezoned.’

“Really, it’s the area and the evolution of the development of the area. All over Florida, you see the same thing. The rezoning is the final icing on the cake, but not the critical factor.”