Orlando Sentinel

St. Cloud-based AmeraTrail plans new HQ and manufactur­ing plant

- By Bob Moser and Laura Kinsler

Cloud-based

which builds custom boat trailers, is planning for a new 150,000-square-foot manufactur­ing facility as part of a larger 55-acre, mixed-use developmen­t.

Owner Scott C. Locke has applied to rezone the land at U.S. Highway 192 and Old Melbourne Highway, near Harmony, from Industrial Restricted to Mixed-Use District for an employment center and 106-unit townhouse community.

AmeraTrail was founded in 1986 and offers trailers for hauling vehicles and equipment, as well as concession trailers. Locke said the company sells primarily to boat manufactur­ers and dealers but also has a retail showroom for individual sales.

The new plant would be built in two phases, each one 75,000 square feet, and would anchor the developmen­t that would include up to 10,000 square feet of corporate office facilities, a 15,000-square-foot powder coat facility and a 9,100-square-foot retail and service facility. St. and economic developmen­t project manager.

Murphy will manage Groveland’s 1,000-acre CRA district, which includes its historic downtown. It runs primarily along State Road 50, from east of Green Valley Boulevard to the city's western border. He will be responsibl­e for physical improvemen­ts in the CRA area and for driving economic developmen­t.

Groveland has an establishe­d Visioning Plan and Redevelopm­ent Master Plan for its downtown. Plans also appear establishe­d by the Florida Department of Transporta­tion to bypass the city’s oldest downtown segment by rerouting S.R. 50.

The city acquired a variety of properties in recent years and is in a “strong position to offer incentives to developers interested in our downtown area,” Murphy told

“We’re one of the fastest growing cities in the county and state, with population growth at more than 10 percent per year. We’re now in a race to bring the city’s commercial redevelopm­ent up to speed with the (new housing).” million sports complex on Kissimmee’s W192 tourism corridor has been given an extension to complete the purchase of the land, but the first phase is still on schedule to open next year.

Osceola County commission­ers signed a Developmen­t Agreement in March with

to build and operate a 60-acre sports complex at the southwest quadrant of W192 and the S.R. 429 interchang­e.

The sports complex would anchor a 23-acre town center fronting W192 with up to 81,000 square feet of commercial space, including a 128-room hotel and a 300-unit apartment complex.

The county committed $20 million in Tourist Developmen­t Tax funding to be paid upon delivery of the sports fields and parking lots. LifeSports has a contract to buy the 217-acre site, and the DA gave the developer a July 31 deadline to close on the property.

Community Developmen­t Administra­tor Dave Tomek said the county has extended the deadline until late August, but the project is still on track for an Oct. 1, 2019, opening.

 ?? COURTESY OF RJ WHIDDEN AND ASSOCIATES ?? AmeraTrail, which builds boat trailers, is planning to build a new 150,000-square-foot manufactur­ing facility with corporate offices and a showroom on U.S. 192, just a few miles from the company’s current office in St. Cloud.
COURTESY OF RJ WHIDDEN AND ASSOCIATES AmeraTrail, which builds boat trailers, is planning to build a new 150,000-square-foot manufactur­ing facility with corporate offices and a showroom on U.S. 192, just a few miles from the company’s current office in St. Cloud.
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