Manatee County purchases Mixon Fruit Farms for $13.5 million

After discussing the operating expenses, necessary staffing, community partnerships and an array of possible uses, Manatee County commissioners voted unanimously to purchase Mixon Fruit Farms at Tuesday’s commission meeting. 

Commissioner Amanda Ballard led the charge to purchase the former citrus farm, located at 2525 27th St. E., because it’s located in her district. The sales price is $13.5 million.

Ballard even reallocated funds from two other projects in her district — $3 million to rehab a building into office space and over $1 million to resurface a parking lot — to make the purchase more “financially feasible" for the county.

“I feel that this purchase is much more impactful,” Ballard said. “There are very few places that represent Old Florida in a way that this location does for Manatee County.”

The county will continue hosting private events at the farm, but there are also plans for county programming, such as movie and music series. Eventually, the onsite store will serve as a library, which will include a commercial teaching kitchen.

According to the contract for sale and purchase, the county will close on the property on or before Sept. 12.