The Mosaic Company and Newland Communities announced today that Mosaic has entered into an agreement to purchase a 7.4-acre tract of land from Newland and will build a new office building near FishHawk Ranch.
The approximately 100,000 sq. ft. building will serve as the headquarters for Mosaic’s phosphate business unit and supply chain group, and will bring together nearly 400 employees from various central Florida locations. Importantly, Mosaic will also anchor the office component of Newland’s planned village center in the area currently known as Lake Hutto. Transportation improvements will coincide with the construction schedule to minimize inconvenience.
“We conducted a study to determine a suitable geographic location that’s closest to the center of where our administrative and staff employees live,” said Rich Krakowski, vice president of Mosaic. “The FishHawk Ranch area was the bull’s eye.”
Krakowski noted that the company’s administrative and staff employees currently work at facilities throughout Polk and Hillsborough counties. “Our goal is to bring our management and administrative functions under one roof to foster more cohesive operations and communications as we continue to grow our business.”
The future headquarters site is located on the south side of FishHawk Boulevard, just east of Bell Shoals Road. Mosaic will be the sole tenant of the building.
Rick Harcrow, senior vice president-operations for Newland Communities, said the building will make a major contribution to establishing FishHawk Ranch as a complete community. “By placing this headquarters in our business and retail district, we move FishHawk Ranch even further along the continuum of that livable, sustainable community.”
Ryan Companies US, Inc. will be developer and contractor for the building, which is scheduled to break ground by early next year and open in the first quarter of 2010. Design elements are still underway but Mosaic executives say they will seek certification as a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building. “As a mining and manufacturing company, we hold ourselves to high environmental standards, and this building will reflect that commitment,” said Krakowski.
