HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — On Thursday, the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners discussed a plan for a land swap, which proposes the exchange of five county-owned properties primarily used as the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office Operations Center in Ybor City.
The proposal would specifically do two things: first, it would provide the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office with an existing 140,000-square-foot facility located on about 25 acres near Brandon.
It’s about a 15-minute drive from the current location in Ybor City and is about 10 minutes from the Falkenburg Road jail.
In turn, the proposal would allow for the redevelopment of HCSO’s existing eight-block campus into a mixed-use development in Ybor.
“Just in terms of securing our future in terms of our investment into public safety for the next two generations, this is a monumental opportunity,” said Hillsborough County Commissioner Harry Cohen.
“I think it by all accounts looks like a great win for moving the Sheriff’s Office as well as for the redevelopment opportunities that are available in Ybor, so I’m excited to see this moving forward,” said Hillsborough County Commissioner Pat Kemp.
Earlier this month, Sheriff Chad Chronister explained why it’s a good deal for them, pointing out their aging building and that there’s no room to expand.
County staff said this could address those problems, as well as avoid the cost of building new facilities.
“Then, of course, I think this board, as well as many of us, have seen the cost of constructing new, so if there’s an opportunity out there for a high-quality, used facility previously built where we can get maximum taxpayer value, that’s of interest to us,” said John Muller, the Hillsborough County Director of Facilities Management & Real Estate Services.
Under this proposed swap, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office would move to the current headquarters of Grow Financial off of Delaney Lake Drive, which developer Darryl Shaw is under contract to acquire.
If approved, Hillsborough County will swap the Ybor City land for the Grow Financial site.
“Whenever there's a chance to collaborate for the benefit of taxpayers, the Sheriff’s office, and Ybor City, we are always going to be interested in those opportunities,” said Shaw. “We are fortunate to have forward-thinking public partners who are open to exploring possibilities that could lead to long-term advantages for the community.”
Sheriff Chronister also said if they end up moving and the land swap goes through, they’ll be able to grow, evolve, and provide a more effective and efficient service to the community.
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