Sumter County and The Villages Land Operating Company, LLC signed a landmark economic development incentive agreement to assist with the construction of a new rail spur, sidetrack and transflow facility in Governor Rick Scott Industrial Park, which is located in Coleman. The ability to bring freight cars into the park from CSX Rail’s mainline track will offer Sumter County businesses the opportunity to more efficiently import, export, and distribute goods and materials. The ability to transfer bulk freight from one mode of transport to another, from rail to commercial truck or vice versa depending on the direction the good s are flowing, means Sumter County will now be more easily connected to the rest of the country and indeed the world through easy access to five of Florida’s deep-water ports.

Governor Rick Scott Industrial Park has already landed several large tenants including multiple manufacturers. The site and several projects under construction can be seen from Interstate 75 just a couple of miles north of the CR 470 Interchange. The park was already a premier site due to the availability of all utilities and easy access to both Interstate 75 and the Florida Turnpike. The addition of the rail service and transflow capability to the park makes it one of just a handful of sites in the state that can offer the highest level of utilities availability and a location that is ideally suited for logistics.