One of the largest chunks of undeveloped land owned by Broward County is up for grabs.
“It’s probably one of the few areas that we still have in Broward County with acreage that’s not developed,” says County Commissioner Dr. Barbara Sharief.
The piece of land a hot ticket item for some. It’s 61 acres located near U.S. 27 and Sheridan Street in Pembroke Pines. E-commerce giant Amazon could now be the one to take over the land - if they still want it.
“I think it’s time to move onto the second rank vendor, which is Amazon,” said Sharief.
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The county's second choice is now the county’s number one. It had been Amazon’s idea to build on the land. In 2020, county commissioners decided for Vital Pharmaceuticals, which makes the energy drink Bang, to win the land instead.
Sharief explains Vital was ranked above Amazon because they ensured a median salary of $62,000 to their employees, which the company eventually retracted.
“As we’ve gone through the process, they came back and said that was erroneously calculated, but we want to still do the deal and it just kept on dragging on, so at this point, I’m frustrated,” she said.
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The deal fell apart and now, the county wants Amazon. Now, it’s the waiting game to see what happens next.
“Amazon provides health care, they provide a decent wage and I feel like that’s two of the things people are looking for coming off of COVID. So, it really makes perfect sense to try to get Amazon to take this on,” said Sharief.
If Amazon were to build on the site, it would be one of its biggest projects. They would employ more than 1,000 people and the facility would support the entire delivery network throughout North America, housing household and consumer goods.
