Newberry Mayor Tim Marden called November “Grand Slam Month” after the city received its second F-300 AgTechFood Innovation Park investment on Friday, just over one week after the first. 

Gov. Ron DeSantis presented a $5.6 million Jobs Growth Grant to Newberry city officials during a press conference in Crystal River as the park’s latest contribution. 

According to a text from Marden to Mainstreet, park infrastructure such as roads, water and wastewater pipes will be installed with the money. 

“This use will really jump start businesses in the area, which in turn will mean jobs for our community,” Marden said.  

A release from the governor’s office said the investment in Newberry’s AgFoodTech Park aims to strengthen Florida’s leadership in agricultural technology, particularly on the heels of the park’s first investor from the private sector. 

The park will serve as an incubator for agricultural technology research while working in tandem with Newberry’s agricultural history. Planners anticipate the work to create around 1,700 jobs over the next 30 years. 

Harvest Singularity announced earlier this month it would build two $66 million industrial hydroponic greenhouses in the park as the first few of 10 planned across the state. 

Each greenhouse is capable of producing nearly four tons of leafy greens annually and aims to make Florida the national leader in Controlled Environment Agriculture while addressing local and global food insecurity. 

The release said the grant will help the park increase economic competitiveness and advance technological innovations that optimize crop production and resource farmer-focused solutions for agriculture in rural communities.  

“Reliable utilities, updated wastewater systems, and innovative AgTech hubs are essential to helping Floridians recover from recent storms while also supporting new industries and establishing a solid economic foundation for long-range growth,” said Florida Secretary of Commerce J. Alex Kelly in the release. 

The grant is part of $23.5 million awarded across Citrus County, Levy County and Newberry through the Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) Infrastructure Repair Program and the Florida Job Growth Grant Fund. 

Over $16.4 million went to Citrus County from the CBDG-DR to replace sewer systems damaged by recent storms, while a $1.5 million Jobs Growth Grant went to Levy County to strengthen water infrastructure in Chiefland.  

According to the release, the Florida Job Growth Grant Fund is an economic development program designed to promote public infrastructure and workforce training across the state. Proposals are reviewed by FloridaCommerce and selected by DeSantis. 

Editor’s note: This story was underwritten by a grant from the Rural Reporting Initiative at the Community Foundation of North Central Florida. To learn more or get involved, click here.