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Mosaic Breaking Ground In Lithia

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By YVETTE C. HAMMETT

yhammett@tampatrib.com

Published: March 11, 2009

LITHIA - Mosaic Fertilizer for years has worked from scattered offices in Hillsborough and Polk Counties.

But by next spring, the entire corporate operation will be housed under one environmentally friendly roof, a building that will be the gateway to the proposed Circa FishHawk community.

The groundbreaking for the $20 million, 110,000-square-foot building takes place Thursday, and construction should be complete by spring 2010, said Mosaic spokesman David Townsend.

The project is expected to employ several hundred people over the course of construction, said Gary Bauler, representing developer Ryan Companies.

"Right now, our administration is scattered over four offices. We'll be under one roof for the first time in the new building," Townsend said.

The new four-story Mosaic Florida headquarters will open with 400 employees and have room for expansion, he said. All of the employees are currently stationed at other offices.

The structure will be a green building, with a silver LEED certification. Such certification, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council if a developer designs, constructs and operates a building using five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, environmentally friendly materials selection and indoor environmental quality.

"It will have an open design with lots of natural light available to all employees," Townsend said. The headquarters also will have native landscaping and capture stormwater runoff for irrigation.

The building will house a fitness center, a multipurpose lunchroom and an outdoor covered patio.

It will be the first construction to get under way in Circa FishHawk, formerly called Lake Hutto, a proposed development next to FishHawk Ranch.

"This will really be the launch of Circa FishHawk," Townsend said.

And while Ryan already is at full staff for the project, Bauler said numerous subcontractors will be hired to complete construction.

"In today's economy, with an 11-month construction schedule, we're hoping this will get the subcontractors, their employees and their families through the toughest part of this recession," Bauler said.

Ryan just completed work on the first phase of the South Shore Corporate Park on 30th Street in Ruskin and has developed several other projects in the Tampa Bay area.

Reporter Yvette C. Hammett can be reached at (813) 865-1566.

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