A familiar figure has purchased environmentally sensitive land in west Marion County

Orlando-based businessman Jim Gissy has spent $932,500 in recent weeks to buy the environmentally sensitive Nine Island Cove land in Dunnellon.

The property deals were brokered by Chris R. Hodges, a local real estate broker. The land is off the Withlacoochee River and behind Dunnellon Middle School, 21005 Chestnut St.

Gissy, who lives in Orlando, already owns several properties in Marion County. Most notably, he owns 1,300 acres west of U.S. 41 in Dunnellon. “I bought this to have a big farm. That’s what I’m going to do with it,” he told the Star Banner in 2022 when asked about his development plans.

Last year, a non-profit group worked with Gissy and the state to negotiate a conservation easement for 135 acres Gissy own s on the Rainbow River in Dunnellon.

The buyer for these most recent purchases was Gissy's Orlando-based Gissy Warm Springs Ranch LLC.

There were four transactions. The biggest was for close to 40 acres. The sales price was $900,000 and the sellers were Michael West and Ann Jones, according to a deed recorded by the court clerk on May 3.

Two other purchases were for $10,000 each and a third was for $12,500, according to the deeds, which were filed with the court clerk in late April. Those three deals all had different sellers.

Last year, then-Dunnellon City Council member Jan Cubbage resigned when her colleagues declined to ask the state for funds to buy the property. At the time, council members said they were not against the proposal, but wanted to have a plan first before making a commitment.

The real estate broker said the Nine Island Cove land had been on and off on the market for approximately a decade. As for Gissy's plans for the wooded, waterfront land with a lagoon in the center?

Jim Gissy: 'It won't be developed': Jim Gissy will conserve newly purchased 1,300 acres in SW Marion

"He hasn't really said anything. It's up in the air," Hodges said

Star Banner Editor Jim Ross contributed to this report. Contact Austin L. Miller at austin.miller@starbanner.com

This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: A familiar figure has purchased environmentally sensitive land in west Marion County