Long-Vacant Valrico Sweetbay Supermarket To Become Charter School

VALRICO, FL -- After years of sitting vacant, a Haines City-based charter school hopes to inject new life into the former Sweetbay Supermarket at 1101 Bloomingdale Ave., just east of Bell Shoals Road in Valrico.

Navigator Academy of Leadership has filed an application with the Hillsborough County School District to transform the old grocery store into a charter school for more than 1,000 students in kindergarten through eighth grade.

The Sweetbay Supermarket opened in 1997 and closed in 2009 when the parent company decided to shutter its low-performing stores throughout Tampa Bay.

In the decade since, the property owner, Net Lease Realty Partners, has had no luck leasing the 58,505-square-foot building so it's now in the process of selling the property to MG3 Developer Group of Hollywood, Florida.

MG3 specializes in financing, designing and developing construction projects with a focus on charter schools. The company's portfolio includes the Hillsborough Academy of Math and Science, the Pinellas Academy of Math and Science, Independence Academy of Tampa, Bell Creek Academy in Riverview, the Kids Community College South East Campus in Riverview and BridgePrep Academy of Riverview.

According to its application, Navigator Academy of Leadership will focus on science, engineering and technology including the use of K'NEX to introduce basic building and engineering concepts and LEGO Robotics to introduce students to coding and technology.

Its target if to have an enrollment of 1,054 students within five years of opening.

The academy is currently accepting applications. Click here for more information or call 863-866-7566 or email info@navigatoracademy.com.

Image via Brian Bokor, managing partner of Bokor Properties LLC.

(For more local news from Florida, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Patch. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here.)