US 301 Between CR 470 and SR 44: Relocation Benefits for Sumter County Owners and Businesses

The Florida Department of Transportation has roughly $30 million of right-of-way work programmed on US 301 between CR 470 and SR 44 in Sumter County, and part of it is set aside specifically to move people and businesses off the land. The check FDOT writes for your real estate may not be the only recovery available to you. Relocation benefits are a separate category, claimed administratively, on their own deadlines.

Is FDOT Still Buying Land on US 301 Between CR 470 and SR 44?

Yes. Right-of-way funding on this corridor extends through fiscal year 2029, and two segments have not yet been let for construction.

Item 430132-1, “SR 35 (US 301) from CR 470 to SR 44,” is the corridor’s right-of-way item. In FDOT’s fiscal year 2027 through 2031 adopted work program it carries item status “ROW ACQUISITION BEG.” and funds four right-of-way phases totaling roughly $30 million (FDOT Adopted Work Program):

• Right-of-way purchase: $26,384,592, across fiscal years 2027, 2028, and 2029, of which $19,547,902 is authorized under that program.
• Right-of-way relocation: $1,905,469, in fiscal years 2027 and 2028. This is the phase FDOT uses for displacement costs.
• Right-of-way services and consultant support: $1,739,432, across two further phases.

A funded relocation phase indicates FDOT anticipates displacing occupants, not only narrow strip takes. The last programmed dollar of purchase money sits in fiscal year 2029, which closes June 30, 2029.

If an agent has contacted you about a parcel here, or you expect one to, talk to Jimerson Birr’s eminent domain attorneys before you respond in writing.

What the US 301 Widening Actually Builds in Sumter County

The project rebuilds roughly eight miles of US 301 as three construction segments under a single right-of-way item:

• CR 470 to CR 525E (item 430132-2), letting scheduled June 27, 2027, widening to two lanes each direction with a raised median and 12-foot shared use paths.
• CR 525E to CR 468 at Warm Springs Avenue (item 430132-4), the Coleman realignment, which entered construction in 2025.
• CR 468 to Florida’s Turnpike (item 430132-5), construction contract funding programmed in fiscal year 2027.

Where your parcel sits changes your posture, because FDOT buys land before it builds. Owners on the two segments not yet let for construction sit earlier on that clock.

The Coleman Segment Is a New Alignment, Not Just a Wider Road

That middle segment builds a new two-mile section of highway routing US 301 around the east side of Coleman rather than through it, with two travel lanes each direction separated by a grassed median (FDOT project 430132-4).

The distinction drives the claim. A widening takes a strip. A realignment puts roadway on ground that never carried it, producing whole takings, severed remainders, businesses that lose the frontage their value rests on, and displacement.

Why Relocation Benefits Are Decided Outside Your Condemnation Case

A Sumter County owner can face three recovery systems at once. Section 73.071(3), Florida Statutes, directs that the jury determine “solely” the amount of compensation, which includes the value of the property taken, damages to the remainder on a partial taking including business damages, and, for a displaced mobile home owner, removal expenses capped at the home’s replacement value (s. 73.071). Ordinary household and commercial moving costs are not on that list.

The Florida Supreme Court has explained that the constitution requires a practical attempt to make the owner whole but does not itself require payment for intangible or consequential losses. Business damages are legislative grace, and what is awardable under them may include lost profits, loss of goodwill, and costs related to moving and selling equipment. System Components Corp. v. Florida Dep’t of Transportation, 14 So. 3d 967 (Fla. 2009).

Relocation benefits are the third system, run through FDOT’s administrative program under the federal Uniform Relocation Assistance rules in 49 C.F.R. Part 24. They are decided by the agency rather than by a jury, so the file you build with FDOT is the only record there is.

Which Relocation Benefits Can a Displaced Sumter County Business Claim?

Subject to FDOT’s eligibility determinations under Part 24, a displaced business, farm, or nonprofit may claim:

• Actual, reasonable moving and related expenses under section 24.301, including disconnecting, dismantling, transporting, and reinstalling equipment and personal property. No aggregate cap applies.
• Search expenses for locating a replacement site, up to $5,000.
• Reestablishment expenses for a small business, farm, or nonprofit, up to $33,200 under section 24.304, covering code-required repairs, exterior signage, redecoration, advertising, and estimated increased operating costs.
• A fixed payment in lieu of actual moving costs, not less than $1,000 and not more than $53,200 under section 24.305, based on average annual net earnings, where the business qualifies.
• Loss of tangible personal property you choose not to move, plus licenses, permits, and certifications for the replacement site.

Tenants count. A tenant with no ownership interest in the land can still be a displaced person entitled to relocation benefits, and may separately hold compensable leasehold rights. See compensation for tenants and leaseholders and our commercial leasing practice.

What Displaced Households Can Claim

A displaced 90-day homeowner-occupant may claim a replacement housing payment up to $41,200 under section 24.401, and a displaced 90-day tenant or homeowner up to $9,570 in rental or downpayment assistance under section 24.402, on top of moving expenses. Relocation payments are not treated as income for federal tax purposes.

The Relocation Deadlines That Decide Whether You Collect

Two clocks run at once. On the relocation side, under Part 24:

• At least 90 days advance written notice before a lawful occupant can be required to move, under section 24.203(c), often followed by a further notice giving at least 30 days to the specific move date.
• Eighteen months to file a relocation claim, under section 24.207(d), running from displacement or, for owners, from final payment for the property, whichever is later.
• Not less than 60 days to appeal an eligibility or payment determination, under section 24.10(c).

On the condemnation side, section 73.015 gives the owner at least 30 days after receipt of the presuit notice and offer, or after it is returned undeliverable, before the authority may file suit. A qualifying business owner then has 180 days from receipt of the business damage notice, its return as undeliverable, or a later agreed date, to submit a good-faith written settlement offer with substantiating records. FDOT has 120 days after receiving that offer and the records to accept, reject, or counter.

Facing an offer here? Contact Jimerson Birr before either clock runs out.

How Business Damages Work on a Partial Taking

Business damages can exceed the land value in a commercial file, and they are the one part of the move-related loss a jury can reach.

Section 73.071(3)(b) requires a partial taking by FDOT or another public body acquiring a right of way, a business of more than five years’ standing on or after January 1, 2005, and ownership by the party whose land is taken, with the business on adjoining land that party owns or holds. The claim must be pleaded in written defenses. Section 24.3 then bars a relocation payment for a loss already paid with the same purpose and effect, so reestablishment expenses, business damages, and cost-to-cure items each have to do distinct work. See our introduction to business damages, calculating and proving business damages, and resolving business damage claims.

What Sumter County Owners Should Do, Offer in Hand or Not

1. Identify your segment, and whether the new Coleman alignment bypasses your frontage.
2. Pull five or more years of business records: tax returns, profit and loss statements, leases.
3. Photograph and inventory equipment, signage, site improvements, and any trees or crops before clearing begins.
4. Note any change to access, visibility, or views, and whether your signs or billboards are affected.
5. Read the offer for temporary construction easements, frequently disputed as to value. See maximizing TCE compensation.
6. Do not discuss value or move dates with an agent before you have counsel.

How Jimerson Birr Helps Sumter County Owners and Businesses

Jimerson Birr represents Florida property and business owners in condemnation matters brought by the state, counties, municipalities, and utilities. We research corridor projects at the work program item level and publish what we find, so you walk into the first meeting knowing how your project is funded and scheduled. Our attorneys handle condemnation, inverse condemnation, and land use matters for clients in real estate development and construction.

New to this? See the eminent domain process for Florida commercial property owners and how to challenge a government taking. Corridors: US 1 at Aviation Blvd, Kings Highway, US 41 at SR 54, neighboring Marion County, and other FDOT projects in Central Florida.

One thing worth knowing before you decide whether to call: Florida shifts much of the defense cost to the condemning authority, and section 73.015(4) extends cost and fee recovery to owners who settle before suit is filed, so calling counsel early does not forfeit the entitlement.

FDOT’s right-of-way money for US 301 in Sumter County is programmed and partly authorized. Contact Jimerson Birr to review your parcel, your lease, and your relocation exposure.