In March 2011, amid much fanfare and excitement, Charlotte County commissioners agreed to swap 137 acres of raw land in Murdock Village for roughly 34 acres of shovel-ready property owned by Southwest Land Developers near the Punta Gorda Airport.

At the time, county economic-development staff was trying to woo prospective businesses to the area and needed move-in-ready industrial property to sweeten the offer, according to those familiar with the deal.