DENVER — Ardent Mills has selected Port Tampa Bay as the future site of a $62 million flour mill and grain storage terminal that will replace its current mill located in downtown Tampa, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

Ardent Mills announced in October 2018 plans to sell the property where its downtown Tampa mill is located to Strategic Property Partners for more than $13 million.

Ardent Mills will continue to produce flour at the downtown site until the Port Tampa Bay facility is operational. Ardent Mills said the project is expected to take 18 to 24 months to complete.

The new plant, which will have a full-time staff of 31, is expected to become operational in 2021.

The plant in Tampa is the largest flour mill in Florida with a daily production capacity of 14,500 cwts per day, according to Sosland Publishing Company’s 2019 Grain & Milling Annual. The state has two flour mills with an overall daily milling capacity of 27,500 cwts.

Florida is the fifth fastest growing state in the United States and the third largest state with 21.3 million residents.

“We are committed to our expert Tampa team, the opportunity to continue to delight our customers, and serve our great neighbors in Tampa and Central Florida,” Daniel Dye, chief executive officer of Ardent Mills, said when the sale of the mill property first was announced. “We have enjoyed this privilege for more than three decades and look forward to supporting the Tampa community, Central Florida, and customers across the state for many decades to come with a new state-of-the-art mill capable of growing with our customers.”

Ardent Mills’ overall daily capacity is nearly 500,000 cwts, by far the largest in the United States.