The Arbors Hope To Be A Gateway To Wiregrass Ranch

arbors_wiregrasswebAs more homes and businesses go up in the Wiregrass Ranch Development of Regional Impact (DRI) in Wesley Chapel, the more attractive the area becomes.

Those prospects excite the new home builders in the master-planned community, like Lennar, which is currently building 118 townhomes and 29 single-family homes in The Arbors at Wiregrass, located on Cozy Creek Dr. near Estancia at Wiregrass, just off Bruce B. Downs Blvd.

“What’s unique about the Wiregrass Ranch experience is the beauty,” says Steve Seeger, the director of sales and marketing in Lennar’s Tampa division. “There are certain parcels of land that are inherently beautiful…I think this is one of them.”

The Porter family, stewards of the 5,000+ acres of land in the Wiregrass Ranch DRI, has carefully and methodically developed the land. There’s a lot to like about the Wiregrass Ranch community, from the Shops at Wiregrass mall to Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel to coming attractions like a new indoor athletic complex (see pg. 6) and a new movie theater.

New schools are another piece of the DRI pie at Wiregrass Ranch, and with that, come new communities.

“It really was an intersection, no pun intended, of a great location and a great parcel of land that has beautiful characteristics, and is located in the path of growth,’’ Seeger says. Lennar’s latest offering — it currently is building in eight other developments in Pasco County, including Meadow Pointe and Union Park (both in Wesley Chapel) — will feature three products, ranging in sizes small, medium and large, from 1,800-sq.ft. to nearly 2,500-sq.-ft.

There will be attached three-bedroom, 2.5-bath townhomes — one built with two-car garage access from an alley behind the townhome, and the other featuring front access. The townhomes range in size from 1,801-2,466 square feet.

The single-family homes range from 1,982 square feet (with three bedrooms and two bathrooms) to 2,462 square feet (with four bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms) and have detached two-car garages behind the house with open-air breezeways connecting to the home and serving as an outdoor living space.

All told, there are 10 different floor plans in The Arbors.

Pricing starts at just under $200,000, which is a point that makes The Arbors an attractive entryway into a bustling area.

“(Buyers) don’t have to wait to purchase a luxury home that might be too aspirational for them,’’ Seeger says. “Instead of something that might be years down the road for them, we give them an opportunity to live in Wiregrass now.”

There are already 15 homes completed in the community, with roughly another 100 planned to begin construction this year. A handful of residents have already moved in — Traci Moore and her family were among the first, moving down from Michigan after looking at more than 70 homes in several cities.

“The layout of the home was different than any other home we saw while looking to move to Florida,’’ Traci said in a Lennar press release. “We loved the spacious, open floor plan, and the detached garage connected by a breezeway adds a level of privacy that you don’t always find in residential communities. This home was exactly what we were looking for.”

Each home in The Arbors also is part of Lennar’s “Everything’s Included” program, another feature that Seeger thinks distinguishes the Lennar brand.

“It’s very significant that we include the washer, dryer, refrigerator, window blinds, front and rear landscape and irrigation system,’’ he says.

People like Moore will be able to grow with their new community. As the area continues to expand, so will the desire of even more home shoppers to live here.

“There’s a point where the builders, in the infancy of a community, it’s a bit about the product and what can I get at this location, what’s the price of it?,’’ Seeger says. “And,there’s the exceptional communities, where the community becomes the attraction and becomes the magnet. There will be a point in time when people come in and tell us, ‘I am only considering Wiregrass.’”

For more information, visit Lennar.com. The Welcome Center at The Arbors at Wiregrass is located at 28493 Cozy Creek Dr., and can be reached by phone at (844) 483-1935.

Macy’s Future Bleak?

macysIs the Macy’s at the Shops at Wiregrass mall off S.R. 56 on the chopping block?

The department store chain announced in August that it will be closing 100 stores by next year, and the news doesn’t seem to be good for the Macy’s location in Wiregrass.

Morningstar Credit Ratings has identified 28 Macy’s locations with sales below the company’s national average (for 2014, the most recent year information was available), putting the stores at a higher risk of being one of the 100 to be shuttered.

The Wiregrass Macy’s is No. 8 on that list. According to the report, Macy’s reported $118 in sales per square feet. The average for Macy’s overall in 2014 was $169 per sq. ft.

The Macy’s at Cottonwood Mall in Albuquerque, NM, is at the highest risk of closure, with only $76 in sales per square foot. The 28th, or last store on Morningstar’s list, is Marrimack Premium Outlets in New Hampshire, with $166 in sales per sq. ft.

The only other Macy’s on the list of 28 underperforming stores that is located in Florida is at the Lakeland Square Mall on U.S. Hwy. 98 in Lakeland.

Macy’s, which currently has 728 total stores nationwide, is one of the anchors — the “big name” stores that are generally considered paramount to a mall’s success — at the Shops at Wiregrass. Losing an anchor can have a big impact on a mall’s numbers, although it’s not usually a fatal effect.

The Morningstar report states, “However, if a mall is hit by two or more anchor closures, that’s typically the beginning of a downward spiral.”

In Other News…

North Tampa Behavioral Health (NTBH), located on S.R. 56, less than two miles east of the Shops at Wiregrass, broke ground on August 15, as the 53,000-sq.-ft. facility begins a 27,500-sq.-ft. expansion.

Representatives from the Pasco Economic Development Council (EDC) and the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCCC) were on hand to mark the new construction.

groundbrwebAccording to the EDC, the project is expected to bring $10 million in investment and 50 jobs to Pasco County. The Pasco EDC assisted the company in obtaining expedited permitting.

“We are extremely excited to be able to meet the needs of our community through our expansion,’’ said Abbey Brown, director of business development for NTBH, in a press release. “From our veteran and active duty population, to our local area, this project will assist in offering additional services to our growing community.”

NTBH is a private, inpatient mental health and substance abuse treatment center.  The facility currently has 75 beds and addresses a range of behavioral issues, including depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and others.

The expansion will add 24 beds, with “shell” space for 24 additional beds in the future. The first phase is set to grow NTBH’s C.O.R.E. (“Challenge. Overcome. Restore. Empower”) program, which addresses the needs of the area’s veteran population.

Construction on the site actually began on August 22 and is expected to be complete in approximately nine months, or sometime around May 2017.

For additional information, visit NorthTampaBehavioralHealth.com.

New Ranch Aims To Turn Your Kid Into A Baseball Rockstar

rockstar2webOn five acres of land off Old Pasco Rd., Ryan Pryor has built a ranch devoted to teaching America’s pastime.

Pryor’s Rockstar Baseball Ranch (RBR) has everything from hitting stables with seven batting cages to five bullpens for pitchers, as well as a drill field, batting tees, outfield ranges, long toss throwing lanes and a fitness corral. There’s even a pond on the property for some occasional fishing.

On Sept. 9, RBR held a grand opening event, as the ping of bat to ball rang out through the country air, and Pryor gave a glimpse into the kind of instruction prospective baseball members would receive.

“The grand opening went great,’’ Pryor says. “We got a great response from the parents, we were able to take them through the training zones; we showed them a lot of drills they hadn’t seen before.”

Those drills, Pryor says, have proven results. Although RBR is a membership facility (starting at $49 a month), it is currently offering area baseball teams (travel, recreation, softball) a chance to try it out with free hitting practice in September through Oct. 31.

Results Driven Coaching

Pryor is convinced players and coaches will see results quickly.

A former high school standout in Georgia and a college player at Fresno State (CA), he is applying a lifetime of baseball expertise to local baseball players of all shapes and sizes — as well as all talent levels.

He is known locally after coaching in the Wesley Chapel and New Tampa area for years, starting out as a softball assistant at Paul R. Wharton High in New Tampa and at Wiregrass Ranch High (WRH), before then-Wiregrass baseball coach Jeff Swymer asked Pryor to join the baseball staff. With the Bulls, Swymer and Pryor had great success, coming up a game short of the state finals in 2013. In 2014, Swymer was hired at Bishop McLaughlin High in Spring Hill, and Pryor decided to follow him. In 2015, the Hurricanes made it to the Class 3A State Semifinals.

rockstar1webPryor resigned after last season to more effectively launch his RBR. What began as a baseball training business out of his garage in 2009 has grown into a large undertaking with lots of potential. “If I could train players in a 10×10 garage, imagine what I could do on five acres,’’ he says.

The Wesley Chapel resident is hoping RBR becomes a resource for local players, parents and coaches. He sees himself as a local farm system for local leagues and high schools, giving baseball players the extra training they need.

“What we’re trying to do is be a support to coaches, parents and the players so everyone has a better baseball experience all around,” Pryor says.

In fact, he adds that he hopes to even finalize a program for adults who want to be better coaches by offering a certification course, so they can also help develop better baseball players.

The focus, right now, remains on the kids. “We prepare kids for high school, that’s kind of where we are today,’’ Pryor says.

Pryor likes to think he can turn any player into a baseball rockstar, and he uses a quick, fun and strenuous approach to smooth out a player’s rough edges.

“The big thing that the parents said at the grand opening is that we had the ability to keep the players’ attention,’’ Pryor says. “That’s important.”

The last three years, Wesley Chapel resident Max Ferrera has been taking his son Mitchell, a freshman at WRH, all the way to Bishop McLaughlin to train with Coach Pryor. The 45-minute trip each way was been worth it, Ferrera says.

“He runs the best practices I’ve ever seen,’’ says Ferrera, a former high school football coach in Hillsborough County. “For me, I looked at a lot of other places, did a lot of research, went and watched, and thought it was more people trying to recruit the best 9-12 players they could find for individual development. With Ryan, every kid was given the opportunity to develop.”

Pryor says he has hundreds of kids he has helped make high school teams, and some of them have gone on to play baseball in college.

He prides himself on fixing things in someone’s swing or pitching delivery that neither they nor their parents and coaches can see. He employs video analysis and an intricate step-by-step method of instruction. At his RBR grand opening, Pryor says he gave one 20-minute demonstration to a coach showing him how to fix a player’s swing — starting from the end of it and working backwards — and that the coach has used that lesson and has already seen a difference in his team’s results.

Pryor is all about the big picture, but not before assembling all the little pieces of it together in the right sequence.

“We like to break everything down into smaller pieces,’’ he says. “It’s sort of like baking a cake.’’

The Rockstar Baseball Ranch (8931 Elkmont Ln.) has a number of specials — from Fundamental Fridays (an 8-week course on baseball fundamentals beginning Sept. 30) to a Halloween Whiffle Ball tournament fund raiser for cancer on Oct. 30. For more info, call 992-1030 or visit RockstarBaseballRanch.com.

County Down To Two Choices To Build, Run Sports Complex

complexphoto2Four companies got into the game of trying to earn a chance to build and operate a new indoor sports facility in the Wiregrass Ranch Development of Regional Impact (DRI), but only two will be allowed to keep playing, after a Pasco County committee narrowed the field last week.

Sports Facilities Management (SFM) and RADDSPORTS, a pair of Tampa Bay-based properties, are still alive and get the opportunity to present their proposals to a county evaluation committee September 30 at the West Pasco Government Center in New Port Richey.

Whoever is recommended at that meeting will go before the Pasco Board of County Commissioners (BCC) for final approval.

The complex will be built on 120 acres of land donated to the county by the Porter family, the owners and developers of Wiregrass Ranch. The county also previously agreed to contribute $8.5 million to the design and construction of the facility from money raised through its tourism development tax.

The two companies selected by the county committee — Parks, Recreation & Natural Resources department director Kelley Boree, facilities management director Ed Breitenbach, tourism manager Ed Caum, strategic policy administrator Richard Gehring and assistant county administrators Heather Grimes and Cathy Pearson — both have prior experience in the bustling sports tourism field.

Sports Facilities Management runs the successful Rocky Top Sports World in Gatlinburg, TN, which is often cited as the perfect example of what the county envisions for the Wiregrass Ranch project, which SFM refers to as the “Pasco County Sportsplex.” It also manages the Myrtle Beach Sports Center in South Carolina, the Legends Sports Complex in The Woodlands, TX, and Round Rock Sports Complex in Round Rock, TX.

According to the Sports Facilities Planning Guide,  SFM manages five of the top nine venues in the country.

Headquartered in Clearwater, SFM is proposing a $16.5-million project for Wiregrass, with a 92,000-sq.-ft. building housing six full-size basketball courts, or 12 volleyball courts, based on the configuration.

There will be a rollout synthetic turf, which can accommodate 4-6 turf fields depending upon the sport and configuration. The facility also will have locker rooms, an adventure area for multiple non-sports events, party and office areas and a mezzanine court area, along with food service.

According to SFM, the new sports facility would generate nearly 30,000 room nights in Year One from non-local users, with that number increasing to more than 40,000 by the fifth year, equating to nearly $4 million in direct economic impact to Pasco County its initial year and $24 million total over the first five years.

SFM already has begun the process of collecting letters of intent, commitments and verbal interest, and included in its proposal a handful of letters of intent to book the facility from gymnastics, cheerleading and basketball event coordinators.

Pretty RADD, Dude!

RADDSPORTS is joined in its proposal by Mainsail Development Group, Inc., which develops resorts and hotels, and real estate consultant Municipal Acquisition, LLC.

Headed up by Richard Blalock, who helped transform Newberry’s sports recreation scene as the tiny central Florida city’s recreation director, RADDSPORTS proposes an amateur sports facility of approximately 100,000-sq.-ft., with eight basketball courts, a 100+ room hotel, an open-air amphitheater with event lawn, sports turf fields, trails and playgrounds.

The cost of the hotel would be $15 million, but since a hotel wasn’t listed in the request for proposal (RFP) it would have to be negotiated and the county is looking into the deed restrictions on the property. A 92-room Fairfield Inn & Suites is being built on land sold by the Porters just south of the proposed facility off S.R. 56.

The amphitheater shell will accommodate 500-1,500 attendees for a variety of events such as concerts, festivals and theater performances. RADDSPORTS’ plan projects 36 events per nine-month season.

“The  economic  impact  of  the  project  will  easily  exceed a million dollars per year in additional visitor spending in the community,” the proposal states.

RADDSPORTS also proposed 700kw solar panels on the roof of the facility, which the company says will produce 1,075 MwH of power annually, enough to offset current energy prices by $140,000 annually.

Also in its proposal, three financing options were suggested, including a plan to increase the county’s “bed” tax (on transient lodging), or tourist development tax, to 5 percent from its current 2 percent.

Holladay Properties, a South Bend, IN, real estate development and management firm that did not make the cut, had no interest in operating the facilities, just merely developing it and supporting whoever is chosen to operate it. However, the RFP stated the county was looking for a partner to run the facility, which was suggested by the Johnson Consulting Group in their county-funded feasibility report last year.

The last bidder -— Land O’Lakes’ Ultimate Sports Complex Athletics (USCA) Management Co., founded in June, was deemed too inexperienced by the committee. Ultimate filed a lofty proposal that called for four buildings and projected $51 million in annual income, based on 500,000 visitors.

Editorial: Raymond James Is Official; More To Come In WC…& On WCNT-tv!

gary-newShortly before we went to press with our latest issue (which hit Wesley Chapel mailboxes Friday), it was announced on TampaBay.com (and on the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce website, WesleyChapelChamber.com) that Raymond James Financial had closed on 65 acres of property in the Wiregrass Ranch Development of Regional Impact (DRI).

The Times report says that the finalization of the long-awaited agreement came just days after Pasco County amended its incentive agreement with the company and Wiregrass Ranch Inc. to eliminate a deadline for construction to begin on Raymond James’ planned six four-story buildings totalling 1 million square feet. Combined, the state and Pasco County incentives total $14 million.

JD Porter, who is managing the development of the ranch for his family’s trust, was quoted as saying that now that Raymond James is officially in the fold after closing on the parcel located east of the Shops at Wiregrass mall on S.R. 56 at Mansfield Blvd, “I think a lot of other office uses will follow. It bodes well for everybody.’’

There’s no doubt that the Porter family is still at the forefront of the continuing development of Wesley Chapel, although Wiregrass Ranch isn’t the only part of zip codes 33543, 33544 and 33545 that is still booming.

In Wiregrass Ranch, as we’ve told you before, Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel (FHWC) and North Tampa Behavioral Health (see story on pg. 8 in current Wesley Chapel issue) both are in the process of expanding, with FHWC close to completing its upward expansion. In addition, Florida Medical Clinic is very close to opening a new 80,000-sq.-ft. campus on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. just south of the hospital, bringing many more doctors’ offices within minutes of all of our Wesley Chapel readers. As we’ve also reported before, the Shops at Wiregrass mall also is expanding, although at least one major retailer in the mall, Macy’s, may be closing.

The residential portions of Wiregrass Ranch also are expanding, as a new community called The Arbors (also see story on pg. 10) is now building new single-family homes and attached townhomes near the already-popular Estancia at Wiregrass subdivision off BBD north of FHWC. Also selling well are the luxurious GL Homes in The Ridge at Wiregrass Ranch subdivision south of S.R. 56 (see the ad on this issue’s back cover, pg. 48).

But again, there also is plenty happening as you head west along S.R. 56 towards I-75, as a new Wawa gas station and convenience store is getting ready to open just west of the intersection of BBD on S.R. 56. The much bigger news is that Florida Hospital Center Ice (FHCI), which is expected to open before Thanksgiving of this year, also will host the next “Taste of New Tampa” (and Wesley Chapel) on March 18, 2017.

And, continuing west on S.R. 56, the area around the Tampa Premium Outlets (TPO) mall also continues to be white-hot, as WCCC members recently got an update on the progress of the 150,000-sq.-ft. Costco being built next to TPO (see story on pg. 13), and both our future print editions and upcoming episodes of WCNT-tv will provide you with updates on the planned openings of both BJ’s Brewhouse and Longhorn Steakhouse near the outlet mall, as well as any progress on the just-beginning construction north of S.R. 56 between I-75 and Wesley Chapel Blvd.

And, Speaking Of WCNT-tv…

My partner and producer on WCNT-tv — Full Throttle Intermedia owner Craig Miller — and I (and everyone affiliated with the show) are so excited to announce that Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel, after completing its initial six-episode commitment to be the Studio Sponsor for WCNT-tv, has agreed to sponsor the next ten episodes of the show, which currently has seven episodes “in the can,” all of which are available on our own WCNT-tv YouTube channel.

Episode 7, which debuted on Sept. 16 (a week before you received this publication in your mailbox) features the exclusive first announcement of the Taste of New Tampa, Mollyana Ward’s interview with our Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce Featured Business — Kent and Cindy Ross of RP&G Printing — and my three favorite steakhouses in Tampa. There’s also three you-heard-them-here-first announcements of three great events coming up in our area, has gotten some of the best response we’ve had to date.

(Note-“Mollyana” is the correct spelling of her name, so apologies to our outstanding Chamber Featured Business host for anytime we’ve spelled it wrong in print before.)

Yes, we’re building momentum with this thing, so I hope everyone who reads this editorial either in your print edition or online will watch, like and share not only all seven episodes produced to date, but also Episode 8 (which will premiere on Friday, September 30) and every 8-9-minute-long show after that. We also re-release every episode as individual 2-3-minute segments, so we never take up too much of your time online. Our only goal is to continue to find new ways to inform and, hopefully, entertain you, too — and get you to frequent the businesses mentioned and mention that you saw them on WCNT-tv!

Look for new episodes every other Friday. In other words, when you receive this publication in your mailbox, a new episode of WCNT-tv will air one and three weeks later. And, look for more unique video programming from the producers of WCNT-tv in the future.