BayCare Health’s proposed YMCA (two black outlines at center left) and medical office building (top rectangle close to BBD).
As reported by Kelly Gilroy on her outstanding “Pasco County Development and Growth Updates” Facebook page on Aug. 24 — after no updates since representatives from the YMCA first started attending local meetings a couple of years ago — BayCare Health Systems is having a pre-application meeting with Pasco County staff to propose 52,391-sq.-ft. YMCA and a 100,000-sq.-ft., two-story medical office building. The plan includes parking lots, a “New Drive” roadway and a curb-cut connection at the southwest corner of Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. and Eagleston Blvd., next to the new BayCare Wesley Chapel hospital. We’ll update this story once we have additional information.
Home Sense Opens Next To Bealls
On Aug. 10, a new Homesense store opened in the Shoppes at New Tampa of Wesley Chapel, between the also-still-new Bealls Outlet and Flip Flop Shops stores in the plaza on BBD Blvd. south of S.R. 56.
Homesense — the off-price home store featuring high-quality furniture and accessories that is the newest retail banner of The TJX Companies, Inc. — now operates 50 stores in the U.S. TJX is the leading off-price retailer of apparel and home fashions in the U.S. and worldwide. The company operates nearly 5,000 total stores in nine countries, including 1,304 T.J. Maxx, 1,189 Marshalls, 901 HomeGoods, 81 Sierra, and now 50 Homesense stores.
I visited the new store the day it opened and it was packed with not only people, but as-advertised great prices on everything from couches to wall art to Halloween knickknacks (photo above). For more information, visit us.homesense.com or call (813) 991-0249.
Subaru’s Grand Grand Opening!
Although the dealership has been open for several months, we want to thank Subaru of Wesley Chapel (located at 26570 Silver Maple Pkwy., just south of S.R. 56) owner Scott Fink and his entire staff for hosting one of the greatest Grand Opening and North Tampa Bay Chamber ribbon-cutting (top photo) events in recent memory on Sept. 7.
An estimated crowd of at least 300 people attended the dog-friendly event (the dealership is a supporter of the Humane Society of Tampa Bay), which included three food trucks, lots of amazing raffle prizes (including a mountain bike, kayak and paddleboard) and lots of happy dogs, some up for adoption, others with their owners and some with their Pasco Sheriff’s Office handlers (photo, below).
“Scott Fink and his Fink Auto Group definitely know how to throw a party,” said NTBC president & CEO Hope Kennedy. “We appreciate the opportunity to be here to cut the ribbon.” For more information about Subaru of Wesley Chapel, call (813) 618-5051 or visit SubaruWesleyChapel.com.
Paul Spalvieri and his fur babies Max and Missy invite you to check out any of the three Max’s Natural Pet Market & Salon locations in our area. (Photos by Charmaine George)
Since launching in September 2019, Max’s Natural Pet Market & Salon has garnered a positive reputation — with glowing Google reviews — thanks to its exceptional customer service and expertise.
Founder Paul Spalvieri and his wife Martina live in Watergrass in Wesley Chapel with children Matthew, Martinka and Kristinka, and fur babies Max, a Bichon Frise, and Missy, a Havanese.
Paul opened the original Max’s Natural Pet Market & Salon to create a place where Max and other pets would have the safest, vetted holistic products, foods and grooming, an antithesis of big-box corporate companies. Named after Max, each of Paul’s three locations — soon to be seven in 2024 — boast experienced staff who can help pet parents find what they need for their dogs and cats.
“We found our first location in Wesley Chapel, and Max and I went into business together.”
Paul ensures he is up-to-date on the newest developments in pet technology, nutrition and retail products by attending global conventions twice a year. The core philosophy underlying Max’s is centered on functional, purpose-driven foods. Whether raw or gently cooked for pets with sensitive stomachs, with Ketogenic or fermented choices, the focus is on human-grade, biologically appropriate, organic nourishment sourced from pasture-raised animals, primarily within the U.S.
Max’s offers a wide variety of other nutrition products, like probiotic goat milk and cow kefir that help with Leaky Gut Syndrome. Their dry kibble selection is USDA-endorsed for human consumption and is free from feed-grade ingredients, aligning with Paul’s dedication to quality.
Paul highlights the connection between a poor pet diet and the recent surge in pet diseases, often traced back to non-organic kibble laden with pesticides. He cites numerous instances where dietary changes have positively improved pets’ health.
You can bring your pup in to choose his or her own toy at Max’s.
“Our staff is highly educated on holistic natural nutrition, how dogs and cats should eat, how to mitigate disease and how to prevent certain conditions from advancing. There have been cases where we have helped reverse pancreatitis, different stages of kidney failure and diabetes through nutritional interventions. We follow that science versus Western (veterinary) medicine and the way they treat illnesses. We take digestional health and nutritional health very seriously. If it’s in my store, I feed it to my own pups.”
A success story from customer Amanda Medina underscores the transformative ability of the raw food diet that Max’s advocates. Paul shares the story of Medina’s dachshund, Max. Previously overweight, bloated, inactive, and battling severe pancreatitis, Max’s health changed through diligent efforts, trial and error and identifying a suitable raw protein. Amanda told Paul that Max’s progress was remarkable in terms of weight loss, restored energy and improved vet test results.
Fast forward to last month. Paul says, “Amanda opened the passenger side door, and out jumped Max, who came running into the store.”
Amanda confirms the transformation, “Paul ordered proteins until we found one that worked. We recently returned for his vet follow-up, and his numbers are within the normal range. I recommend Max’s. The customer service is amazing, and the people there are helpful and knowledgeable. I try to keep Max off medication, keep it natural and holistic. Paul has been great at keeping Max holistic and working in conjunction with our regular veterinarian.”
Great Grooming & More!
All of the Max’s locations also excel in pet grooming with award-winning groomers and Master Groomers, setting itself apart through cage- and kennel-free grooming environments. Whether it’s a standard bath, an OPAWZ brand pet-color-safe purple mohawk (photo below), a holiday-inspired color-safe fur design, or a soothing TheraClean microbubble spa treatment, the salon’s professionals ensure stress-free grooming experiences.
The TheraClean spa add-on works wonders on pets with skin disorders and allergies. Unlike regular shampooing, this specialized process detoxifies the skin layers, removing deeply embedded dirt, yeast and bacteria allergens. A pleasant side effect of oxygenating the skin’s capillaries is that it helps relieve arthritis and joint stiffness. Paul says some customers report senior dogs behaving like puppies after treatments. Even the groomers have benefited from having their hands in the oxygenated water.
Paul’s commitment to pet education extends to his stores’ three-level Learn to Groom course, covering Bathing, Grooming, and Styling, as well as a five-week dog-training program for Puppies and Beginners, as well as private training sessions.
Paul says that since opening, many of Max’s more than 10,000 customers have asked him to expand his services into daycare and pet boarding. He has now responded by adding a Luxury Pet Hotel with in-suite services and amenities and a fun Enrichment Pet Doggy Daycare.
“They asked, ‘Why aren’t you opening a daycare, a place we can board our pets safely, where we can feel confident that they will be looked after with the same compassion and caring we see on your retail and grooming side?’ We’ve had a great response from the communities we serve, and it makes sense to have our business evolve this way because the community has been asking for it.”
He adds, “For those parents who work or want to travel, we’re creating a luxury pet hotel where the suites are oversized and monitored by cameras. In other places, the dog is in a kennel on their own (while you’re away). Our pet parents can dial in on the internet and see their fur babies. We have services like dinner and a movie. They’re getting brushed and played with. They have physical time with their caregiver and an interactive toy. The pets have filtered water, bedding changed daily, and we have a customized meal plan available, or pet parents can bring their own food, and we’ll follow their meal plan.”
And finally, he says, “They also have regular activities, so they’re not just sitting in a kennel while you’re on vacation. I don’t want that for Max, so I don’t want that for our customers’ dogs. We’re doing it differently and properly. Whether with us for a day or two weeks, they’ll be exercised and have a chance to play. They also can chill out and relax.”
Animal-friendly pets enjoying the Pet Hotel can join the Enrichment Doggie Daycare area to play and socialize with other dogs. Cats aren’t forgotten, either. They’re spoiled in their Kitty Condo Suite with a climbing tree, plenty of organic catnip toys and a filtered water fountain.
“Our main goal is for your pets’ experience to be the best it can be,” Paul says. “I want to see tails wagging coming into our doors and tails wagging when they leave. That experience is important in retail, grooming, boarding and daycare.”
Max’s Natural Pet Market & Salon has three locations open daily from 8 a.m.–7 p.m. The Wesley Chapel Max’s is at 28838 S.R. 54 and can be reached at (813) 649-3939. The New Tampa store (6431 E. County Line Rd.) can be reached at (813) 591-5368 and the Mirada (30945 Mirada Blvd.) can be reached at (352) 437-6677. Max’s also has franchise opportunities available. For more info, visit MaxsPetMarketandSalon.com. Paul says his Fort Myers and Starkey Ranch locations will open this year.
A drone shot of the Anand Vihar 55+ community just north of the Pasco County line on Mansfield Blvd. in Meadow Pointe. (Map & photos provided by Hillsborough County & AnandViharTampa.com)
Earlier this year, we told you about Hillsborough County’s plans to build an indoor recreation center at Pride Park, just south of Pride Elementary.
The problem the county faced was how to fund the nearly $7 million needed to build the 16,000-sq.-ft. indoor Pride Recreation Center, which is planned to include space for basketball, volleyball, pickleball and even space for meetings, after-school programs and perhaps an outdoor splash pad.
The 61.89-acre parcel in Live Oak Preserve purchased by Anand Vihar, LLC, from Hillsborough County is outlined in purple.
Well, for many years, as part of the development of Live Oak Preserve, Hillsborough has owned an unused 61.89-acre parcel a little bit west and north of where the Pride Rec Center is planned that abuts the boundary between Live Oak in the county and the City of Tampa’s K-Bar Ranch/Easton Park development.
The same parcel, which is shaped like a much smaller version of the state of Nevada (see map), also extends north to the Hillsborough/Pasco County line, basically to where Kinnan St. (in the city) meets Mansfield Blvd. in Pasco — where there currently is a gated arm that only opens for emergency vehicles, as Pasco has rejected all attempts over the years to open that patch of roadway to regular vehicular traffic.
On Apr. 5 of this year, Hillsborough County sold this nearly 62-acre parcel of land — which countywide District 2 County Commissioner Ken Hagan said was not in the plans to be developed into a park by the county — to Anand Vihar, LLC, for the price of $6,001,200. It just so happens that Anand Vihar, LLC (and its development group, Convergent Capital Partners) is the same group that owned and developed the property immediately to the north, in Pasco County, as an age 55+ community by the same “Anand Vihar” name.
That Pasco-based property, which is home to a large number of doctors and engineers originally from India, was just turned over to the community’s condo association in June 2023, and is now home to 167 attached townhomes.
However, Santosh Govindaraju, the chief executive officer of Convergent Capital partners, says that when plans are filed in November with Hillsborough County, Convergent will seek approval for 111 single-family homes on the new property, with homes ranging in price from $550,000 to $1 million, and from 1,800-2,500 square feet. The property in Live Oak also is expected to be developed as an age 55-and-older community.
The monument sign of the Anand Vihar 55+ community just north of the Pasco County line on Mansfield Blvd. in Meadow Pointe.
Although the original zoning approval for the site would allow for 143 homes, Govindaraju has said that with only 111 homes, there will be more open “green” space available. In other words, whether the Hillsborough-based community also will be called Anand Vihar or not, it will prove to be a more upscale community than Anand Vihar in Pasco.
What remains to be seen, of course, is whether or not the two separate communities can ever be connected by anything other than the nature trail that is in the current site plan for the Hillsborough County property. At the present time, the residents of the Hillsborough County Anand Vihar property would only be able to access Pasco County by taking K-Bar Ranch Pkwy. east to Meadow Pointe Blvd., turn north to Beardsley Dr. and then back to the west on Beardsley Dr. to access the Anand Vihar property on Mansfield Blvd.
Is there a possibility — with former Dist. 2 Pasco Commissioner Mike Moore — who never budged on allowing the connection at Kinnan St./Mansfield Blvd. — now replaced by Commissioner Seth Weightman in Pasco’s Dist. 2, that a road connection between the two Anand Vihar communities could be allowed? That remains to be seen.
As for the Pride Recreation Center, Commissioner Hagan says the $6-million in proceeds from the Live Oak park site sale will pay for most of the cost of its construction, which is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2024 and be completed by the end of next year or early in 2025.
“There was an additional funding need of about $750,000 or $775,000 to build the rec center,” Hagan says. “But, we already have that additional funding worked out in our fiscal 2024 budget.”
Hagan adds that he is excited that the rec center is now coming to fruition.
