USF School Of Public Affairs To Study New Tampa Business

In campaign meetings with New Tampa community leaders and residents, former City of Tampa Police (TPD) Chief and mayoral candidate Jane Castor said the usual concerns were raised by those groups. But, along with traffic congestion, the conditions of roads and the affordability of homes, the topic of New Tampa businesses came up often.

“One of the main issues was concern over a lack of sustained retail along Bruce B. Downs,” Castor says.

Castor’s thought was that while no single reason was given for what might be causing what some see as an exodus of restaurants and retailers — although congested local roads, access and the growth of Wesley Chapel were mentioned — she also says New Tampa’s business climate was worth looking at. “I’m excited about the study,” Castor says.

In a chance meeting shortly thereafter with Karen Kress, the director of Transportation and Planning for the Tampa Downtown Partnership, wheels were put in motion for a study that is now being organized by the University of South Florida’s School of Public Affairs and director Ron Sanders, says Sam Becker, an intern for Kress, who attended one of Castor’s meetings with local groups. Afterwards, Becker had a discussion with Castor and Kress, and brought up the idea of a study to Sanders, who conducted a poll of graduate students working towards their Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning.

Four students volunteered to conduct the study, which also will include input from local business leaders, District 7 Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera and the North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce.

According to Sanders, the study, which is still being defined, will take place this summer and in two phases — one will be a “listening tour” that will be conducted through meetings held with focus groups of citizens and business owners, and two, there also will be a field study.

“We’re still trying to find the parameters of the study, but the basic premise is to try to look at what is happening in New Tampa, the outmigration of some of the stores, and see if there’s anything that can be done about it,” Sanders says.

District 7 Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera has been pushing for some kind of study, and he says he was pleased to learn USF would be involved.

Too Much Ado About It?

While there are some who feel the issue is overblown and that the current outmigration is simply part of a national trend that’s the result of the cyclical nature of business combined with the ever-changing effect of e-commerce, Viera hopes the study will root out any potential underlying issues.

As we’ve reported in previous issues, the Market Square at Tampa Palms plaza has seen HH Gregg, Staples and Bed Bath & Beyond close; restaurants like Casa Ramos in Tampa Palms and Ruby Tuesday on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd just north of I-75, also have been shuttered.

The old Romano’s Macaroni Grill site has twice been reborn as a Mexican restaurant that failed both times, and even non-chain restaurants like the once-super-popular Spanish restaurant CafĂ© OlĂ© have shut down.

There are signs of life, however. The old Dairy Queen on BBD is now a Jamaican restaurant (see ad on page 43), the Beef O’Brady’s on Cross Creek Blvd. is expected to reopen soon as an Italian eatery, and Las Palmas has re-opened in a different New Tampa location after the original location closed in 2018.

Also, The Village at Hunter’s Lake project will bring more than a dozen new businesses to New Tampa when it is completed.

“I think it is not clear how much (of the business closings) are consistent with national trends, or if it’s cyclical, or part of it is technology,” Sanders says. “If it’s part of a macro trend, or national, it’s not clear how much can be done about it. But, we’ll also look for local circumstances and conditions that may be driving it. Those are more addressable.”

Sanders also says the study will be ideal for his students, and that USF wants to be a good neighbor and lend a hand. If the study does produce something concrete, it could lead to the city conducting something “more extensive and sophisticated.”

The study is still being developed, so how long it will take and when results will be published are unclear.

Done Deal: Ground Broken On New Tampa Rec Center Expansion

Tampa City Council member Luis Viera (left) and Tampa Palms resident Tracy Falkowitz, who led the effort to get funding for the New Tampa Rec Center expansion approved, are assisted by some of the facility’s preschool kids at the expansion’s Apr. 12 groundbreaking. (Photo: John C. Cotey)

When the official groundbreaking for the expansion of the New Tampa Recreation Center (NTRC) was held on April 12, and a gaggle of local dignitaries and preschoolers dressed as construction workers wearing pink hard hats sent shovelfuls of dirt flying through the air, there was probably no one happier than Heather Erickson.

For the City of Tampa’s manager of aquatics, athletics and special facilities, the 7,285-sq.-ft. expansion of the NTRC is a long-awaited dream come true.

As the gatekeeper of the city’s immensely popular and successful gymnastics and dance programs, which currently includes more than 1,200 students at NTRC, Erickson has had to delay the enrollment of more children than she’d care to remember.

The expansion, however, should allow Erickson to admit roughly 300 additional kids into NTRC programs.

“We’re pretty happy,” Erickson said. “This is going to let us do even more than we already do.”

Those attending the groundbreaking included outgoing Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn (in perhaps his final official act as mayor), City Council members Luis Viera, Mike Suarez, Harry Cohen and Guido Maniscalco and Tampa Palms resident and activist Tracy Falkowitz.

All offered praise for the results the gymnastics and dance programs have produced, and noted the long road to getting the NTRC expanded.

Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn. gets a helping hand at the NTRC groundbreaking. (Photo: John C. Cotey)

Buckhorn, who leaves office in a few weeks, acknowledged the struggle finding the full amount needed — $2.6 million in all — for the project in the years following the 2008 recession.

Viera and Falkowitz, along with others in the New Tampa community, however, worked doggedly together to finally convince the city to put — and keep — the rec center expansion in the fiscal year 2018 budget.

“Thanks, particularly to the advocacy of Luis Viera, who was relentless,” Buckhorn said. “He was like a pitbull on my leg to make sure New Tampa was going to be taken care of. And, Tracy was absolutely right, that this journey had gone on too long, and the demands were too great and the quality of the programming was too superb that (why) shouldn’t and couldn’t we expand this to give more kids the opportunity to enjoy the amazing mentorship of our Parks & Recreation, and give New Tampa the amenity that it so rightly deserved. We got it through.”

The NTRC expansion is expected to be completed by February of 2020,  which is good news for many on the waiting list of 1,400 — 960 waiting to get into gymnastics, the rest waiting to get into the center’s dance programs.

There are three basic components of the expansion, the first of which is adding a room specifically for children ages 5 and under, who currently share space with older kids in the 12,500-sq.-ft. gymnastics area.

By giving them their own 50’ x 40’ room, it allows for more older students to be added to the program, and also provides more of a focus on the younger pre-schoolers.

Another 50’ x 40’ all-purpose room for dance also will be added.

And lastly, the expansion will include a 1,760-sq.-ft. “training box,” which will offer a wealth of possible training exercises for a variety of sports, like retractable batting cages, and offer small group fitness classes. The new addition to the NTRC also will have more windows so parents and family can watch the gymnastics and dance programs, as well as six new bathrooms.

One of the bathrooms will even have an electromagnetic lock, so it can be open on the weekends for those using the outdoor areas when the NTRC is closed.

Sprouts, 12 others signed up for Hunter’s Lake project

New Tampa’s first green grocer, Sprouts Farmers Market, is prepping construction on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. across from the main entrance Hunter’s Green, and according to the developer’s listing on its website, it already has some neighboring businesses waiting to move in as well.

Regency Centers, which is developing The Village at Hunter’s Lake project along with Harrison Bennett Properties, shows the 29,257-sq.-ft. Sprouts as the anchor of the much-anticipated mixed-use project, although there also are 12 other tenants ready to fill the retail shopping strip.

And, six of the retail spaces are still available. A map on the Regency Centers website lists a row of businesses that have apparently already signed leases, ranging from health and beauty businesses to a few places to grab a bite to eat or have a coffee.

The Village at Hunter’s Lake across from the Hunter’s Green entrance is starting to take shape.

The Village at Hunter’s Lake, which in total will have 71,397 sq. ft. of commercial space, will have — not surprisingly — a Starbucks, according to the website. 

Three other places in the development will offer food and drink. Poke Island Plus, featuring traditional Hawaiian dishes of cubed raw fish and other fresh ingredients, is among them.

Poke is one of the hot, trendy food items in the country at the moment, and another similar restaurant, Poke Point, recently opened on the west side of BBD, a couple of miles north of AdventHealth Wesley Chapel.

It won’t be the only eatery offering healthy bowls of food in The Village at Hunter’s Lake. Grain & Berry, a quickly growing local chain that hopes to have 100 stores statewide by the end of the year, is also scheduled to lease a location in the commercial project.

Founded in 2017, Grain & Berry has seven locations in the Tampa Bay area (the nearest being on E. Fowler Ave.) and specializes in acai bowls. 

Dubbing itself a superfoods cafe, Grain & Berry offers fresh pressed juices, hearty avocado toasts and international coffees, in addition to bowls filled with acai — a purple berry rich in antioxidants — and varieties of different fruits and grains.

But Wait, There’s More!

And, if you’re going to be looking for something maybe a little more hearty, Via Italia Woodfired Pizza & Bar is also listed on the Regency Centers website (as Double Zero Pizza) as headed to New Tampa.

Other spaces are leased by chains like Pure Beauty Salon, T-Mobile, Heartland Dental, Hair Cuttery, Pink & White Nails and Nationwide Vision Center.

The Coder School, a franchise founded in 2014 and headquartered in Silicon Valley that teaches computer coding to children year-round, also is slated to be located in the The Villages at Hunter’s Lake.

Permit requests also have been submitted to Hillsborough County to build two monument signs and a screen wall, as well as a 3,200-sq.-ft. Banfield Pet Hospital.

The Haven at Hunter’s Lake

Voicemail messages left at Regency Centers we’re not returned.

The Village at Hunter’s Lake project, originally approved by the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners by a 7-0 vote in 2014, will be built on an 80-acre parcel that also will include a 30,000-sq.-ft. New Tampa Cultural Center, a dog park and a four-story, 241-unit multi-family project to be called The Haven at Hunter’s Lake.

The project, located in the heart of New Tampa, has long been referred to as a potential “downtown” for our area, as well as the area’s version of the popular and trendy Hyde Park development in South Tampa.

Business Notes: Another Hockey Store In Wesley Chapel?

With more than a million visitors since it opened in 2017, and a wealth of hockey tournaments, AdventHealth Center Ice (AHCI) is booming.

In fact, it’s booming enough that a northern-based hockey retailer is willing to do what pre-AHCI was probably unthinkable – set up a store in Florida.

Pure Hockey, which has more than 50 locations across the country, is building a 7,500-sq.-ft. store in the Cypress Creek Town Center, which could be considered something of a coup for Wesley Chapel and the Tampa Bay area.

Can a standalone hockey equipment store survive in the Wesley Chapel area? We’re about to find out, as Pure Hockey is getting ready to build a 7,500-sq.-ft. store on the north side of S.R. 56. (Photo: Yelp)

The largest hockey retailer in the country, according to its website, is making its first foray into Florida, and building only its second store south of its Kirkwood, MO location (the other “southern” store is in Dallas).

The hockey shop seems like a golden idea, considering the popularity of AHCI, which hosts thousands of hockey players a year, including high school and adult leagues. 

Gordie Zimmermann, the general manager of AHCI, said he was unaware of the plans to build a Pure Hockey about a mile west of his skating facility, which sells hockey equipment in a space it rents out to Rinkside Sports, which also has a location at the Ice Sports Forum in Brandon.

Otherwise, there aren’t many options for local hockey enthusiasts, and a lot of the hockey merchandise and equipment business is done online, Zimmermann says, who added that it will be interesting to see if such a stand-alone store can thrive in Florida. 

Headquartered in Boston, MA, Pure Hockey sells every hockey product imaginable, from NHL apparel to hockey sticks, skates, protective equipment and goalie equipment. 

A DIFFERENT LOOK: While the arrival of Pure Hockey is good news for the growing local ice hockey community, new homeowners should be getting similar news as the unique El Dorado Furniture works its way through the approval process.

The planned Land O’Lakes/Wesley Chapel store, boasting 70,000 sq. ft. of space, will be located on the west side of Wesley Chapel Blvd., across from the Cypress Creek Town Center. It will be the 13th El Dorado store in Florida.

Instead of the traditional showroom stocked with furniture, El Dorado promises a different experience with its Boulevard showrooms, which are set up like strips of old-fashioned city streets, with benches and street lamps lining the path.

According to its websites, El Dorado Furniture was established in South Florida in 1967 and is the largest Hispanic-owned furniture retail enterprise in the U.S. It also offers same day delivery, and its top-selling brand is Carlo Perazzi, best known for its chic mattresses, chairs and tables.

NEW STUFF IS OPEN!: The Cypress Creek Town Center continues to round into shape, with department store Burlington, bargain store 5 Below and arts & craft chain Hobby Lobby recently hosting grand openings, and HomeGoods scheduled to hold its Grand Opening event on Sunday, April 14.

Burlington and 5 Below, which are located right next to each other, both officially opened on March 29.

Five days before opening its doors, Burlington made an impact on the local area by donating $10,000 to Turner/Bartels K-8 school in New Tampa, just south of County Line Rd.

The money donated goes directly to teachers, who can use it for school supplies and activities as they please.

“This is really a Burlington initiative, but we tie in very very closely with the Adopt A Classroom program,” said Todd Abrams, the regional vice president of stores for Burlington. “We were looking for a local school in the community of the new store that we’re opening. We really want to give back to the community.”

Todd Abrams, the regional vice president of stores for Burlington.

Formerly known as Burlington Coat Factory, Burlington is headquartered in Burlington, NJ, and has over 630 stores in 45 states nationwide. It has four other locations in the Tampa Bay area: two in Tampa, one in Brandon and another in Clearwater.

Abrams, who lives in Wesley Chapel, hinted that the newest location may be his favorite. “I’m especially excited to be able to open a store right in my own community,” he said. 

The 5 Below chain offers a variety of toys, tech, beauty and sports items, to name a few, all for $5 or less. It has more than 700 stores in 33 states in the U.S., including eight in the Tampa Bay area.

Hobby Lobby held its ribbon cutting on March 18. The store was Hobby Lobby’s 865th, and its third location in Pasco County, joining the stores located in Zephyrhills and Port Richey.

MORE OPENINGS: By the time you read this, the gas and convenience store Wawa and uber-popular fast food chain Chick-Fil-A (photo above) on S.R. 54, east of Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., might both have dates set for their openings. The two much-anticipated locations look like they are having a contest to see which can be completed sooner, as the progress on both of them has been pretty rapid.

At our press time, both newcomers looked just about ready, with “Now Hiring” signs displayed at both sites.

And, for those keeping a watch out for even more new places to eat, there are lots of places still in the permitting pipeline working on final approval, like Bubba’s 33 (going in in front of the Ashley HomeStore on S.R. 56 east of I-75), which had its site plans approved last month.

To the west of Bubba’s 33, just past the I-75 interchange on the TPO (south) side of S.R. 56, Main Event (an entertainment center with bowling and a restaurant), Rock ‘N Brews (created by KISS legends Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley) and Saltgrass Steakhouse have all had their site plans approved and will be built right next to each other. 

They will join Longhorn Steakhouse, BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse and Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen along that south side of S.R. 56.

LEXINGTON OAKS NEWS: The Learning Experience, a franchise childcare/preschool founded in 1980, is nearing completion at the northeast corner of Lexington Oaks Blvd. and Post Oak Blvd., just off Wesley Chapel Blvd. (S.R. 54).

The nearest Learning Experience location, in New Tampa just south of County Line Rd., was recently chosen as the company’s top new franchise, receiving the Rising Star Award.

MORE APARTMENTS ON THE WAY: East of The Learning Experience, on Post Oak Blvd., Parc at Wesley Chapel, a 248-unit Class-A apartment community offering one-, two- and three-bedroom apartment homes with elevator access, received approval Feb. 25 to begin building; the apartments are expected to be open by sometime this fall.

A Parc at Wesley Chapel spokesperson says its community will feature Smart Home technology, granite countertops, a resort-style pool, a pet park and Electric Vehicle charging stations.

Coming on line a little sooner is the new Tapestry Cypress Creek apartments (above), which could have its first building open later this month or in early May. 

According to its website, Tapestry Cypress Creek (by Arlington Properties)is a luxury apartment community that will offer brand new 1-, 2- and 3- bedroom apartments. Each home will feature chef-inspired kitchens with 42” modern flat panel cabinetry, granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, plank flooring, walk-in closets, 9-foot ceilings, and screened patio/balconies. Full-sized washers and dryers are included. The community is smoke-free.

Tapestry Cypress Creek’s resident clubhouse features a fitness center, Yoga studio with Fitness on Demand, and a sports lounge.  Adjacent to the clubhouse is the saltwater pool with an outdoor pavilion and fireplace. Tapestry Cypress Creek is a pet-friendly community that offers our furry friends a leash-free pet park.

Tapestry Cypress Creek (2300 Tapestry Park Dr., Land O’Lakes) is now renting. For more info, stop in, call (813) 949-9199 or visit TapestryCypressCreekApartments.com.

Genshaft, Sink Cap Off Women’s History Month

North Tampa Bay Chamber chair Karen Tillman-Gosselin and president & CEO  Hope Allen, give outgoing USF president Judy Genshaft a Distinguished Woman’s Leadership Award at PHSC’s Porter Campus on March 27.

When it came to celebrating Women’s History Month, the North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce (NTBC) not only wanted to create an event centered around a discussion about women’s issues, but wanted to honor a woman leader who has made a significant impact in the community.

It didn’t need to look any further than the University of South Florida campus.

On March 27, at the NTBC’S inaugural Women Making Strides breakfast at the Pasco Hernando State College Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch, outgoing USF president Judy Genshaft was presented the Distinguished Women’s Leadership Award. That was followed by a discussion between Alex Sink — the former president of Bank of America (1993-2000) and Florida’s first Chief Financial Officer (2007-11), who also ran for governor in 2010 – and Poynter Institute President Emeritus (and part-time PHSC professor) Karen Dunlap on topics like women in technology, balancing work and family and the rise in powerful female leadership across the country in politics.

Genshaft was honored, according to NTBC president and CEO Hope Allen, for her impact on and leadership of USF during her 19 years as the university’s president. She announced late last year she would be stepping down in July of this year.

“Leave when you’re on top, I mean that,” Genshaft told the crowd, drawing laughter. “Don’t wait until years from now, after people start asking, “will she ever step down?’” I did go through some emotional trauma trying to decide what to do, but it’s the right thing to do.”

Genshaft, 70, replaced Betty Castor in 2000 and has helped raise USF’s stature significantly in areas such as research, innovation and fundraising, where she spearheaded a $1 billion fund-raising campaign.

Last year, USF earned the designation of “Preeminent State Research University” from the Florida Board of Governors, joining the University of Florida and Florida State University.

“I always felt the minute I stepped foot on the campus of the University of South Florida that it really could become something very, very, very special,” Genshaft said.

Genshaft gave a nod to girl power when describing her leadership style, to the delight of the sold-out audience of a mostly-female crowd of roughly 100, which included more than a dozen PHSC students. 

“When things are really rough, they call women in to help,” Genshaft said. “We work as a team. I believe in collaboration, consensus, and if not
I’ll make the decision.”

While the Women Making Strides breakfast highlighted the achievements of women, there was an underlying theme about the work still to be done, something Genshaft touched on.

“When I started as president of the University of South Florida, there were only 20 percent of women leading research university institutions, out of the 4,000 institutions of higher learning in the country,” she said. “As I step down
there are still 20 percent. So, as we keep striving to move forward, for now, we’re still at a level we were before. But, we are making such a difference across America.”

USF recently announced that Steven Currall, the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX, was selected to replace Genshaft, who says she plans to remain active in the community.

“I can promise you, I’m not going to be at home vacuuming,” she said.

Genshaft’s message was similar to the event’s tagline — “We Can Do It” —with an emphasis on continuing to move forward, which was stressed by Sink and Dunlap in their conversation.

Both accomplished women emphasized fighting for what you want, and once you get it, don’t shrink into the background. They focused on advancements made in almost every field, including politics, where a record number of women ran for governor, U.S. House and U.S. Senate seats, with the U.S. House of Representatives electing nearly 100 women.

“Is it the golden era of women in power?” Sink asked afterwards. “Not yet, but I think we are definitely at some tipping point. Surely, I think history will write about (this era) to the extent that women feel more empowered, not only about sexual aggression, but about anything. That’s my hope, that it means ‘I’m in this board room, and I might be outnumbered but I’m going to speak up because I have something of value to say.’ I don’t know whether that turns into a golden era, but it could.”