Author: John Cotey

Chamber Gets Shops at Wiregrass Mall Update

As the Wesley Chapel area grows, the Shops at Wiregrass mall, which opened in 2008, continues to face competition.

But the mall’s unique towncenter feel and commitment to community events, says general manager Greg Lenners, has helped it not only survive in the face of increased choices for area shoppers, but thrive.

“As a matter of fact, with the buildings that are going up in the front, and we are continuing to sign leases, business itself has been great,’’ said Lenners, who spoke at the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCCC)’s monthly economic development briefing on June 23. “We took a little hit in the beginning with the outlets opening, but we’ve rebounded. We are actually exceeding our expectations right now.”

Lenners pointed to community events like the Fresh Market, charitable events with the American Cancer Society and March of Dimes, and new stores continuing to cycle in that have kept the Shops growing.

Lenners said Menchies Frozen Yogurt is coming to the mall, in the same area as Irish 31, and also teased about a possible “fast food Greek concept” restaurant in the same area.

He added that Avalon Spa, which will be located in between La Macaron and Dillard’s, will open by the fall, as will VisionWorks and Vitamin Shoppe, which share a building near JCPenney. Blingin’ Buddha, an eclectic giftshop, opened on June 1.

Lennars also heralded the June 24 opening of Vom Fass, a German-based store that sells exotic oils, vinegars and spices, as well as wines and gourmet foods.

The mall’s 30-acre Wiregrass expansion site, which could be open by the spring of 2018, is close to securing its environmental permits. When that happens, Lenners said, “We have earth movers ready to go.”

He said the plan is to build a connection to the existing mall with its own identity, but to make sure it flows properly from the mall.

As previously reported by the Neighborhood News, the mall expansion will have 200 high-end apartments, and be anchored by a movie theater, which Lenners said he has a letter of interest for and will be “dinner-type theater,” as well as a specialty grocery store.

“We’ve done a lot in seven and a half years,’’ Lenners said. “More than what your typical mall might do in 20 years.”

One restaurant that won’t be coming soon? The oft-rumored, Wesley Chapel Community Facebook forum favorite Cheesecake Factory, which Lenners says has been talked about for years.

“Will we eventually get a Cheesecake (Factory) or PF Chang’s? Nothing in the near future,’’ Lenners said. “I’ll be candid on that as far as those kind of guys.”

But as more businesses – Raymond James, anyone? – move to the area, creating great lunchtime crowds, and more homes are built in the Wiregrass area, the closer the mall gets to adding eateries like those.

Locals Already Lining Up For Free Chick-fil-A

There is already one sure sign a new Chick-fil-A is getting ready to open — hordes of people camping out looking to be one of 100 to get free Chick-fil-A for a year.

Ahead of Thursday’s 9 a.m. grand opening at 2349 Sun Vista Dr. in the Cypress Creek Town Center on S.R. 56, roughly 75 people are already in line for the First 100 celebration, in the hopes of grabbing one of the lucky vouchers for 52 weeks of free chicken meals. Those in line will be served meals and entertained by a DJ as the clock ticks down.

The line opened at 6 a.m. this morning.

The First 100 is a tradition over 12 years old, and has given away nearly $27 million in free food. Each of the 100 lucky participants (18 and over only) will get a digital card loaded with 52 meal credits for a Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich, medium waffle fries and medium drink.

The new Chick-fil-A will be Lutz’s first of the stand-alone variety, and the 28th store in the Tampa Bay area. Local franchise owner Britt Young is expected to add 100 jobs to the community.

If you are reading this, you very likely live in the correct zip code to be eligible to attend the event. But to be safe, the list is here. A valid ID is required, or some acceptable documentation verifying your residence.

Young is also encouraging customers to bring new and gently used books to benefit Lutz Elementary.

TBX passes, but still facing scrutiny

The crowd of local residents and business owners who attended the TBX hearing on June 22 spilled out into the hallways and required extra seating outside of the Hillsborough County Center chambers until early the next morning.

Despite eight hours of mostly negative public comments that dragged on until past 2 a.m. the next morning, the Hillsborough Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) voted on June 23 to keep the controversial Tampa Bay Express (TBX) project moving forward.

After listening to dozens of people both for and against the project at the Hillsborough County Center building in downtown Tampa, the MPO voted 12-4 in favor of keeping the $6 billion TBX plan in its Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP).

The TBX plan entails widening I-275, I-75 and I-4 with 91 miles of express (or toll) lanes, as well as potentially creating a rapid bus lane in the center median of those roadways and laying the groundwork for future rail projects. The road improvements, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and supporters said, would better connect the Tampa Bay area and help ease traffic congestion.

Opponents cited the high cost of the toll lanes, which will have variable costs, meaning the more traffic, the greater the cost of traveling in the express lanes. Some estimates say a rush hour trip from the Pinellas County side of the Howard Frankland Bridge to downtown Tampa could cost as much as $30. As a result, opponents have dubbed them “Lexus Lanes.”

But, most of the passion against the TBX plan came from residents of the historic Tampa neighborhoods of Seminole Heights, Tampa Heights and Ybor City, who say they will be displaced by the project. The plan affects mostly poor minority neighborhoods, as well as up to 100 local businesses that opponents believe will be destroyed by FDOT construction.

Lisa Montelione, the outgoing Dist. 7 Tampa City Council member whose area of representation includes New Tampa and USF, voted against TBX. MPO chairman Les Miller, Tampa City Councilman Guido Maniscalco and Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin Beckner were the others who also voted against the project.

After the vote, Montelione addressed those remaining in the crowd, which once numbered more than 500 people, telling them to not be discouraged and applauding their efforts.

Opponents, many of whom voiced their distrust of FDOT and expressed concern over parts of the plan that had been kept secret, did get some measure of satisfaction, as the MPO unanimously passed amendments requiring more oversight and requesting reports of the human impact of the project.

A Wesley Chapel Perspective

Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCCC) CEO Hope Allen was pleased to see the TBX plan survive. She watched with hundreds of others in the lobby of the downtown Tampa City Center, and noted the intensity of the night.

Twice, Allen — who wore a sticker proclaiming her support of TBX — was badgered by anti-TBX folks, forcing her to change seats. “You must be one of those people from the suburbs,’’ one said to her.

Another woman walked by, pursed her lips and shook her head at Allen in disappointment.

“It’s tough in here,’’ Allen sighed.

The WCCC, along with the Pasco County Economic Development Council and the Pasco Board of County Commissioners (BCC), all have supported TBX, although the roads currently being discussed only go as far north as Bearss Ave., just south of New Tampa.

Construction could begin next year in Pinellas County, and could be completed by 2026. “We believe in connectivity with the communities around us,’’ Allen said. “Plus, these roads will have a direct impact on our residents because so many of them head that way into work. They will use (the highways), and the less time they spend in traffic, the more time they can spend at home.”

Pasco’s District 2 commissioner Mike Moore, who represents Wesley Chapel on the BCC, said his support of TBX was a quality of life issue for him.

“There’s no denying we have well over 50 percent of our residents traveling those roads to go work in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties,’’ Moore said. “If this will cut off two hours a day on the road in traffic, that’s more time with family and friends, and that’s important. And remember, people do come from other areas to Pasco County to work as well.”

Part of the TBX plan includes express bus lines, and Moore said Wesley Chapel (as well as New Tampa) would eventually be home to a station.

The TBX plan was supported by most of the area’s business leaders, as well as by Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn. Had the plan not passed on this vote, the county would have had to return the $6 billion in funding to the state.

Most local commuters into Tampa and St. Petersburg often complain about the long, congested rides into work, which can take hours.

“My wife and I moved out to New Tampa several years ago, because that’s where her job was,’’ Joe Farrell told the MPO. “She doesn’t work there anymore, but we stayed because that’s where the affordable housing was.”

Now that he works in Clearwater and has an 18-month-old son, Farrell said it is hard to find time for his family.

“My son wakes up at 7 a.m. and goes to bed at 7 p.m.,” Farrell said, “and most days I have to leave the house at 6:30 a.m. and I am driving like hell through I-275 to get home by 6:30 p.m., so I can spend some time with him. It’s frustrating.”

TBX

New Tampa Engineer Putting The Freeze On Florida’s Heat With Polar Pods!

Tampa Palms resident John Fisher brings his 50º Polar Pods trailers to outdoor events to help bring anyone’s core body temperature down fast.

Tampa Palms resident John Fisher wasn’t working on anything in particular when a good friend from St. Augustine called him for help.

Steve Parry, a lifeguard, had developed a concept borne from personal experience, after spending a night partying and then figuring out the next day at work that he had overdone it.

He started suffering from heat exhaustion, and as the day dragged on, he felt worse and worse. So, he wandered into a nearby restaurant, asked to sit in the cooler, and after a few minutes of being camped out on a pickle bucket, started to feel better.

“My head came out of my hands, and I was like ‘My God, what just happened, man?,’’’ Parry told Fisher.

What had happened was that Parry’s body core temperature had been rapidly brought down, and the life had returned to his body.

“I’d pay money for this,’’ Parry thought to himself.

That sparked an idea to create essentially a mobile cooler to help people suffering from heat exhaustion.

polarpod6 But, Parry couldn’t do it alone. Enter Fisher, who earned his Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Central Florida in Orlando in 1982, and Master of Science in Electrical Engineering (MSEE) degree from the University of South Florida in 1987, and had a little free time on his hands.

“I thought it sounded like a great idea, and I liked the challenge of it,’’ said Fisher.

Fisher has now helped create three Polar Pod mobile cooling/heat illness-prevention stations, with more on the horizon.

“It was a lot of trial and error,’’ says Fisher. “The technical part of building this is not easy. It’s a tricky little recipe.”

The Polar Pod is a 20-foot-long by 8-foot-wide ice cube on wheels. Patrons enter through thermally insulated and tempered glass doors, with seating on padded benches for up to 18. The inside temperature is 50 degrees, and for those cooling down, there is a 5-gallon water jug and a 46-inch HDTV to watch.

Each Polar Pod runs on a 208VAC/10kW generator, and costs about $20 worth of diesel fuel per day to keep the temperature optimal.

“This whole thing is engineered to do one thing – bring the body’s core temperature down as quickly as possible,’’ Fisher says.

Heat exhaustion occurs after you have been exposed to high temperatures, often enhanced by dehydration. It can lead to dizziness, headaches, vomiting and fainting.

The best treatment is drinking fluids and cooling down, and it only takes a few minutes in the Polar Pod to get your body temperature back into a safe range.

Of the three Polar Pods already built, one already has been sold to a fire department. Fisher can’t say which one, except that it’s in a major city, because the fire department hasn’t officially rolled it out yet. The fire department will use the Polar Pod as a fire rehabilitation vehicle.

Perfect For Outdoor Events

Fisher also extolls the Polar Pod’s effectiveness at festivals and concerts. While showing off the pod at its storage unit on Nebraska Ave., he stops and runs to his pick-up truck to grab a copy of a newspaper.

Polarpod2 In it, he has circled an article about two deaths and almost 60 hospitalizations at the recent Sunset Music Festival held at Raymond James Stadium, where roughly 30,000 music fans were crammed together on a scalding hot May day.

While Fisher — who has tried to get his Polar Pods into the event for two years — notes that while the deaths could be the result of drug use, he says festivals where large crowds gather in Florida’s stifling climate often lead to heat exhaustion and tents and misting fans alone lose their effectiveness.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if that was part of the reason,’’ he says.

Some promoters have rented the Polar Pod for their events, paying $650-$750 for a full day. Fisher said he has set up Polar Pods at events like the Big Guava Music Festival at the Florida State Fairgrounds last year, as well as at the 97X (WSUN-FM) Backyard BBQ at Vinoy Park last month.

Fisher says the Polar Pod can also can be a lot of fun. He encourages revelers, most of whom are just trying to catch a little cold air, to keep the party going once they enter. “We’ll even put some Jimmy Buffet on the TV,’’ Fisher chuckles.

Most recently, the Polar Pods were used at the Country 500 Music Fest in Daytona Beach, where promoters charged $10 for a wristband for unlimited use of the Polar Pod. Fisher says the lines stayed long all day.

“That was a huuuuge event,’’ Fisher said. “We had both of the Polar Pods there and the lines were nonstop.”

Fisher, who has taught electrical engineering classes at USF, says he has met with the USF College of Public Health and the USF College of Medicine for advice on how to effectively treat heat exhaustion through quickly lowering the core body temperature. He also set up a pod at USF football practices last spring, squeezing the team’s entire offensive line inside to test its effectiveness.

“Generally, on really hot days, people are grateful that we are there,’’ Fisher says.

Fisher, who also earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from USF in 2000, adds that he and Parry are still developing a business plan for their Polar Pods. They would like to see more fire departments get interested, and they continue to see a market for events like marathons, triathlons, festivals and concerts.

“We see people dragging when they walk inside, and just come alive in the Polar Pod,’’ Fisher says. “You just don’t get it until you step inside. And, when people do, they’ll tell us, ‘Oh my God, you guys are geniuses.’”

For more information about Polar Pods, visit ThePolarPod.com, or call 995-1350 or (904) 962-1793. Or, email info@thepolarpod.com.

Your First Neighborhood News Show: WCNT-tv, Episode 1

Thursday night at the offices of the Neighborhood News, the first episode of WCNT-tv was shown to a select crowd of more than 100 at the launch party. Now it’s your turn.

The new YouTube-based video news show is a partnership between Full Throttle Intermedia and the New Tampa & Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News, and also is the exclusive webcast partner of the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce. The program will come to you from the Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel Studio, and will be released bi-monthly, featuring local news, businesses and restaurants.

Enjoy!