The New Tampa Performing Arts Center has gone vertical and Hillsborough County could choose someone to manage it as soon as March. The NTPAC is expected to open in fall 2022. (Photo: Charmaine George)
The New Tampa Performing Arts Center (NTPAC) has finally gone vertical, and one of the final questions remaining before it opens sometime in the fall of 2022 is who will run the facility.
Ken Hagan, the Hillsborough County Commissioner for District 2, which includes New Tampa, said that decision could come by March 2022, now that the deadline for interested parties to respond to the county’s request for proposals (RFP) has passed.
The RFP was issued on Nov. 10 and expired Dec. 3, or after we went to press with this issue. The county is looking a performing arts resident company to manage all aspects of the NTPAC for 10 years, with renewal options for another 10 years, subject to annual satisfactory performance evaluations.
One of the groups that was expected to bid to manage the 20,000-sq.-ft. center is Florida Cultural Group, which was originally selected by the county staff. But, during a vote about the PAC’s funding in May, four commissioners — Mariella Smith, Kimberly Overman, Gwen Myers and Harry Cohen — voiced concerns about the organization, primarily because of its location in Manatee County.
Coomissioner Smith and Kemp, who were the dissenters in a 5-2 vote to approve the funding for the PAC, wanted a local group to run it. They also questioned the $1.4 million in county subsidies over the next four years requested by Florida Cultural Group.
The commissioners then unanimously voted to open up the facility’s management with an RFP.
Both commissioners specifically mentioned the New Tampa Players (NTP), a 20-year-old organization that was started by residents of Hunter’s Green and Tampa Palms. A large part of the effort to build the NTPAC, which is under construction off Bruce B. Downs Blvd. across from the entrance to the Hunter’s Green development, was to deliver a home for the NTP, which has staged performances at numerous locations, but none the group could call its own.
“The NTP are the driving force behind my championing the New Tampa Performing Arts Center,” Hagan says. “They are the reason. It will be their home and they are an essential partner in this being a successful and sustainable facility for generations to come.”
But, will NTPalso get to manage it? While producing artistic director Nora Paine declined comment, it is believed that NTP planned to submit a proposal. The troupe has held meetings with those involved in New Tampa’s performing arts scene in order to bolster its standing by forming a larger local and more inclusive group that includes dance and ballet.
Paine did say that NTP has not been involved in many large fund-raising campaigns. That is likely to be a major requirement for any organization that is selected to manage the new center.
About The Florida Cultural Group
Formerly known as The Manatee Players, Inc., which was created in 1947, the Florida Cultural Group is an umbrella organization that operates the Manatee Performing Arts Center and the Manatee Players community theater. It has a long track record marked by successful fundraising.
“When this issue came in front of us before, our staff was very enthusiastic about that group because of their fundraising track record,” Comm. Hagan said. “It’s paramount that we have local representation driving this partnership, but I don’t think you can ignore the importance of fundraising throughout this process.”
Hagan says he will let the county staff make the determination as to who should manage the NTPAC, but no matter who is selected, he would like to see a Board formed, and “it’s critically important that there’s a majority of New Tampa representation on that Board.”
Metro Development Group, which brought the country’s first Crystal Lagoon amenity to Wesley Chapel and will soon unveil a second one at the Mirada development (technically located in San Antonio, but just north of Wesley Chapel), continues to experience growth in the area.
In fact, according to housing market analysts Zonda.com, the Wesley Chapel area has five of the Top 20 fastest-growing new home communities in the Tampa Bay area, and three of them — Epperson, Mirada and Union Park — are Metro properties.
Epperson is the fastest-growing, according to Zonda, which was formerly Metrostudy, with 705 new home starts and 493 closings from September 2020 to September 2021.
Epperson also ranked No. 21 in Zonda’s national rankings for new home starts in that same timeframe.
The other Metro Development properties located in Wesley Chapel that made the Top 20 include:
• Mirada, ranked No. 8 on the Tampa Bay-area list, had 333 new home starts and 308 closings. The community includes Medley, an active adult community, and plans for a 15-acre Metro Lagoon, which will be the largest Crystal Lagoon amenity in the nation.
• Union Park, ranked No. 14, had 258 new home starts and 206 closings in the community, which is now almost completely built out.
Metro also is developing the No. 11 community (Southshore Bay in south Hillsborough, which is also getting a Crystal Lagoon as its primary amenity) and No. 15 (Cypress Creek in Ruskin) community on the list.
“Homebuyer interest in our Metro Places communities continues to be extremely strong, thanks to the convenient locations, the quality of our builder team, and the extensive and unique amenities we offer,” said Vaike O’Grady, VP of Marketing & Communications for Metro Development Group. “Our communities are simply a great value for homebuyers.”
Two other Wesley Chapel communities also were on the list, with Wiregrass Ranch at No. 5, with 433 home starts, but ranking No. 4 on closings with 360.
Watergrass was No. 6, with 388 home starts and 304 closings.
Pasco County continues to be hot, with New Port Richey’s Starkey Ranch and Land O’Lakes’ Bexley communities also ranking in the top 10.
With south Hillsborough county going through its own growth spurt, don’t expect to see any slowdowns in the near future.
“Demand in the suburban areas of Pasco and Hillsborough counties is coming from homebuyers moving to Florida from other areas of the country, from renters deciding to buy, and from people who simply want a new home,” said Tony Polito, Zonda’s regional director for Tampa and Central Florida. “We see this strong demand continuing into 2022.”
The Wesley Chapel High volleyball team won its first District title since 2004, won two Regional playoff games for the first time in program history and played in its first-ever Region championship, but fell short of a State finals appearance when the ‘Cats dropped a heartbreaking 25-27, 25-17, 25-23, 25-20 decision to Ocala Vanguard on Nov. 6 in the 5A-Region 2 title game.
But Wesley Chapel, which finished with a 19-6 record and made the playoffs for the second straight year under coach Brittany Collison, will be expecting to better their historic season next year, as they will return the core of the team and the leader in every statistical category.
Junior hitter Chloe Danielson, who set a school record with 375 kills, including 20 in the Region championship match, and is a contender for Pasco County Player of the Year honors, is the biggest piece of the puzzle.
But, the Wildcats also should return junior setter Jenna Ly (631 assists and 46 aces, both team highs), sophomore libero Brooke Ashkenase (school record 367 digs) and sophomore hitters Grace Korta and Lizzy Ekechi, who each had more than 100 kills. You’ll get ‘em next year, girls! — JCC
With everyone busier than ever, eating right is an option that sometimes just requires too much time.
So, instead of going home after work and cooking, a drive-through becomes the easier option after a long day.
Need a quick drink? Coffee or a Coke will do the trick.
Sweet tooth kicking in? There are plenty of quick, sugary options.
But today, especially here in Wesley Chapel, those aren’t your only options.In fact, it seems like more and more new places are popping up in and around our area that are focusing on giving you healthier options to quench those drivetime urges.
Here’s a look at a few of them:
Matthew Soboski and Andria Taylor say they haven’t gotten any complaints about the taste and customers love the convenience of FitLife Foods. (Photos: John C. Cotey)
FITLIFE FOODS: While Fitlife is not new — it’s been located at 1821 Bruce B Downs for six years — it does meet all the criteria as a place that offers a quick, healthy meal or snack.
In fact, you can pick up a meal to pop in the microwave at home, or even have the meals delivered to your home to save you a stop.
Fitlife takes healthy eating to a new level. Each store — there are twelve in Florida that offer pick-up or delivery — also offers one-on-one health and wellness coaching as part of its Project U.
So, if you’re looking to lose weight, have more energy or just eat healthier, Fitlife’s certified wellness coaches can customize a plan for you…for free. They will check your body composition and determine how and what you should eat to achieve your goal, whatever that may be.
You could choose to have as many meals, which are all broken down by macros and portioned out, supplied by Fitlife as you like. While there are many meal delivery companies out there, you have to prepare them yourself and determine the portion and macros yourself. Matthew Soboski, the Community Store Leader (or manager) at the Wesley Chapel location, says Fitlife does all that work for you.
He says all 60 meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks) are prepared in their culinary center in Plant City, and are made with only the best ingredients. There are 39 sauces and 13 special house spice blends used in preparation.
Does it taste good? With dishes like Crème Brûlée French Toast, Asparagus & Goat Cheese Torta, Butternut Coconut Curry, Jamaican Pork Tenderloin and Cuban Beef Picadillo, it certainly sounds like it.
“The don’t taste healthy,” Soboski says. “But they are.”
FitLife may not be a cheap option, but it is a healthy and convenient one, a combination difficult to find when you are strapped for time.
For more information, call (813) 365-3255 or visit EatFitlifeFoods.com. — JCC
Healthy chicken wrap
BALANCED FOODS: The new prepackaged meal supplier on the block, Balanced Foods (as we reported previously) is a six-store chain which started in Woodlands, TX, and is now open in the former La Prima Pizza location next to Super Target in the North Woods Plaza at 1211 Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. (just north of County Line Rd.), only about half a mile south of Fitlife Foods.
Balanced Foods offers small, medium and large portions for lunch and dinner and the store’s in-house kitchen provides these fresh, healthy, house-made entrées like roasted vegetable and tenderloin, City Grilled chicken (right) with mashed sweet potatoes and green beans and even a really delicious chicken salad snack with gluten-free crackers and celery.
Speaking of snacks, Balanced Foods also offers a large variety, including packaged items like yummy ChipMonk banana chocolate chip sunflower Keto Bites and addictive ICON Meals peanut butter vanilla Protein Popcorn.
Balanced Foods has a current promotion to get you started — spend $25 and get 20% off when you show a staff member a social media check-in.
For more information, call (813) 778-4874 or visit BalancedFoods.com. — GN
Urban Grid Nutrition owners Luis and Fiorella (Fio) Diou
URBAN GRID NUTRITION: Located at 26244 Wesley Chapel Blvd. in Lutz, Urban Grid Nutrition owners Luis and Fiorella (Fio) Diou say their goal is to provide healthier fast food that tastes good.
Only open since March, the quaint location has a coffee house feel —though it is currently curbside pickup only — with treats that are healthier than what you can get at other places.
“We are basically like a brunch place, but with healthier alternatives,” Fio says. “Everything on our menu has protein, and it’s all very low in sugar. It’s a healthy option for people to have a treat, but still stay on track with their fitness goals.”
Fiorella says most of the sweetness in their menu items comes from the fruits and sometimes, stevia is used as an alternative. They cut back on flour and will subsitute protein powder to achieve that healthier balance.
Urban Grid’s hottest items are their donuts, which are popular with the local crossfit crowd. They are sweet enough plain, with 18 grams of protein, but you can get them topped with Oreos, Cocoa Pebbles and other sweets.
Healthier waffles are popular at Urban Grid Nutrition on Wesley Chapel Blvd.
“Instead of three Krispy Kreme donuts, which I love don’t get me wrong, if you get three of ours instead, it makes a huge difference,” says Luis.
Urban Grid offers healthy shakes, energizing teas, waffles (only 300 calories, and with 35 grams of protein), oats and açai bowls that all have less sugar, more protein and still taste like a guilty pleasure.
A Dulce de Leche and Cookies n’ Cream shake, for example, has 200 calories, 24 grams of protein and only 10 grams of sugar. And, you can pay for extra protien, fat reducer, fiber of probiotics if you choose.
A skinny coffee has 100 calories and 15 grams of protein, and there are sugar-free “Refresher” teas — with flavors like Gummy Bear, Urban Mojito and Starburst — made with green tea extract that have only 15 calories.
Luis and Fiorella live healthy lifestyles, and are committed to their fitness. And, their store caters to the athlete on a strict diet. But, Luis says, after eating right and exercising all week, “it’s nice to have a treat, and nice to have those healthier options.”
For more information, call (813) 388-9278 or visit “UrbanGrid Nutrition” on Facebook. — JCC
Refuel Energy & Nutrition’s Jemiola Smart.
REFUEL ENERGY & NUTRITION: Another non-chain newcomer to the Wesley Chapel nutritional scene, Refuel is located at 30004 County Line Rd. in Meadow Pointe (in the small plaza next to CVS) and specializes in healthier, lower-sugar beverages which can be enhanced with fiber, protein, probiotics, “new mom” boosts and more.
Co-owners Jemilla Smart and Ellie Garza are proud that their quaint little store has attracted everyone from serious athletes to post-natal moms trying to lose the baby weight.
“Our shakes, smoothies, teas and refreshers are lower in calories, carbs and sugar and are higher in protein than what you’ll find at the other smoothie shops,” Jemila (photo below) says. “Here, you can enjoy sweet treats that taste like your favorite ice cream, cakes, candy, cookies and other sweet treats, without any of the guilt!”
Smoothies at Refuel Energy are meal replacements with just 250 calories, only 13 carbs and 8 grams of sugar, with 24 grams of protein and 21 essential vitamins and nutrients.
Refuel Energy’s low-calorie teas come in more than 50 flavors — from Airheads to white peach sangria (with no alcohol) — and they all contain caffeine to jump-start your metabolism. You can even add “enhancers” to your tea or refresher, everything from collagen to protein and they can even be made with sparkling water.
“We are focused on optimum nutrition and fitness for everyone,” Jemila says. “This isn’t a diet. It’s a way to live your best life!”
For more info, call (813) 388-9122 or search “RefuelTampa” on Facebook.
All across Tampa, purple (or blue) street lights can be seen amidst rows of white and yellow lights. Take a ride down Cross Creek Blvd. and you’ll see almost a dozen of them.
Curiosity about why these lights have randomly popped up has led to a number of television stories and a few Reddit and NextDoor.com threads.
And, even a few conspiracy theories. So let’s clear the air:
* The purple lights are not a super secret crime deterrent.
* The lights are not a super duper light pollution fighter.
* The light are not there to make it harder for heroin users to find a spot to shoot up.
* They are not collecting your vital information through some new technology.
* They are not an homage to Prince on the fifth anniversary of his death last April, and Tampa Electric just hasn’t gotten around to replacing the lights.
(Sorry, the last one was our own conspiracy theory)
Nope, nothing like that.
The purple lights are just, well, good lights gone bad.
According to TECO spokesperson Cherie Jacobs, the lights have merely fallen prey to a manufacturer’s defect that turns them from white to purple.
“We are almost done, but we are replacing all of our street lights with new energy-efficient LED technology,” Jacobs says. “The model that was made in 2019 had a manufacturing defect, and that has affected a small percentage of the lights.
“But, they are very noticeable.”
Indeed they are. The lights cast a purple hue across the road, and turn everything under the light poles a purple color. It has been explained in other stories that each light contains red, yellow and blue filters, but the yellow filters are the ones that have been malfunctioning, and the red and blue filters then create a definite purple tint.
The lights are so noticeable that Jacobs jokes that she is getting as many media requests for explanations than just about anything else these days. Concerned residents are calling television stations to get answers — News Channel 8 WFLA-TV and WTVT-TV Fox 13 recently did stories on the lights — and we’ve even received a few emails about the them.
“We are working with the manufacturer,” Jacobs says. “They are under warranty and we are replacing them as we are learning about them.”
Considering that we are living in the age of crazy conspiracy theories, it should be no surprise that those purple lights have sparked a few, including this doozy — the lights are used to identify if you have been vaccinated against Covid-19, making you glow, and therefore keeping you out of FEMA camps that the government will be setting up for the unvaccinated where you see the lights.
No, not true. At least we don’t think so.
And, the purple lights aren’t just a Tampa thing, or a TECO thing. All across the country, purple lights have been popping up in South Carolina, Tennessee, Massachusetts and Wisconsin, drawing the same kind of scrutiny from residents.
Just a few days after this story went to press, Jacobs informed us that TECO is patrolling its entire system and will replace all purple lights. It should take several months, she wrote, so after originally setting up a web page for residents to report the location of the purple lights, no need to report the lights anymore.
“See a purple light? No further action is required of anyone,” Jacobs says. “We’ll fix it as soon as we can.”
