Downtown Wesley Chapel?

Rendering of the downtown Avalon Park West area.

Downtown Wesley Chapel.

It may not currently, or officially, exist, but is interesting enough of a concept that three area developers — JD Porter, Beat Kahli and Mark Gold — have all suggested that their current projects will, in fact, be downtown Wesley Chapel.

So, who will it be? 

Whose project will possess most of the qualities that typically define a small town’s downtown — pedestrian friendly, open public spaces with generous amounts of greenery, a cluster of retail and restaurants with attractive storefronts and most important (according to North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce (NTBC) CEO Hope Kennedy), people? It depends upon who you ask.

“I think, ultimately, downtown Wesley Chapel will be wherever the people say it is,” Kennedy says.

Currently, Kennedy thinks the closest thing to downtown Wesley Chapel is the area around the Shops at Wiregrass outdoor mall, which also boasts the AdventHealth Wesley Chapel hospital (and the many jobs that come with it), the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County, high-end car dealerships, hotels and a plethora of retail and restaurants.

But, Wiregrass Ranch is still developing. Its town center — the community’s downtown, when it is completed — hasn’t even broken ground. And, Avalon Park Wesley Chapel and The Grove also promise that big things are on the way, and a newer, bigger and different downtown Wesley Chapel could emerge.

Here’s how the three developments shape up as downtown cadidates:

WIREGRASS RANCH

JD Porter, whose family owns most of the land in Wiregrass Ranch, is not terribly concerned about which community will be home to Wesley Chapel’s official downtown. 

“I don’t think you can force a downtown,” he says. “I think if it’s thought through and done with purpose, I think there will definitely be a downtown in Wesley  Chapel. I just don’t think you can count on a downtown popping up in the next six months, the next year or anything like that.”

Porter says a community’s downtown must come about organically, and he thinks that is what’s happening in Wiregrass Ranch. While he has plans for a town center a little northeast of the Sports Campus on the yet-to-be-finished Wiregrass Ranch Blvd., construction is a ways off. Instead, he says, the area around his town center is filling in nicely, with Raymond James Financial (and the 700+ jobs it promises) beginning construction recently and joining the number of housing subdivisions, the Sports Campus, the mall, Pasco-Hernando State College and AHWC as walkable and bikable destinations.

 There have even been talks of light rail or another form of public transportation within the Wiregrass Ranch community.

Porter thinks a 5-10 year timeframe is reasonable for his vision of downtown to emerge. That vision includes walkability, 150,000-200,000 square feet of retail, 200,000-300,000 square feet of office space and 800 to 2,000 residential units.

He has compared it to Georgia’s Buckhead development near Atlanta in the past.

JD Porter

“It will come naturally,” he says. “We’re getting the density, getting all the different uses coming together that will create the downtown area.”

Porter says it has been a thoughtful process putting together Wiregrass Ranch, and the town center will be its jewel. 

“Almost everyone in Pasco has a ‘town center,’” he says, “basically comprised of a Publix and couple of dry cleaners and maybe a smoothie shop. That’s not a town center.”

Porter has bigger goals. Downtown Wesley Chapel may not be enough.

“I look at our town center as being Downtown Pasco County, Downtown Wesley Chapel, Downtown North Tampa,” Porter says. “But it’s got to mature naturally, it can’t be forced. We have some stuff going on. We’ve upped our timeline. We have some exciting things coming down the pike.”

AVALON PARK WEST

When developer Beat Kahli announced upcoming plans for a downtown core in Avalon Park Wesley Chapel (APWC) in February 2020, it was heralded by many in the media as Wesley Chapel’s future downtown.

And that’s exactly what Kahli thinks it will be.

Kahli is investing more than $700 million in the project — with a $33-million commitment from Pasco County -— which he says could break ground in the next few months.

The APWC (formerly Avalon Park West) downtown will be located on the north side of S.R. 54, less than a mile west of Eiland Blvd. (just west of Zephyrhills), but despite its distance from most of Wesley Chapel, will look the most like a small-town downtown, based on its renderings. 

The downtown area will be a mixed-use development on 215 acres. The entire APWC project is being built on 1,800 acres, the same size as its successful Avalon Park Orlando. It will eventually have 4,800 residential units (it currently has 1,000) and 15,000 residents. Many resident won’t have to leave — they can live, work and play in APWC.

“We don’t build subdivisions,” Kahli says, “we build towns.”

And, while many people might assume that the downtown core is just for residents of APWC, it will be open to everyone.

Kahli says the area will have two of the most important qualities in a downtown —walkability and mixed-use buildings.

After a 10-year buildout, the APWC downtown development will have roughly 2,700 residential units, 165,000 square feet of Class “A” office space and 190,400 square feet of commercial development.

The “neo-tradional” project will include four-story buildings, with neighborhood commercial on the bottom floor and the other three floors reserved for residential. 

There will be multiple parking decks and sidewalks, and four freestanding Class A office buildings, which are typically larger, and will feature top-of-the-line amenities and high-income tenants. 

“Compared to other large projects in the (Wesley Chapel) area, which are generally single-use projects with several hundred or several thousand single family homes, and then somewhere else maybe some apartments, and then somewhere else maybe a mall or strip mall, somewhere else maybe a school,” Kahli says, “we are integrating it all. We’re building full towns. That’s our approach in Wesley Chapel, and wherever we go.”

The “town center” of The Grove development.

THE GROVE

The Porters have been in Wiregrass Ranch since forever, and developer Beat Kahli has patiently held onto the land that will be Avalon Park Wesley Chapel for almost 25 years. That makes The Grove’s developer Mark Gold the new kid on the block.

But, Gold is no rookie when it comes to buying up older projects and making them relevant again. Even when he purchased The Grove for $64 million in 2018, he was not shy about calling it Wesley Chapel’s future downtown.

Despite arriving late to the party, with The Grove project already well under way, he will get the first crack at cementing his 254-acre property as the area’s downtown.

He is pouring more than $100 million into that dream, taking Wesley Chapel’s major shopping center (it was built in 2007, a year before the Shops at Wiregrass) and transforming into something the area hasn’t seen before.

The old Cobb movie theater has been renovated and is open, the long-ignored area Gold calls “The Village” has been revitalized and KRATE, an innovative retail and restaurant park made up of converted hip, reimagined shipping containers, is rounding into form.

While others see The Grove as more of an entertainment and retail district, Gold takes offense. He says the project is much more, with more than 600 homes approved for construction just north of The Grove, as well as apartment complexes in the surrounding area. Other businesses will come in, bringing more jobs. He sees The Grove as a destination for residents as far away as Tampa and Orlando. 

“It will be the No. 1 destination for families, and they will be able to shop, eat, walk, play mini-golf and many other things,” Gold says. “There will be no need to go anyplace else.”

Budget Blinds Expanding To The KRATE Park At The Grove

There’s something about staring longingly out your window while tucked safely away inside during a pandemic that makes you notice that your drapes are looking a little dingy, or your shutters feel a little outdated, or the light coming in is really harsher than you originally thought.

That might explain why the phones at the Budget Blinds office of Wesley Chapel’s Mike and Adriane Wonderlin rarely stopped ringing this past year.

“To be honest, business has never been better,” says Adriane. “People are in their homes, looking out their windows and getting sick of looking at the same thing all the time.”

But, that’s not the only reason, Adriane adds. New homes are flying off the shelves, too, and many new owners are eager to put their own touch on their new residences.

“There’s a lot of new construction going on, and they don’t want the builder’s blinds,” Adriane says. “They want something they had a choice in (to make) their homes more beautiful.”

Wesley Chapel residents Adriane and Mike Wonderlin own one of the top Budget Blinds franchises in the country.

The growth has led Adriane and Mike to expand. After working for Budget Blinds for nearly 10 years, the Lexington Oaks residents are now the owners of the Budget Blinds franchises in Greater Tampa, Brandon and Lakeland. Adriane says their territory, which stretches all the way north to San Antonio and south to Palmetto and includes showrooms on W. Fletcher Ave. (near I-275, two exits south of Wesley Chapel’s S.R. 56 exit) and in Riverview, covers nearly 90 zip codes.

The brisk business has not only led to having to hire more employees (they now have 30), but Budget Blinds has outgrown its Riverview showroom, which is being expanded. The showrooms are still closed to walk-in traffic, as Budget Blinds continues to take Covid precautions and a no-contact approach, with design consultants still wearing gloves, masks and booties when visiting their customers’ homes.

And, this summer, the Wonderlins will expand to Wesley Chapel.

Budget Blinds was one of the first businesses to sign a lease for a spot in the upcoming KRATE container park at The Grove. After a number of delays, they hope to be open sometime in June or July.

The container set-up will feature living spaces that show off the offerings at Budget Blinds (something similar to IKEA’s set-ups).  There will be samples on hand and design consultants to assist in making your choices.

“It will be like a mini-showroom,” Adriane says.

The new showroom also will utilize television monitors and iPads to help bring your ideas into focus. It’s part of a move to a more digital approach, the Wonderlins say.

And, speaking of digital approaches, their Budget Blinds franchise also is beefing up its social media standing with a renewed focus on Instagram — @budgetblindsgreatertampa — where it is polling customers to determine what they like and teaming up with online influencers to bring the possibilities offered by Budget Blinds to life.

There is a variety of styles to choose from no matter what you are looking for — from best-selling brands like Signature Series, Enlightened Styles and Norman Shutters.

Blinds come in vinyl, wood, fabric, faux wood and aluminum. Shutter options range from real wood (in painted or stained) and also composite shutters that will not fade or warp.

If you prefer shades, you can choose from roller, pleated, Roman, cellular, woven wood, bamboo, sheer, solar and graphic, not to mention a variety of panels, valances and drapes.

Adriane says the most popular choices are plantation shutters, which is a huge part of Budget Blinds’ business, and treatments like Roman and roller shades remain a top seller. Adriane says after years of more simple and hard-lined window treatments, soft treatments also are growing again in popularity.

Features that continue to grow in popularity are motorization and automation.

Budget Blinds has a private label called Smart Home Collection by Budget Blinds, and it can be used with a variety of vendors.

“If you found a certain fabric with one vendor, but for another room you want a different vendor, that system will work with both,” Mike says. “It’s a single platform that goes across multiple brands.”

Motorization is more pushing a button on a remote control or keypad, while automation is typically using an app on a phone to set times for the drapes or blinds to open and close. Scheduled correctly, you can be awakened in the morning by natural sunlight as your blackout shades gradually rise, or change the ambiance of your whole home after the sun has set, all with the press of a button or a voice command.

Both eliminate the need for unsightly (and sometimes dangerous) cords.

“It’s great for windows behind couches, especially if you have a conservation view,” Mike says. “People love not having to go (manually) raise the blinds on eight windows every morning. I even had a customer a few months ago (whose) teenage sons wouldn’t wake up, so they set the timers on their blinds for 7 a.m.”

The technology gets better every year, Mike says, and sales of motorization/automation products are up 25 percent over the past three years.

About The Company

Budget Blinds was founded in 1992 in Orange County, CA, and has more than 1,000 franchises in the U.S. and Canada. The Wonderlins’ franchise,  which they purchased in 2018, was recently awarded Budget Blinds’ national Franchise of the Year for 2020, the franchise’s third such honor since 2016.

The Wonderlins have a staff of 30 consultants, including installation manager Bill Tumelty, a U.S. Army veteran, and administrative manager Kristi Cicollelo. 

Tumelty is one of a few military veterans working for the Wonderlins, who partner with Homes For Our Troops by providing and installing the window treatments in the homes of wounded veterans for free.

Whether you’re looking for improved aesthetics or smarter energy consumption — or, like many customers, a little bit of both — Budget Blinds can steer you in the right direction. And this summer, your journey to more elegant and convenient window treatments can start right in the new local mini-showroom at KRATE.

“We’re excited about it,” Adriane says. “Anything you put in Wesley Chapel right now takes off. And, we’re local — it’s literally right in our backyard.”

The main Budget Blinds of Greater Tampa showroom is located at 1208 W. Fletcher Ave. The showroom hours are Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. To schedule a complimentary in-home consultation, call (813) 968-5050. For more info, visit BudgetBlinds.com/NorthTampa or see the ad on page 24.

Education Notebook — Local PTSAs Take Home County Honors

PTA treasurer Rachel Barten

The Hillsborough County Council of PTAs/PTSAs held its annual awards ceremony this year on May 1, with several New Tampa schools, educators and volunteers taking home top honors.

Hector Rivera of Liberty Middle School was named Instructional Person of the Year for middle school. Rivera is a technology resource teacher who was nominated because he, “worked tirelessly to provide technical support and troubleshoot problems that our e-learners encountered with technology during the year,” according to his nomination. Rivera uses his bilingual skills to help Spanish-speaking parents overcome technical difficulties, and enthusiastically supports his school and students.

At the high school level, Dr. Tammy Crawford of Wharton High also received the Instructional Person of the Year award. Dr. Crawford is a success coach at the school who, according to her nomination, “is someone who has been a very strong advocate for all students, but especially for those who sometimes need the most help and are often overlooked.”

Wharton principal Michael Rowan was named Principal of the Year among the county’s high school nominees for the second time in three years.

According to the Wharton PTSA’s nomination, “Our principal, Michael Rowan, works to make our school a safe, welcoming and fun place that students want to come to!”

Hunter’s Green Elementary won awards for Health & Safety for its “Walk & Bike to School Week” event, for Advocacy/Legislation for its “Engage 33647” initiative, and for Volunteer of the Year, which went to PTA treasurer Rachel Barten.

This year was a year of unknowns for Barten, whose work used to include frequent international travel, which was stopped due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Then, she faced unexpected surgery to remove a brain tumor. As she recovered, with no work obligations, she returned to the school PTA and became one of the group’s busiest and most passionate volunteers.

“I honestly think between Covid and my diagnosis, it should have been the worst year ever,” Barten says, “but it truly gave me the opportunity to focus on things I always wanted to do.”

Barten’s main priority is her daughter, Reagan, who is a fourth-grader at the school. She jumped in and volunteered at every possible opportunity, from the school’s fund raisers to running errands, helping with staff appreciation and handing out fliers in the car line after school. 

“It was two very odd crises that turned into blessings,” Barten said. “I was able to totally repurpose my attention to what I’ve always wanted it to be.”

After A Decade In New Tampa, Principal Gaye Holt Retires

After 10 years serving as principal of New Tampa schools, Gaye Holt will retire June 30. She steps down after a 39-year career in education, with the last seven years as the principal of Hunter’s Green Elementary and three years prior to that at Clark Elementary.

“I’m really going to miss everyone, and it’s going to be hard,” she says. “Whether I was at Clark or Hunter’s Green, the boys and girls, the parents, everyone in the community has been nothing but supportive, helpful and caring.”

Holt is known for her hard work and generous spirit, whether it’s greeting each child by name every morning or keeping the campus looking top-notch with her personal, daily inspections.

She says one of the funniest memories she has is when she dressed up as a member of the rock band KISS for a school fund-raising lip synch contest among teachers and staff. 

“It’s those kinds of things that everybody enjoys,” she says, “because it’s very uncharacteristic of me. I did it because the kids love it, and I’ll do anything for those kids – goo and slime, getting iced, all of that, I’ll do it for the kids.”

Her teachers and staff at Hunter’s Green say Holt will be missed tremendously.

“She’s so wonderful about procedures,” says Roxi Coriell, one of HGE’s kindergarten teachers. “There’s a plan for everything and the plan makes sense. When it came to coming back after Covid, I knew that we would be in great hands.”

Coriell says it’s obvious how much Holt cares about all of her students and members of the school community, a sentiment echoed by current PTA president Rebecca Towner.

“She is leaving Hunter’s Green Elementary with a strong foundation and a legacy that will not be forgotten,” says Towner.

Holt’s replacement was scheduled to be named at the Hillsborough County School Board meeting on May 18, which was held after this publication was printed.

Win A Prize Package Worth Nearly $500 At The Sarah Vande Berg Tennis Center!

Now that it’s been open for a while, you’ve hopefully heard of the Sarah Vande Berg (SVB) Tennis & Wellness Center, located on Simons Rd. in Zephyrhills.

In case you haven’t heard of it before, SVB has an amazing array of competition tennis courts, as well as the full-size courts for both pickleball and padel, two of the fastest-growing racquet sports in the world.

But, SVB also is home to an amazing fitness center and also offers licensed massages, cryotherapy, salt therapy, sports counseling, a boutique pro shop and a full-service restaurant with chef-created food by locally renowned Vesh Catering.

But, you might ask, what does all this have to do with you? I’m glad you asked. 

One of the things we’ve heard from our readers in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel is that SVB is “too far away” for our readers to join. Wrong! It’s only 15-20 minutes away from most of our Wesley Chapel communities and, with its unique variety of activities, you really should check it out.

Still not convinced? Here’s some incentive:  To win an amazing prize package to give SVB a try for FREE, send us an email (to ads@ntneighborhoodnews.com) or message us (at “Neighborhood News” on Facebook) with your name, address, the community you live in, a valid email address and daytime phone number, by Tuesday, June 1, to be entered into a random drawing to win this incredible SVB prize package worth nearly $500:

• One week of Recreational Kids Summer Camp (for ages 4-6) or Boot Camp (for athletes ages 8-14) with former NFL star Mel Williams

• One 25-minute Salt Room session

• Brunch for two at the Vesh Café

• SVB “swag bag,” including an SVB logo mask, Mahala cup, lipstick, sunstick, black cup & borosilicate verre water bottle

Wharton Valedictorian Manages To Make It Look Easy

Siya Patel, foreground, worked hard to graduate with the highest GPA for a female in Wharton history, utilizing advice from brother Yash (background), last year’s salutatorian. (Photo: Charmaine George).

Siya Patel knew when she entered Wharton High that she could become her class valedictorian, but she didn’t really give it much thought.

Instead, Siya decided to focus on her grade-point-average. While the two things — a high GPA and becoming a valedictorian — go hand in hand, she decided she wanted to post the highest GPA ever, so instead of chasing another student for valedictorian, she decided to chase a number: 9.0.

When Siya officially graduates, it will be with a 9.09 weighted GPA, the highest ever for a Wharton High female. Tori Bell had a 9.01 in 2019.

“I wanted my GPA to be well over 9, because that’s the highest in Wharton’s history,” Siya says. “Due to Covid, I thought I wouldn’t make it because some of the classes I wanted to take were only being taught in school. But, I was able to work around it and accomplish my goal.”

Siya achieved her goal with a busy schedule of classes, taking as many as she was allowed. In her time at Wharton, she took 15 dual enrollment course online — three classes each semester her last two years — through Hillsborough Community College, as well as 13 AP classes for Wharton. 

While that may sound like a grind, for Siya, it wasn’t. She managed to fit in time playing the violin in the school orchestra, she was in a number of Honors clubs and volunteered 200 hours.

Like almost every valedictorian at every school, she was masterful in not taking too much and using enhanced time management skills to get it all done.

“I didn’t ever think it was too hard,” she says. “I always just did what I could do.”

The key was not letting the schedule get the best of her. She was attending school during normal hours, and would do her homework before starting on her HCC assignments. She says she split up everything evenly during the week so her weekends wouldn’t be filled with stressful deadlines.

She did not try for an AA degree, saying that it would have involved too many unnecessary classes that she wouldn’t normally be taking. So instead, she took extra math classes. Her favorite was AP Statistics. 

She’ll attend USF in the fall and major in finance. Sometimes, she sits with her father, Dr. Prakashkumar Patel, a neurologist, and her mother, Aarti Patel, and helps do the billing for her father’s practice.

Siya will join brother Yash, a biomedical science major, at USF. Last year, Yash was the salutatorian at Wharton, and used his experience to help guide his sister to the top of the academic standings this year.

“He always helped me whenever I needed help, and was one of the biggest reasons I was able to become valedictorian at Wharton,” she says.

Yash says he is proud of his sister. He advised her about what classes to take, and which ones to avoid, and was happy to see her finish No. 1.

Yash says the best piece of advice he gave his sister was to not rest on her laurels. No one ever asks if he was salutatorian in high school, and next year, no one will probably ask Siya if she was valedictorian. It is one of those nice but fleeting distinctions, and something he says she will discover quickly fades into the past.

“This is just one step in the journey,” he says. “When you go to college you still have to show that same rigor and effort and still be motivated, even if you’re not first every time.”

That won’t be a problem for Siya. When she reunited with the senior class of 2021, which has been scattered due to Covid— some learning in school, others learning at home — due to Covid, she shared that same advice with her classmates at graduation.

“Take everything they’ve learned the last 13 years,” she says, “and put it to good use.”