Wesley Chapel’s Episcopal Church Consecrated As Saint Paul’s

Reverend Mother Adrienne Hymes talks to visitors at the St. Paul’s Episcopal Church of Wesley Chapel ribbon cutting on Jan. 28. (Photo: Charmaine George)

The Wesley Chapel Episcopal Church has been around in some form or fashion since 2017, when four worshippers gathered at the St. Aslem’s Episcopal Chapel Center at the University of South Florida, followed by occasional meetings in conference rooms of various car dealerships in the area.

Led by Adrienne Hymes, a missioner for church extension in the Episcopal Diocese of Southwest Florida, the meetings grew slowly. The church finally leased space a year later in a professional office park, and then moved to another space, and on Jan. 24, celebrated its first Patronal Feast Day and was officially consecrated as St. Paul’s Episcopal Church of Wesley Chapel.

On Jan. 28, an official ribbon cutting was held, and the church, the only Episcopal church in Wesley Chapel, re-intoduced itself to the community.

“Here we are, Wesley Chapel,’” said Hymes, now the Reverend Mother and Vicar of the church.

The consecration of the church by Bishop Dabney Smith, of the Episcopal Diocese of SW Florida, marked a big and important moment. 

“There are different stages, so today was one of those things where we said yes, we wanted to plant a church and now we have the roots in the ground,” Rev. Hymes said. “It’s taken three years, but we’ve been working to get things going.”

Hymes, a Virginia native who recently moved to Wesley Chapel, said she never lost faith, even when the meetings only had a handful of people show up. In fact, the original four members are no longer involved with this particular church but, little by little, Hymes said she used her marketing and public relations background, as well as an energetic and electric personality, to attract more people to St. Paul’s.

The church first leased space in the Redfern Professional Center behind the Shops of Mystic Oak off Bruce. B. Downs Blvd. in Wesley Chapel in February 2018, and Hymes was ordained as an Episcopal priest a few months later. In November, the first mass was held with 22 attendees. Other than spikes on Easter and Christmas, Sunday services attracted between 20-25 members.

In mid-2019, the church moved a short three-minute walk away and converted a personal fitness center in the Renaissance Professional Park into its current location. More than 70 people showed up for the first Holy Eucharist at the new location and masses regularly attracted 50 or so members, until Covid hit. “Pre-Covid, we were really growing,” Rev. Hymes said. “It was really amazing.”

After almost a year of doing virtual services, the church now limits 25 at mass, and also has recently unveiled its new Fellowship Hall – converting the dance theater right next door. The hall is used for socially distant post-mass coffee gatherings and bible study, as well as meetings.

The newer, larger location is more convenient for Episcopalians looking for a place to worship. The nearest Episcopal Church is Grace Episcopal in Tampa Palms, nearly 10 miles away.

The next goal is to build a traditional church. Hymes relishes the mission, and seems like the ideal person to lead the charge to such lofty goals.

“Episcopal churches don’t live in buildings like this, Rev. Hymes said, “so the vision is now that we have leadership in place and we are growing, we need to talk about getting land, and then we will build our church.” She added that they will take about six months to breathe, and then form a committee to start looking for land.

Hymes joked that they don’t teach integrated marketing at Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, where she finished in 2014, but it’s just one of many skills she has to help expand the footprint of St. Paul’s, and one of the reasons she was chosen for the task.

“My happy place is creation and innovation,” Hymes said. “So, this is something I really enjoy.”

St. Paul’s holds mass weekly, on Sundays at 10 a.m. For more information, visit SaintPaulsEpiscopalChurch.org or call (813) 803-7489.

Commissioners Spar Over Need For More Apartments

The Charleson Communities at Wesley Chapel are under construction at the southeast corner of New River Rd. and S.R. 54., part of more than 1,000 apartment/multi-family units being added to District 2 recently. Commissioners debated whether more apartments are needed in the area. (Photo: tampacivil.com/Aerial Productions)

More and more apartment communities are being built in or proposed for the Wesley Chapel area, and Mike Moore doesn’t like it.

The Pasco County Commissioner, whose District 2 includes most of Wesley Chapel and some of Land O’Lakes, is leading the fight against building more apartments, in contrast to his fellow commissioners who also represent parts of Wesley Chapel — District 1 commissioner Ron Oakley, whose district includes much of Wesley Chapel north of S.R. 54, and District 3 commissioner Kathryn Starkey, who represents a sliver of the southwest corner of Wesley Chapel.

Moore and Starkey clashed at a Jan. 12 commission meeting over a proposal to build apartments just north of the future BayCare Hospital on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) and Eagleston Blvds. Moore and Starkey disagreed about whether or not to approve the proposal by the developer, Mass Capital, with Moore motioning to have it denied. and both Starkey and Oakley voting against it, as did new Dist. 4 county commissioner Christina Fitzpatrick.

The commission then voted 5-0 to continue the debate over the proposal — which would build 240 multi-family dwellings on 16.24 acres — for 60 days. 

The commissioners picked the argument back up at a workshop scheduled on Feb. 9, moving towards a temporary moratorium on approving new apartment complex projects.

Moore has long opposed the proliferation of new apartments in the county and, in particular, in his district. His reasons are clear — apartments are taking up land that could be better used generating employment, and because he believes there are already enough multi-family properties to fulfill the need in the area.

To prove he wasn’t alone, he funded a poll conducted by Spry Strategies in December of 400 residents in District 2. 

“I’ve beaten this drum for years about apartment complexes in Pasco County, but especially in District 2, so I went ahead and did something,” Moore says. “It was not funded with county dollars, it was $1,700 and I used my own account…I wanted to show it’s not just coming out of my mouth, it’s coming out of citizens’ mouths, too.”

The results, however unscientific, reveal that more local residents agree with him than not, with 154 (or 38.5 percent) saying they don’t approve of the number of apartment buildings in their communities. Almost as many (149) were unsure or didn’t have an opinion; Moore chalked that high number up to the poll being conducted during the holidays. And, 97 (24.2%) of those polled approve of the amount of apartments in their community.

The poll also revealed that 196 (or 49%) would prefer to see more office and commercial development than more apartments, with 59 (14.7%) not having a preference. Again, a high number, 145 (or 36%), were unsure or didn’t have an opinion either way.

Asked whether they believed that more apartments should be built in Pasco County, 231 (57.75%) replied no and 73 (18.3%) replied yes, with 96 (24% unsure).

“Not a day goes by, especially in Land O’Lakes and Wesley Chapel, that someone comes up and starts talking to me and doesn’t bring it up,” Moore says. “I get emails about Covid and in it they bring up the subject of apartments. It shows you how frustrated the community is when it comes to the amount of apartment complexes built in that area.”

According to Nectorious Pittos, AICP, Pasco County’s director of Planning and Development, there are 68 Master Planned Unit Developments (MPUDs) in District 2, and 25 allow for multi-family apartments to be built. Recently, more than 1,000 units have been approved, constructed or are under construction at four new communities — Charleston at Wesley Chapel (on the southwest corner of S.R. 54 and New River Rd., just past Avalon Park West), the new Parc at Wesley Chapel in Lexington Oaks, the Cypress Creek Town Center and in the Aiken MPUD in nearby Land O’Lakes.

Moore says there are dozens of parcels in the area that already have the entitlements dating back to the 1980s to build apartments, and he has no interest in taking those away. But, developers hoping to rezone areas that would be better used for job-creating commercial spaces is where he wants to draw the line.

Moore also cited traffic issues, lack of the space generating employment and revenue for the county, and the effects more apartments will have on nearby schools.

The county received 24 emails about the Mass Capital project, all opposing it. However, Barbara Wilhite, the lawyer representing the developer, said those emails were all from Seven Oaks residents, and despite its proximity, the proposed apartment complex is not located within the Seven Oaks DRI. She said there was support for the proposal from actual future neighbors like BayCare Hospital, Blue Heron Assisted Living Facility and nearby townhomes.

While Moore, who lives in Seven Oaks, was adamantly opposed regardless, Starkey was supportive of developer Mass Capital’s proposal. 

She says she heard apartments in the area were at 98 percent capacity — Moore says he disagrees with that number — and she didn’t feel the number of apartments already in existence were oversaturating the area. She also felt it was a good location for apartments, and argued there would be less traffic added to the area with an apartment complex than any other use.

Starkey argued against Moore’s motion to deny by disputing his points and suggesting he was arguing from a privileged perspective.

“It’s elitist and improper,” Starkey said. “Not everyone can live in a $500,000 (home in a) gated community. We are going down a path that is really dangerous, rude and inappropriate.”

Oakley said he felt the project was a good idea and “fits a puzzle.” He voted against Moore’s motion to deny it.

Moore, who says he has spent a good amount of time researching the subject of apartments and the good and bad effects they can have on communities, said he was hoping to change some minds at the Feb. 9 workshop.

Wesley Chapel District Park To Offer More Options

The Wesley Chapel District Park on Boyette Rd. already has basketball courts outside, but once the county’s 18,000-sq.-ft. indoor facility at the park has been completed, it will provide and indoor home for those who want to play hoops and other sports that are often difficult to play outside with Florida’s unpredictable weather. (Photos: John C. Cotey)

The new indoor sports and recreation center being built by Pasco County at the Wesley Chapel District Park (WCDP) will have indoor courts for basketball, volleyball, pickleball and other sports, plus the flexibility to host meetings in additional rooms and the opportunity for summer camps. That may not be all that unique for such a facility, but this is:

It’s going to finish on time.

The Neighborhood News went on a recent tour of the new $4.8-million facility, which Pasco County project manager Curtis Franklin proudly says will open as expected in June. That’s big news coming off a year where so many projects have been slowed due to Covid-influenced difficulties in getting building materials on time.

“If you get this done by June, I really need to get you on more projects,” District 2 Pasco Commissioner Mike Moore quipped.

Pasco Commissioner Mike Moore tried out his slapshot at the Tampa Bay Lightning-funded outdoor roller rink during a recent tour of the county’s new indoor gymnasium at WCDP.

The new facility, located at 7727 Boyette Rd., has gone vertical and is taking shape. Located right next to the Tampa Bay Lightning street hockey rink — Comm. Moore and parks director Keith Wiley fired a few shots before the tour (and we can neither confirm nor deny whether they put any in between the pipes) — the long-awaited recreation facility will have 18,000 square feet of indoor space, including 10,000 for a court that will be used for a variety of indoor sports. 

The court is large enough for a regulation size basketball court and can be converted to two 3/4 length perpendicular basketball courts for youth leagues, two volleyball courts or six pickleball courts. Cheerleading and dance also can be held inside, and plans also may include indoor soccer, also known as futsal.

With the push of a button, a partition can even separate the gymnasium in two, allowing for a multi-purpose room on one side and a court on the other.

The facility will use the additional 8,000 square feet of space for two multipurpose rooms (one of them large enough to convert to two rooms) for meetings, as well as a full kitchen and offices.

The facility opens up in the back to a large seating area overlooking a grassy area, which can accommodate parties, small concerts and even movies in the park.

With the new gymnasium, plus tennis courts, 20 fields for soccer, lacrosse and flag football fields, a first-of-its-kind inclusive playground for children with disabilities, a regular playground, the Lightning street hockey rink, fishing, fitness trails, picnic areas, a pavilion and still plenty of leftover space on its 144 acres, WCDP will be the premier park in Pasco County.

“This is kind of the model for future district parks,” Wiley said during our tour.

The facility at WCDP also will be able to host summer camps, which will be a big deal, Wiley says. Currently, campers hoping to take part in the county’s popular summer programs have to drive to the Land O’Lakes Recreation Complex on Collier Pkwy., which Wiley says fills up within minutes once registration is opened each year.

Meanwhile, the much larger Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County, located just a few miles south of WCDP, was completed in July as a public-private partnership between the county and RADDSports, Moore says, but the new indoor facility at WCDP will serve a different audience.

The future front entrance to the indoor gym at WCDP.

“When it comes to the county, tourism has always been the focus for Wiregrass Ranch — holding events and bringing people into town on weekends who will be spending money in the community,” Moore says. “This is more for local residents, a place for the community to congregate.”

Wiley said the county’s Parks & Recreation Dept. controls six sites for future parks in Pasco County, and three of those will be built in Wesley Chapel in the areas of future master planned developments in Wyndfields, Two Rivers and the Village of Pasadena Hills (VOPH) once concurrency calls for it and the funding can be found. 

Those three projects will add a combined 50,000 or so homes to Wesley Chapel. Those projects, however, are years away from being built.

Until then, WCDP’s expansion will widen the scope of what can be offered to Wesley Chapel residents.

“The gymnasium was always the plan (when the park was originally built), we just needed to get the funding,” Wiley said. “The more residents, the more services you need, and Wesley Chapel is booming.”

More Detours on I-75

If you’ll be up late and driving north on I-75 this weekend, you might want to leave a little extra time for a detour as the result of construction on the Overpass Bridge between S.R.s 54 and 52.

According to the Florida Department of Transportation:

All northbound I-75 traffic will be detoured off the interstate between SR 54/CR 54 (Exit 279) and SR 52 (Exit 285) between 9 p.m. Saturday, February 20 and 10 a.m. Sunday, February 21. No later than 10 a.m. Sunday, at least one lane of traffic will be restored on northbound I-75 and the detour will be removed.  Work will continue on northbound I-75 and all northbound I-75 travel lanes will be open to traffic no later than noon on Sunday, February 21.  

The detour is necessary for the safety of the traveling public as the existing Overpass Road bridge section is removed over northbound I-75. 

DETOUR ROUTE for northbound I-75: Traffic will be directed off northbound I-75 at Exit 279. At the bottom of the ramp, turn left onto SR 54/CR 54/Wesley Chapel Boulevard and continue west about 8 tenths of a mile to Old Pasco Road. At the traffic signal for Old Pasco Road, turn right and go north for approximately 6.75 miles to SR 52. Turn right at the traffic signal onto SR 52 and go east about 3/4 mile. After passing under I-75, turn left onto the entrance ramp to re-enter northbound I-75.

CAUTION: Old Pasco Road is a two-lane road (one lane in each direction) and will be very congested during the hours of the detour.  The posted speed limit along Old Pasco Road must be observed.  Motorists are urged to plan plenty of extra time to drive the detour and return to the interstate or consider alternate routes. Law enforcement officers and traffic management personnel will be active along the detour route to assist with traffic flow.  Detour signs and message boards will be placed along the detour route for guidance.

For more information, visit FDOTTampaBay.com/project/457/432734-2-52-01\.

Townhomes Seem Headed For Cross Creek Blvd.; Apts. Open In Hunter’s Lake

A rezoning ordinance for a pair of proposed townhome projects towards the eastern end of Cross Creek Blvd., which would bring about 100 new residences to the area, sailed though first readings (with a few concessions) during a late night Tampa City Council hearing on Jan. 21, by a 5-1 vote.

A second reading, followed by what seems to be a likely approval, is scheduled for Tuesday, February 19, at 9:30 a.m.

The two communities are in the District 7 represented by Luis Viera, the only Council member to vote against both projects. District 2 Council member Charlie Miranda did not attend the meeting because he has Covid-19.

SDD Trust, Inc., is seeking to have the two properties rezoned from PD-A (planned development-alternative) to PD (planned development).

One parcel is located at 10801 Cross Creek Blvd, east of the New Tampa Dance Theatre and directly across the street from the entrance to the Heritage Isles community, and will have nine buildings with 60 attached single-family residences. 

A little further east, a second parcel will have six buildings and 35 single-family residences. The city’s Development Review and Compliance staff found the rezoning requests inconsistent with City of Tampa Land Development regulations, but SDD Trust sought waivers to remedy those inconsistencies, mostly related to building separation requirements, the removal of three grand live oak trees and retaining less than 50 percent of the existing trees on the property.

The waivers were granted on the first reading by the City Council.

The projects also were determined by city planners to not meet some Mixed Use Corridor policies. Mixed Use Corridors are areas that, among other things, are expected to improve the pedestrian experience, but because the front of single-family residences will face away from Cross Creek Blvd., those requirements weren’t being met. However, there is no other way to reconfigure the homes, so a six-foot-high simulated wrought iron fence (actually made of aluminum) with landscaping will need to be added to the design before the second reading.

Viera suggested the fence for safety reasons and the general aesthetic look, even though he voted against the project.

After some debate about the cost of adding a fence and how it would impact the amount of landscaping, the first reading was moved along with a vote at 1:25 a.m.

The Trails At Hunter’s Lake

Speaking of more New Tampa residences, The Trails at Hunter’s Lake, which promises “Naturally elevated living,” is open and already filling up.

The apartments, which offer 15 floor plans, are behind the new Village at Hunter’s Lake shopping center. The Trails, according to its website, has a private lake and lush walking trails, a billiards lounge and pub, and its location — in the heart of New Tampa near plenty of shopping and eating destinations as well as being just a mile away from I-75 — makes it an attractive place to live. 

It also is just feet away from the New Tampa Performing Arts Center, which is expected to be completed by Jan. 2022, and a large dog park.

The Trails has 1BR/1BA floor plans ranging 659 square feet to $798 sq. ft. (with prices ranging from $1,365 to $1,792), 2BR/2BA floor plans with 1,100 sq. ft. and prices from $1,776-$1978, two 3BR/2BA floor plans (1,291 and 1,393 sq. ft.), for $1,951 to $3,958, and a studio floor plan of 506 sq. ft. (no price listed).

For more info, call (813) 497-4889 or visit TrailsAtHuntersLake.com.

Yes, We VidaCann!

The sign is up for VidaCann, New Tampa’s first medical cannabis dispensary, which we are told will be open by the end of this month. New Tampa’s VidaCann (17631 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., in the former The Mattress1 store next to MIT Computers), will be the 19th VidaCann dispensary in Florida. For more information, visit VidaCann.com.