Moffitt’s Partnership With AdventHealth WC Just The Beginning

Moffitt Cancer Center VP of government affairs Jamie Wilson (right) asked Jim Engelmann & the other North Tampa Bay Chamber members in attendance at the NTBC’s Sept. 26 Economic Development Briefing for their support of Moffitt’s efforts to receive more funding the state’s cigarette tax revenue. 

Moffitt Cancer Center VP of government affairs Jamie Wilson (right) asked Jim Engelmann & the other North Tampa Bay Chamber members in attendance at the NTBC’s Sept. 26 Economic Development Briefing for their support of Moffitt’s efforts to receive more funding the state’s cigarette tax revenue.

The Moffitt Cancer Center, which recently forged a new partnership with Advent Health Wesley Chapel, could be making an even bigger footprint in Pasco County, with talk of a massive research center at the intersection of S.R. 52 and the Suncoast Pkwy.

But to do so, Moffitt will need money.

Jamie Wilson, the vice president of government affairs for Moffitt, spoke to local business leaders at the North Tampa Bay Chamber (NTBC)’s Economic Development Briefing at Hunter’s Green Country Club on Sept. 26.

Wilson’s presentation is part of a more aggressive effort by Moffitt to convince the state legislature to raise the cancer center’s share of Florida’s annual cigarette tax.

“We have grown from a small cancer hospital with 409 employees in 1986 to 2019, where we now have 6,500 employees serving more than 68,000 patients a year,” Wilson said. “The demand continues to grow. We’re asking our legislature to partner with us again, and groups like this Chamber to support our (request).”

Wilson told the NTBC members in attendance that Moffitt, as the state’s only Comprehensive Cancer Center, is asking to increase its share of the cigarette tax from 4.04 percent this year to 7 percent next year and 10 percent in 2023. Each increase would produce an additional $11 million in annual revenue.

The existing Moffitt Cancer Center on the University of South Florida (USF)’s Tampa campus off Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. and E. Fowler Ave., is 33 years old, and Wilson said there is no space available for growth in cancer research or treatment there. He said there were 130,000 people diagnosed with cancer last year in the state of Florida — and that number is expected to continue to grow.

“There is more and more demand every year,” he said. “We are seeking additional assistance from the cigarette tax so we can accommodate that growth by building new, state-of-the-art treatment and research facilities.”

The additional revenue would be used to expand Moffitt’s local footprint. That likely would include a new hospital on McKinley Dr. (aka N. 40th St.) in Tampa, about a mile from the existing hospital on the USF campus, and potentially, a new research campus in Pasco County, which has already approved the zoning and land-use changes for the massive proposed development near the Suncoast Pkwy. that also could include homes, hotels and other commercial enterprises.

Wilson said that a facility such as that would be a huge boon for Pasco County, as it would bring thousands of high-paying jobs to the area as well.

“I think we all know or have been touched by someone dealing with cancer,” said District 2 County Commissioner Mike Moore. “I think something like that would be great for Pasco County, but I think the good it would do for everyone, here and around the world, would be tremendous.”

Moffitt already has a new and innovative partnership with AdventHealth, which was announced earlier this year.

Back in May, AdventHealth Wesley Chapel (AHWC) and Moffitt broke ground on a new $44-million outpatient center to treat cancer patients from a new medical office building on the AHWC campus.

The three-story, 100,000-sq.-ft. medical office on the hospital’s campus will fill a pressing need for cancer treatment here. The outpatient center will offer medical and radiation oncology services and will be designed to accommodate oncologists to deliver chemotherapy, immunotherapy and radiation therapy to patients. It is expected to open next fall.

Moffitt and AdventHealth also teamed up recently to bring early-phase clinical trials for patients who have run out of other treatment options to AdventHealth Celebration near Orlando.

It is that kind of forward-thinking that Wilson said proves Moffitt has been worth every penny it has received from the cigarette tax, and an increase would help it do more.

“I think the return on investment has been great,” he said, adding later, “Moffitt is doing some pretty great stuff.”

Less Contentious Debate Over New School Zones

Chris Williams wasn’t quite sure what to expect on Oct. 7 at the public workshop for Pasco County’s new school boundaries expected to go into effect for the 2020-21 school year.

The director of planning services for the Pasco County School Board said that in the three weeks prior to the meeting, there had surprisingly been only 35 online inquiries about the new boundaries, so he wondered if parents were waiting to address their concerns in person.

Would the same large crowds from the contentious, lawsuit-laden 2016 rezoning meetings come streaming through the doors of the Wiregrass Ranch High (WRH) gymnasium? Would an angry mob be on hand to confront county planners who were there to answer questions? Would they be carrying pitchforks?

The answers? No, no and no.

It was, in fact, a surprisingly muted showing of roughly 50 parents over three hours, the energy muzzled by the emptiness of the high school’s large gymnasium.

“Based on some feedback, I expected more,” Williams said. “But, I didn’t expect this.”

There were 12 tables set up, with District staff manning many of them to answer questions about the new school zones, which will have the greatest effect on students living in Seven Oaks. 

While current WRH juniors and John Long Middle School seventh graders will be allowed to stay next year to finish at the schools where they started, most everyone else in Seven Oaks is headed to Cypress Creek High and Cypress Creek Middle, if the boundaries are approved, as expected.

When Mica and David Rice decided to relocate from Orange County in New York to Tampa Bay, they say that the right school for their son, an incoming freshman, played the biggest role.

In the summer of 2018, after strongly considering Steinbrenner High in Lutz, the Rices made what they thought was the right decision — they chose WRH, and bought a home in Seven Oaks.

Two weeks after closing on their new home, Mica found out her son’s stay at WRH was likely to be a short one, as the Seven Oaks community would in the crosshairs of rezoning in 2019.

“I saw it on Facebook, and I was shocked,” Mica says. “We did a year’s worth of research before deciding to move here, and did not know.”

The Rices were clearly disappointed that their son will not only have to attend a new school, but one further away from home. Mika says her 7-minute ride to school will now be a 20-minute ride.

“We don’t want to leave (Wiregrass Ranch),” she says.

 However, there is little choice. Most of the parents who visited the public workshop seemed disappointed but resigned to the fact their children — whether at WRH or Long — would be attending Cypress Creek High and/or the new Cypress Creek Middle School, which is currently under construction, next year.

“I’m getting pushback, but not a lot of it,” Williams said. “The impression is that certainly people are not happy, but they are kind of resigned to the fact. Most knew this day was coming.”

To drive that point home, Williams came armed with a newspaper article from 2016, where Pasco School Superintendent Kurt Browning specifically told the Seven Oaks community that while they were spared in the 2016 rezoning, they likely would be moving the next time around.

Cypress Creek High principal Caryn Hetzler-Nettle and new Cypress Creek Middle School principal Timothy Light (see story, pg. 30) had a table at the public forum with the hopes of assuaging any of the concerns of parents whose kids would be attending their schools next year.

Hetzler-Nettles said the process — which eliminated committees arguing over where to draw the boundaries and let the county planners handle it this time around — also seemed to do away with most of the tension from the 2016 process. 

Also, the fear of the unknown has been eliminated. In 2016, students were rezoned for schools that didn’t yet exist.

“It’s night and day,” Hetzler-Nettles said. “Now that we’re established and have a brand and a vibe out there, it’s been much easier.”

According to 2018-19 data, Wiregrass Ranch High was at 136 percent of its capacity. 

By shrinking the zone and reassigning students who live in Seven Oaks, roughly 27 percent of the student body (or 600 or so students) will head off to Cypress Creek High, which today is at only 50 percent of its capacity of 2,090 students.

Long was at 116 percent of its capacity in 2018-19, but with nearly 450 students being rezoned for Cypress Creek Middle School, it could be at 90 percent next school year. 

Williams said county-wide, Pasco is only at 90-percent capacity in all of its schools, but Wesley Chapel’s schools are continuously over capacity, due to the burgeoning development. 

While rezoning Seven Oaks helped Williams meet his directive, he said the county also considered including Northwood in the rezoning, but instead chose to make some minor adjustments elsewhere.

Most of the concerns Williams heard at the public forum revolved around students being able to finish at the same school at which they had started, transportation and what to do about siblings.

Williams explained that siblings of any graduating seniors will have to attend their new school, but any students currently attending Wiregrass Ranch (or Long, since it’s considered the same campus) who are siblings of a junior can likely stay but will have to apply for choice.

However, once those WRH juniors graduate in 2021, their younger siblings will have to attend the school for which they are zoned.

Also, students in any academies only offered at Wiregrass Ranch (medical, hospitality) have to apply for choice but should get to stay. Those in the business academy, however, will have to go to Cypress Creek if zoned for it, because Cypress Creek also has a business academy.

The last opportunity for the public to have its say come son Tuesday, November 5, when the School Board will host a public hearing on the proposed boundaries. The final vote is scheduled for Tuesday, November 19.

THE GOLDEN TOUCH

Developer Mark Gold has big plans for The Grove.

In a tiny office tucked behind The Grove shopping center he recently bought for $62.7 million, Mark Gold is unveiling big dreams.

“Big, big, major,” he says. “This is major.”

Gold’s vision is all over the walls of the leasing office at The Grove, on blueprints and promotional materials. 

There will be a family park, an amphitheatre for musical performances, a brewery, new restaurants, an indoor adventure facility, beautiful landscaping and lighting, and what Gold says will be the biggest shipping container park — think Sparkman Wharf, but on steroids — in the world.

A rendering of how a “container park” will look at The Grove.

There also is room for 400 homes, if Gold chooses to develop the additional acreage.

While others have, for too many years, seen a big box dead end office plaza with empty buildings and overgrown and unkempt land, Gold sees the future.

“This is a diamond that no one has touched for 10 years,” he says. “No one had the money to polish the diamond. That’s just crazy.”

The Grove, which opened in 2007 and whose current tenants include Best Buy, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Michael’s and others, as well as the Cobb 16 Movie Theater, may be an afterthought to many locals, a shopping center that once had great potential before development stopped. Gold and his Mishorim Gold Properties promise that will change.

“The message is, The Grove is coming back,” says Gold, emphatically. “It’s not owned by the bank or an insurance company anymore, it’s owned by creative developers that do this already all over the U.S.”

As Gold lays out his plan, it almost sounds too good to be true. However, District 2 Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore, who arranged a meeting for Gold with county planners and administrators, loves the idea.

“I think he’s the real deal,” Moore says. “When he left after his presentation, there was energy and excitement in the room.”

Pasco’s uber-friendly-to-business county commission is likely to do what it can to make things happen fast. Many of the typical hold-ups — such as proper zoning and utilities  — are all already in place.

The mostly vacant Village across the parking lot from stores like Best Buy, Marshall’s and DICK’s Sporting Goods has been mostly vacant but Gold already has new tenants signed to leases.

Gold, who has now owned the plaza less than a month, isn’t wasting any time starting to create a destination that he thinks could serve as a downtown Wesley Chapel one day.

“This is not only about money, it’s about vision,” he says. “Let’s bring something to Wesley Chapel that people like to come to.”

Just a few days after his purchase, he already had signed leases for 15 of the 60 containers, or micro-shops, that will populate the land between The Grove’s office “village” and Outback Steakhouse. Moore said he was impressed to see that overgrown grass had already been moved and some of the area was already being prepped.

Gold is hoping to create a European-flavored market or bazaar, with an emphasis on locally-owned stores and boutiques, and he says that in about two months, the containers will begin showing up.

“Things are moving fast,” he says. “This is big in places like Europe, Amsterdam…you see it all over the place. In the U.S., it is fresh. And, it is going to be the largest one in the world.”

Each of the container “shops,” which are former semi-truck trailers that will be outfitted with solar panels, is 40-feet long (although there are options to split the office containers into two or even three separate spaces), and here’s the big news — he is renting them out for only $1,500 a month for an entire container, with limited up-front costs for design.

“If you have a dream, let’s make it happen!,” Gold says.

“If you have a dream, let’s make it happen!,” he says. “This is your mom-and-pop opportunity, your dream. I care about my tenants. I want to help people come to us. Let me help you.”

A family park for children also will be one of the key components of The Grove’s transformation, as will a 36,000-sq.-ft. indoor trampoline/adventure park (see pg. 14).. 

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees is a part-owner of Surge Adventure Park, Gold says he already has Surge at four of his developments and that it is likely Brees will follow him to Wesley Chapel, too. Surge Adventure Park would be built near the Cobb 16 Movie Theater.

As we reported last issue, Double Branch Artisanal Ales, owned by Wesley Chapel residents, is expected to open in December, the first new project under Gold’s Mishorim Gold Properties.

“I think it is extraordinarily exciting for our community,” says Hope Allen, CEO of the North Tampa Bay Chamber. “It’s a long time coming. “It was disheartening to see (The Grove) not living up to its full potential over the last couple of years. I appreciate that new ownership is going to invest in it.”

Gold says he also has signed leases with at least four restaurants — pizza, sushi, gourmet hot dogs and frozen yogurt — for the currently mostly-vacant office park that he calls “The Village,” as well as a restaurant/duelling piano bar owned by Wesley Chapel resident Jamie Hess and his brother Joe.

“I met with him and was very enthusiastic and energetic,” said Jamie Hess, who signed his lease on Oct. 10. “I thought he had an amazing plan. I went home and researched his other properties and after that, I was sold. He’s going to make The Grove a huge success.” We’ll have a separate story about the piano bar in a future issue.

Gold has a reputation for investing in property that is undervalued and turning high-vacancy shopping and office centers into bustling, vibrant, family-focused entertainment destinations.

He bought the Lynnhaven North shopping center in Virginia Beach, VA, in late 2018 and quickly turned that around, with nearly $10 million worth of renovations and upgrades.

Whether you’re talking about the Regency Court Shopping Center in Jacksonville, or the Shoppes at Hickory Hollow in Antioch, TN, the DW Center in Newport News, VA, or a handful of other similar U.S. projects, Gold has swooped in to buy a failing shopping center and invested millions into transforming them.

And, the ebullient Gold is excited about The Grove’s prospects.

He says he has been looking to purchase land in the Tampa Bay area for years, but couldn’t find anything that suited him.

“It was like Mission Impossible,” he says.

He spent eight months negotiating to buy The Grove, when he says it usually takes him only about a month to complete similar deals.

The purchase included the 604,000 sq. ft. of existing shopping and dining space, as well as 1.3-million sq. ft. of retail and office space that he plans to build. 

But, even better, The Grove is located in one of the southeast’s fastest-growing areas.

Not only are there thousands of homes at various stages of development within a 10-mile radius of The Grove in nearby communities like Mirada, Epperson and even Quail Hollow, but Wesley Chapel also boasts an average annual household income of $92,000.

The shopping center is located just off busy I-75, and can be seen by 100,000 drivers a day.

“I am in the middle of the all the action,” Gold says. “Right where I want to be.”

And soon, he hopes, where all of Wesley Chapel will want to be.

For leasing & more information about The Grove, contact keren@mgoldgroup.com.

Battle of BBD Recap (with photo gallery)

Defensive scores by senior linebackers Ed Marcelin and Steven Joseph (pictured left), a rushing touchdown by 6-foot-4, 325-pound lineman OC Davis and a perfect night of kicking by Zach Godbold gave Wharton a 42-7 win — and New Tampa bragging rights — over Freedom in the annual football showdown between our area’s local high school rivals.

The Wildcats’ win was the second-most lopsided ever (only the 36-0 win in 2006 was worse) against the Patriots, and Wharton now leads the series 11-6.

The Wildcats rushed for 246 yards and four touchdowns, with senior Ben Williams leading the way with 155 of them on 13 carries, two for touchdowns. Davis’ touchdown harkened back to William “The Refrigerator” Perry’s days as a member of the Super Bowl XX-winning Chicago Bears, when the defensive lineman was a short yardage sensation. Davis, by the way, is two inches taller than The Fridge in his prime, but about 30 pounds lighter.

 Godbold, one of the top junior javelin throwers in the country, also is adept with his right foot. He was 6-for-6 on extra points, and booted three of his seven kickoffs into the end zone. Two others were fielded near the goal line and resulted in Freedom starting drives at their own 11- and 15-yard lines.

The Wildcats snapped a two-game losing streak to Freedom, and improved their overall 2019 record to 3-2 as of our press time. The Patriots, who picked up their first win of the season the week before by defeating Spoto 22-15, fell to 1-3.

New Tampa Mosque Town Hall Meeting Focuses On Big Issues

A town hall at the Daarus Salaam Mosque in New Tampa on Sept. 21 drew a crowd of roughly 100 people, with topics ranging from the need for a traffic light to healthcare and gun safety.

Luis Viera’s New Tampa town halls are generally hyper-local affairs.

The District 7 Tampa City Council member (and usually a guest or two) are asked about things like Kinnan-Mansfield, traffic along Bruce B. Downs, new additions to our local parks and everything from a pothole over there to a slow light over here.

On Sept. 21, however, Viera’s town hall, in conjunction with the Islamic Society of New Tampa, at the Daarus Salaam Mosque on Morris Bridge Rd., just north of Cross Creek Blvd., broadened the councilman’s normal town hall fare.

Along with a few questions about traffic safety near the bustling mosque, especially in the mornings where more than 100 children are headed to school near busy (and narrow) Morris Bridge Rd., the conversation circulated around such weighty topics as religious and social tolerance, affordable housing, gun violence, school funding and healthcare.

“I thought it went really well,” Viera said. “I thought there was a lot of energy and people seemed enthused to be there.”

The town hall, moderated by CAIRFlorida’s Aida Mackic, was Viera’s 14th in the North Tampa district he represents. It included a wide spectrum of guests, which likely prompted some of the larger-issue questions. Fentrice Driskell, the Florida House District 63 representative (which includes New Tampa), Hillsborough County District 7 (county-wide) Commissioner Kimberly Overman and Hillsborough County sheriff Chad Chronister all joined Viera on the panel.

“My heart is bursting with pride to be here,” Driskell told a crowd of about 100. “I’m so excited, but I’m trying to play it cool.”

It was a predominantly Muslim crowd, but Viera said those who worship at the mosque and live in the area are an important part of the community.

“Potholes hold no party or religious affiliation,” Viera said. “A pothole annoys the Southern Baptist as much as it annoys the Muslim.”

As you might expect from a predominantly Muslim crowd, there were concerns raised about Islamophobia, guns and the protection of the mosque. 

Dr. Adel Eldin, MD, a Brooksville cardiologist, laid out a laundry list of items mosque members would like to see from its elected officials — yellow lights to slow down traffic in the morning as children make their way to school, better fire rescue service and for the mosque, which has a Thonotosassa addressed in unincorporated Hillsborough County, to be incorporated into the City of Tampa so it could be on the city’s sewer system.

Along with the recent Islamic Society of New Tampa purchase of six acres of land adjacent to the mosque for expansion, Eldin said his list of requests were critical.

Safety From Violence

But, the safety of worshippers was on his mind as well. He thanked Sheriff Chronister for increasing patrols after shootings of Muslims earlier this year in New Zealand, but also said he would like to see a deputy on site in the morning when the children are vulnerable.

Chronister sympathized with many in attendance. 

“There are 4,000 members of the sheriff’s office that want to make sure no one has to live in fear,” he said. He drew one of the loudest ovations of the afternoon when he added, “You should be able to worship in peace, regardless of your faith.”

That led to a discussion about gun control, namely the dangers posed by access to assault rifles, as well as a 12-year-old in the crowd suggesting lawmakers focus on the mental health issues of students who suffer from harassment and fear of bullying in schools.

“This is a community concerned about tolerance and safety a bit more acutely than other folks,” Viera said.

Driskell tackled questions on the lack of education funding, one of her primary interests as a legislator. “I am ready…give me the ball!,” Driskell said when the first question about education was asked.

A product of local public schools (Lake Gibson in nearby Polk County) who went on to graduate from Harvard, Driskell said more help — both financially and in the classroom — needs to be provided to teachers across the state in order to retain them. She said she watched the joy of teaching fade from her mother after a 35-year career in the classroom.

Since being elected last November (beating incumbent Shawn Harrison), Driskell said that she has witnessed first-hand just how tough that fight for more funding for public schools can be. 

“I don’t like to make things partisan,” she said, “but I think 90 percent of the time in state legislature, we agree on most of the issues and most of the bills we vote on will pass through unanimously. But, for whatever reason, public education has become so highly politicized. It falls into two camps: those who favor public schools, and those on the side of charter schools and vouchers for private schools.”

Driskell said she is not necessarily against charter schools or vouchers, “but not at the expense of public schools.”

Overman and Hillsborough County District 3 School Board member Cindy Stuart, who was in attendance, also said more funding was central to fixing what ails schools and their teachers, but the answers may have to come from the community.

Chronister agreed. As the vice chair of the Citizen Oversight Committee for the education referendum that passed last year, Chronister touted many of the school projects that the $23 million raised by a the new one-cent sales tax that are making things better for students and teachers.

Affordable healthcare, affordable housing and building a stronger community also were touched on in the wide-ranging, two-hour forum, and at the end, Viera said it accomplished what he had hoped.

“I do it because I think it’s important,” Viera said. “There were a lot of legitimate concerns, not paranoia, raised, and addressing them and showing that their local politicians have their backs makes the community stronger and better off.”