New Phase Of Persimmon Park At Wiregrass Ranch Taking Shape! 

Anyone driving on Wiregrass Ranch Blvd. recently has likely noticed the huge amount of new construction occurring right next to the Wiregrass Ranch community in Wesley Chapel’s northernmost roundabout. This long, 50-acre parcel, that stretches north to south along the west side of Wiregrass Ranch Blvd. (from the first roundabout down to the third roundabout) will serve two future Wiregrass Ranch developments. 

The southernmost seven acres (bottom of map, right) is currently slated for future professional medical offices — a 46,000-sq.-ft., two-story building, followed by a 72,000-sq.- ft., three-story building at a later date. Plans were submitted to the county in February and construction may begin later this year. 

The northernmost twelve acres (at the top of the map) will be for Persimmon Park Phase 3, which will consist of 37 two-story, single family homes and 75 two-story townhomes (or 112 total units). Construction of the land and infrastructure already has been under way for a few months. 

This will leave roughly 31 acres of the 50-acre parcel for drainage ponds and undisturbed conservation wetlands. 

The first two phases of Persimmon Park have had a few home builders, but Phase 3 will be exclusively David Weekley Homes, which also is currently finishing the part of Phase 2 closest to Phase 3 by the roundabout, along Orange Berry Dr. (again see the map). 

The 37 single-family homes will be similar to that part of Phase 2, with the garages in the front of the house, or what the builder calls its “Garden Series.” The lots will be 40’ x 105’ and the salespeople have told us that they expect that the new homes will be at a slightly lower price point when compared with Phase 2, by not offering as many upgrades. Current prices for the Garden Series range from $595,000-$695,000, so Phase 3 buyers should expect slightly lower prices than that. 

However, the townhomes (photo below), which will be located across from the single-family units, will have their garages at the rear of the house, which will open onto an alleyway, similar to how more than half the homes in Phases 1 and 2 of Persimmon Park are laid out, and part of what gives the community its unique look and feel. 

In Persimmon Park, most of these existing “Cottage” series homes’ front doors face a street with parallel parking (which makes sense), and for only one row (14 units) of the new proposed townhomes, the front doors also will face a similar road. 

For all of the other proposed townhomes (61 units), the front doors will face common grass areas or the perimeter of the community, which is something of an odd design choice, because those residents may likely never enter their homes through their front doors, which will be located where one might expect a rear patio to be, only offering a tiny (almost unusable) front porch instead. 

One benefit of this layout, however, is that it allows for an oversized two-car garage, on a townhome lot that might otherwise only be able to accommodate a single-car garage, as these townhomes don’t need room next to the garage for an entry. 

It’s also a good thing that all of these townhomes will have two-car garages, because none of them will have usable driveways! The driveways will only be a couple of feet from the garage doors to the edge of the rear alleyway, which means future owners will either have to park in their garages, or in one of the 32 parallel parking spaces being shared by all 112 units. 

While it’s not 100% confirmed yet, we were told by David Weekley Homes’ sales staff that one of (or perhaps even the) only townhome floor plan that will be offered will be the 3-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom, 1,751-sq.-ft. “Seawater” floor plan. 

This plan features something unique, where the first floor half-bath is partially (literally two steps) up the stairs, off to the side of the stairwell directional landing (yes you heard that correctly) — not under the stairs like most are used to seeing in newer townhomes. The bathroom actually protrudes into the oversized garage to achieve this set-up, while the space under the stairs is reserved for storage. Pricing for these townhomes has not yet been determined. 

There was some unexpected good news, however, for the future residents of this upcoming new phase. According to a permit submitted last month, Persimmon Park Phase 3 will now be getting its own swimming pool, so residents of the new phase won’t have to share the existing pool serving the first two phases of Persimmon Park. 

For more info about David Weekley Homes in Persimmon Park at Wiregrass Ranch, visit DavidWeekleyHomes.com. 

What Is Being Done About Morris Bridge Rd.? 

Will The ‘Rural’ Road’s Flooding Following Hurricane Milton & Clear Need For Widening Ever Be Addressed? 

This is Morris Bridge Rd. looking south from the entrance to Cory Lake Isles on a usual weekday morning. For those who live along this formerly rural roadway, the daily commute to Tampa can be an absolute nightmare. So, what, if anything, is being done about it? (Photo by Joel Provenzano) 

 What are some of the things New Tampa and Wesley Chapel have in common? 

In addition to car washes, nail salons and self-storage facilities, both rely heavily on two “major” north-south roadways — the eight- (in New Tampa) or six-lane (in Wesley Chapel) Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. and the mostly two-lane Morris Bridge (MB) Rd — as important daily travel routes. 

Due to the explosive growth in both K-Bar Ranch/Easton Park in New Tampa and, especially, in the plethora of new developments in and near Wesley Chapel, dependence upon MB Rd. has continued to grow year after year. 

However, traveling on the winding, two-lane MB Rd. from the Fletcher Ave. exit off I-75 in Hillsborough up into Pasco County can be a white-knuckle experience for any motorist, bicyclist or pedestrian — and for more than just one reason. 

Development has caused this formerly rural roadway to be plagued by flooding (resulting in closures), as well as by heavy traffic, safety concerns, poor road conditions and some other silly stuff that commuters in both New Tampa and Wesley Chapel have to deal with every day. 

With three mattresses tied to a roof, even a single Nissan Altima going 25 mph at rush hour can create havoc on MB Rd., generating a quarter-mile-long backup of angry drivers, all inching over the centerline to see if they can pass. Yes, we observed this while standing outside our vehicle and taking photos from the entrance to Cory Lake Isles! 

We reached out to both Hillsborough County and City of Tampa governmental officials to find out their thoughts, and if there are any “real” projects actually moving forward to improve MB Rd. We provided them with a list of questions that did generate some responses. 

We specifically asked if there were any planned capacity or safety improvement projects in the works, especially any widening plans to handle future volumes, or how the county (since MB Rd. is a county road that serves both city and county residents, as does BBD) plans to handle those traffic volumes that are expected to significantly increase over next few years, due to development on the north end — primarily the continuing expansion of K-Bar Ranch and the massive Two Rivers development, which is really just getting started building near MB Rd. both north and south of the Hillsborough-Pasco county line. 

In short, much-needed flooding countermeasures have been installed (following the multi-week shutdown of MB Rd. north of Cross Creek [CC] Blvd. following Hurricane Milton last October) and both a safety project and resurfacing project are coming, but any real vehicle capacity/ modernization projects are still up in the air. District 7 Tampa City Council member Luis Viera, in his final term in his seat, at least has an idea about how to address the everyday traffic on MB Rd. 

Councilman Viera’s Perspective 

Although MB Rd. is entirely a county roadway, roughly 1/3 of the people living along the roadway live within Tampa’s city limits, with all of those residents (at least until the Hillsborough portion of Two Rivers begins building) living in the city-based New Tampa developments of Cory Lake Isles, Easton Park and K-Bar Ranch. 

As such, we were grateful to interview Viera to get his opinion about some of the county’s responses, and what he’d like to see done as a proven champion of innovative intergovernmental (meaning city and county) collaboration. 

He specifically notes that there’s a, “Need to modernize Morris Bridge. The City has to work with the county on long- term solutions,” indicating that county officials can’t, and shouldn’t have to, try to fix MB Rd. all by themselves. 

Viera believes that one of the biggest issues in the past (in regards to capacity improvements) has been the obvious environmental concerns, since MB Rd. winds past thousands of acres of multiple county parks (Flatwoods, Morris Bridge Park, etc.). He explains that, “We need to be respectful of the environment, but the environmental issues have been the biggest roadblock (to improving MB Rd.).” 

Viera clearly believes that NOW is the time for a change. “You know what?,” he says. “Next week [the week of March 24, or after we went to press with this issue], I’m going to make a motion to City Council,” in regards to creating a shared vision for MB Rd. by having the city reach out to the county. 

Since the road actually winds through two counties, Viera says he also plans to reach out to District 2 Pasco County Commissioner Seth Weightman (who represents the portion of Wesley Chapel directly to the west and north of the county line at MB Rd.) to also try to get Pasco’s buy-in and help with that shared vision. 

Since several places of worship, and multiple new businesses and communities are quickly popping up along the route, he feels the “rural nature” of the road isn’t keeping up with the times or its now more modern suburban context. 

A Little History 

While the original Morris “Bridge” is long gone, a bridge that was originally located just north of the Pasco County line (near where an underwhelming box culvert now sits), MB Rd. still exists as an “old” rural road abutted by suburban communities. 

How old? Apparently, more than 100 years old! In fact, MB Rd. may be one of the oldest surviving (and continually used) county arterial roads in Tampa, coming from a time when maps of the county and state were more likely to show railroads than roads, because that was the primary form of transportation for those traveling long distances. 

Without these primitive roads being shown on maps, their existence, location, and purpose had to be shared by word of mouth and/or in newspaper articles, especially for newer routes. What was written over a hundred years ago about Morris Bridge as a fledgling route was absolutely fascinating. 

In its June 1, 1923, edition, The Dade City Banner (photo, left) had the following article: 

GOOD ROUTE OPEN TO TAMPA 

BY WAY OF MORRIS BRIDGE 

“The recent heavy rains having made the route [where S.R. 39 sits today] to Tampa by way of Crystal Springs and Plant City impassable, there has been considerable inquiry as to another route that could be used by parties who found it necessary to visit the South Florida metropolis and did not care to avail themselves of the convenient train schedules. A number of people have been making the trip lately by way of the Morris Bridge and pronounce that route not only perfectly passable but a surprisingly good one. It is about 12 miles shorter than by way of Plant City. 

To follow this route one turns west at the railroad crossing at Zephyrhills, goes to Will Ryals farm, about a mile from town, from there to Jim Hills’ place. Here take a plain road running southwest and at all forks take the one running in that direction. This road is said to be graded the entire distance and, from the Morris Bridge at the county line to Harney has been clayen [sand-clay]. From Harney a brick road leads to Tampa.” 

This is funny, because to this day, Morris Bridge Rd. still becomes Harney Rd. at its very southern terminus in Temple Terrace. 

Flooding Concerns 

Speaking of flooding and impassable roads, our field review showed where repairs had been done when the road was flooded (and closed) multiple times last year. We asked Hillsborough County staffers if these repairs were permanent fixes that will reduce flooding and road closures in the future, or just temporary fixes to repair the damage? 

Todd Pratt, who is with the Hillsborough County Media Relations Department, says that, “The repairs done after Milton were permanent fixes that consisted of replacing culverts that convey water under and across Morris Bridge Rd. These culverts had collapsed/washed out during the hurricane.” 

Time, and the next major rainy season, will tell if these repairs will hold, or if new ones will be needed. 

Safety Improvement Project 

Regarding MB Rd. safety projects, Hillsborough senior media relations strategist Chris Wilkerson says that, “Morris Bridge Road has a planned safety improvement project (see below) slated to begin later this year. The contract for the project is planned to go before the BOCC (Board of County Commissioners) in April. If approved, the project would address safety concerns on the roadway, including documented consistent high rates of speed and distracted drivers. The project is designed to address speeding and motorist lane departure crashes.” 

Proposed Safety Improvements – $2.1 million: 

‱ No Passing Zones w/Vertical Delineators 

‱ Reflective & Profiled Lane Line Markings 

‱ Speed Feedback Signs, Flashing Beacons for Intersection Ahead & Curve Warning & Signal Head Back Plates 

‱ Bike Lane & Safety Enhancements at Bridge over Hillsborough River 

‱ Bicycle Signs and Lane Markings & Wildlife Signs 

Meanwhile, Viera says that, “$2.1 million is wonderful, but we need to push that envelope!,” although he says he is really happy to see that “speed feedback signs” and “no passing” enhancements, are part of the safety project, as these would address issues his constituents have discussed with him. 

Prior 1% Surtax to Fund Resurfacing 

The last time MB Rd. (at least north of CC Blvd.) was resurfaced was way back in 2002. The portion south of CC Blvd. is in somewhat better shape, as it was last resurfaced in 2017. 

A physical review we conducted of the corridor noted aging/deteriorating pavement with potholes, multiple patches, narrow, worn or no shoulders, no sidewalks (except self-funded ones in front of a few businesses) and very narrow lane widths at a few points (mostly north of Cory Lake Isles approaching and into Pasco County). 

So, is MB Rd. on the county’s list of roadways to be resurfaced? We hadn’t previously seen or heard of MB Rd. as being on any 3R (Resurfacing, Restoration, Rehabilitation) project list. 

But, Pratt told us, “The Florida Legislature has identified repaving projects to be completed in Hillsborough County using a portion of the previously collected Transportation Surtax funds (see below). One of the roads to be repaved is Morris Bridge Road. The County will need to coordinate this paving to be done in conjunction with the safety improvement project.” 

Confused? You may recall that back in 2018, Hillsborough County voters had passed a one-cent sales tax to fund needed transportation projects. This tax ended up being legally challenged, and was found to be unconstitutional by the Florida Supreme Court in March 2021. But, by then, the county had already collected about $589 million from local taxpayers. 

After the tax was eliminated, state lawmakers went ahead and made a plan to split that collected money up between county road improvement projects, a Hillsborough tax holiday, reimbursement of the county’s legal fees, and a settlement fund that would allow Hillsborough taxpayers and residents to receive refunds (up to $100 without showing any receipts). 

That plan began about a year ago, when county commissioners met to start dividing up the funds. It was decided that about $256 million would go towards road projects (including road resurfacing). At the beginning of March of this year, the first $17 million of that money started being distributed, with all of the funds expected to reach the long list of target projects by 2030. 

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is slated to make sure the county completes these projects by the deadline. That overall plan will be up for approval at one of the upcoming BOCC meetings in April. 

Capacity Concerns 

At our press time, county officials had not yet responded to our most pressing question — How does the county plan to handle MB Rd. volumes that surely will significantly increase over next few years due to development on the north end of the road (from K-Bar Ranch, Two Rivers and other Pasco developments), and what those forecasted volumes (if they’ve been forecasted through traffic studies or other models) might be, compared with recent historic volumes (meaning, how much growth in percentage or number of vehicles is expected?). 

Current state data shows an annual average daily traffic (or AADT) of 15,000 vehicles per day for MB Rd.. (Note-AADT is the total number, in both directions, of vehicular trips taken on that road each day, divided by 365 days in a year.) 

Based on our preliminary calculations, it would not be unreasonable to see an increase of 20% in the traffic volumes over the next few years, given the size of the future developments that will be connected to the road. 

As we had written in a previous article from April of 2024, the final phase of K-Bar Ranch in Hillsborough will add hundreds more homes, and open up ALL of K-Bar to MB Rd. via an extension of K-Bar Ranch Pkwy. to the east, past Easton Park. Once that extension has been completed, this also will subsequently open all of the Union Park and Meadow Pointe developments in Wesley Chapel to MB Rd. as well, via the planned Wyndfields Blvd. extension to the south, and the existing Meadow Pointe Blvd. extension. 

The 6,000-acre Two Rivers development on the edge of Wesley Chapel and New Tampa (although it actually is located in Zephyrhills in Pasco and Thonotosassa in Hillsborough) will be adding an estimated 7,500 more residences, plus commercial developments, the Peak Surf Park and schools, with its north-south traffic to be split between U.S. Hwy. 301 and MB Rd. But, as anyone living in the area might imagine, it will still have a significant impact on MB Rd. 

Bridge Scouring 

The current bridge over the Hillsborough River on MB Rd. was built in 1963. Since then, its piers have experienced significant base erosion, which is referred to as “scouring,” a critical problem that can affect the bridge’s structural sturdiness if not properly addressed. 

Based on a fact sheet put out in January 2025,Hillsborough plans to spend roughly $864,000 to, “install an articulating concrete block revetment system as a scour countermeasure.” Revetment is just a fancy way of saying a sloping structure that is usually made of stone or concrete, used to protect the riverbed around piers from erosion caused by river currents or other forces. Otherwise, the piers can become unstable if too much of the bed is eroded, which is why this is a critical repair. 

Construction of the revetment system is expected to be completed by early 2027. 

So, How Can I Get Involved? 

Believe it or not, your elected officials actually want — or even, make that need — to hear your traffic and safety concerns about MB Rd. 

So, how can you get involved? In addition to contacting your local county representative — District 2 Commissioner Ken Hagan — Councilman Viera wants everyone to know that he has an upcoming New Tampa Community public meeting, on Tuesday, April 15, 5:45 p.m., at the Easton Park Community Pool Clubhouse (10776 Pictorial Park Dr., Tampa). 

Viera says he will be on hand at that meeting to receive input, answer questions, and talk about MB Rd., as well as about crime, education, housing, the progress on the planned park in K-Bar Ranch and pretty much anything else New Tampa or even Tampa-related. 

Viera will be joined by a representative of the Tampa Police Department at that Town Hall-style event, as well as by District 6 (countywide) Hillsborough School Board member Karen Perez. 

For more information about that meeting, email luis.viera@tampagov.net. 

Wesley Chapel’s Walmart To Be Home To Conviva Senior Primary Care 

Speaking of convenience, Walmart is expanding a partnership to provide convenient healthcare options inside their stores, and the Wesley Chapel is next on the list. Last month, the Walmart at 28500 S.R. 54 took out permits and then quickly installed the new sign for “Conviva Senior Primary Care,” located in the clinical office space formerly occupied by Walmart Health. 

The clinics are part of Humana’s Primary Care Organization (PCO), which includes Conviva and CenterWell Senior Primary Care. 

Last year, in a press release from Humana, Walmart’s executive vice president of health & wellness Brian Setzer said, “We are looking forward to welcoming CenterWell [and Conviva] into these purpose-built health care spaces to offer quality care to communities in four states.” 

He added, “Leasing these spaces to a well-known and successful healthcare delivery organization is a win for [our] customers and patients, as we continue to focus on our core health & wellness business of Pharmacy and Optical.” 

Conviva’s website states that the company has locations in Texas and Florida, and we found that there are already more than a dozen existing care centers dotted around the greater Tampa area, a couple of which are located inside Walmarts, like the ones at 1575 Land O’Lakes Blvd. in Lutz and at 7631 Gall Blvd. in Zephyrhills. 

According to ConvivaCareCenters.com, “At Conviva Senior Primary Care, you’ll get 50% more one-on-one time with our primary care physicians who respect your schedule. Take the time to ask all of your questions and feel confident about your care.” 

Conviva will have its own exterior entrance, located east of the doors for Wesley Chapel Walmart’s ‘Home & Pharmacy’ section. There will be dedicated and marked parking spaces for patients, as well as another interior entrance to the clinic next to the vision center. 

Meghan Kile, an insurance broker/agent with a desk set up just inside the front of the Walmart in the mornings (under a bright blue banner with the Walmart logo and the names of multiple insurance providers), stated that she thinks Conviva is hoping to be open by April or May, but she had heard no exact date as of yet. Meghan believes this Conviva location is still in the process of hiring its staff. 

The sign out front of Conviva’s exterior entrance says “Accepting New Patients” and the phone number listed — (813) 815-8391 — goes straight to a voicemail for an “Immacula Nezier, APRN.” Unfortunately, we were not able to get in touch with Nezier for more exact details. 

New Tampa’s Walmart & The Retail Giant’s Plan To Stay Ahead Of Amazon 

On Feb. 20, history was made. It was reported that, for the first time ever, Amazon had surpassed Walmart in quarterly revenue — $187.8 billion to $180.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024. Investors immediately took notice and Walmart’s stock dropped nearly 7%. Walmart still led Amazon in annual revenue for 2024, however — $674 billion to Amazon’s $638 billion — as the Bentonville, AR-based Walmart barely kept its title as the world’s biggest retailer. 

Some might think that Walmart is starting to lose because its sales are going down, and that its business model is archaic, but Walmart actually has continued to grow year-over-year, with explosive growth over the last three years. In fact, Walmart’s revenues for 2024 were the highest they’ve ever been — 6% higher than in 2023. 

So, who would think that in the world of big retail, New Tampa would get something the rest of the nation doesn’t yet have? This “not so secret weapon,” which will be pilot-tested soon, is part of Walmart’s plan to hang onto the #1 spot. Lasers? Robots? Artificial Intelligence? How about all three? Yes, seriously! 

New Tampa As Ground Zero? 

The New Tampa Walmart on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd, just south of Wharton High, is a very busy store. Although not the biggest or busiest in the nation, it still serves thousands of customers every day. And, with Walmart desperately trying be the nation’s leader in customer service, how does the New Tampa Walmart store figure into that equation? And, why are the recently installed robotic towers at the New Tampa Walmart still sitting unused (photo above)? 

Taking up more than half of the store’s exterior garden center, the large blue “Auto-Dispense Towers” (as they were officially called) have given us a glimpse into the future of the retailer, even if they were slightly ahead of their time. And, these unassuming structures might hold part of the key to Walmart’s continued success nationwide. 

If you pull up to the store on the Wharton side, you might wonder, “What in the heck are these things?,” as they remind us of the classic drive-up bank ATM/teller lines, and honestly, that’s not too far off from their actual purpose. 

There currently are eight parking spaces under the blue awnings where customers can pull up and park next to individual roll-up doors, get out, walk over to the screen, type in their Walmart order number, and their orders are sent via blue crates on a rail system inside the building (through the thick blue part of the roof), down to the waiting vehicle, where the roll-up door will open, allowing the customer to load their order directly into their vehicle. 

This is all supposed to be done automatically by a robotic retrieval system that was called “Alphabot,” working in the 27,000-sq.-ft., back-of-house Market Fulfillment Center (MFC). It was a truly cutting-edge concept that can even handle orders with cold groceries. 

But, while the towers, the system, and the fulfillment center were all installed in 2023 and were supposed to be operational for customers by sometime last year, the rollout of the automated system was delayed for reasons unknown, despite multiple in-person inquiries at the store that went unanswered by management for over a year. 

We were told it was corporate policy not to talk about the stores, even though management was more than happy to explain the system’s purpose when we wrote our first article about it back in 2023, called “Walmart to Begin Utilizing Robotic Order Fulfillment by Next Year.” 

We had heard some rumblings that the wait times for products to be delivered through the system were too long, and that the program was possibly being completely scrapped because the revamped curbside pickup area just worked better. 

These rumors didn’t seem too far-fetched, as this was only the 2nd store in the U.S. to get this new technology (in addition to Walmart’s flagship store in Bentonville), so maybe it hadn’t worked as was hoped, and was being abandoned, as was the drone delivery service the New Tampa store was among the first to have back in 2023 that actually was abandoned last year. 

What we have found out is that Walmart is not scrapping the automated customer fulfillment program, and that another company contracted by Walmart will be perfecting it for them. 

Convenience Above All Else 

Convenience has become a big issue for Walmart, since the company believes its customers want and are even willing to pay extra for it, and that this focus will keep the retailer at the top of the retail sector. According to Walmart.com, “Approximately 90% of the US population lives within 10 miles of a Walmart or Sam’s Club,” but as we all know, times are changing and, especially with the growth of Amazon and other home delivery services, customers still want more. 

Walmart has been leading the way in customer convenience for years. In 2000, around the time the New Tampa store was breaking ground, Walmart.com was launched, allowing customers to shop online. And, in 2007, the website introduced “Site to Store,” which allowed customers to order online and pick up in-store. 

The company also helped pioneer self check-out in the early 2000s, which then became commonplace in Walmart stores in the 2010s. In 2013, curbside pickup was introduced at a Denver location, and added to 1,000 locations by 2017. The New Tampa store has a fully revamped curbside pickup (photo), now with up to 45 numbered spots available on the north side of the store. 

Walmart first introduced its big orange in-store pickup towers in 2016, but discontinued them after less than five years. The towers were used to pick up online orders and were partially robotic, operating like a big vending machine at the front of the store. 

Today, the company’s most ambitious program, the “Walmart Plus” subscriptions — which are similar to an Amazon Prime membership — are soaring, offering free grocery and product delivery for $12.95 a month, but with an option to have your items delivered within three hours for an extra fee. According to Walmart, the extra fees accounted for a whopping 30% of all Walmart Plus orders. The company has set itself up to offer same-day service to 93% of US households, chief financial officer John David Rainey explained during a recent investor call in February. 

“We’re strengthening our ability to serve people how they want to be served in the moment,” chief executive officer Doug McMillon has said, “That’s what’s driving our growth.” And, McMillon is doubling down on the convenience strategy. “If I could change anything about how we’re perceived today, it’d be that more people know about our breadth of assortment online and our increasing delivery speed.” 

What About Lasers, Robots & AI? 

Although we haven’t had any confirmation from Walmart, part of the reason why the New Tampa store’s automated system isn’t yet operational for customers may have to do with the fact that, on Jan. 16, Walmart announced that it had agreed to sell its “Advanced Systems & Robotics” business, based in Andover, MA (which had been developing the company’s proprietary Alphabot system), to a publicly traded company called Symbotic (NASDAQ stock ticker SYM), for $200 million cash at close, with consideration for $350 million more (or $550 million total), depending upon how much business Walmart does with the company. 

Then, Walmart will turn around and pay Symbotic $230 million at close, with another $290 million over time (or $520 million total), as a contractor to install the robotic systems in Walmart stores. Confusing, right?! That’s business! 

Since 2022, Walmart has been a big investor in Symbotic and, as of Dec. 2024, the retailer owned 15 million Symbotic shares valued at more than $400 million. 

It makes sense that Walmart is heavily invested in Symbotic and paying the company a hefty sum in the deal, because, in the announcement, Symbotic said that, “Walmart has chosen Symbotic to develop, build and deploy an advanced solution leveraging Symbotic’s A.I.-enabled robotics platform to offer Walmart customers greater shopping convenience through accelerated online pickup and delivery options at stores.” 

The announcement also said that, as part of the deal, “If performance criteria [for the robotics platform] are achieved, Walmart is committed to purchasing and deploying systems for 400 APDs at stores over a multi-year period, with Walmart’s option to add additional APDs in the coming years.” APD stands for Accelerated Pickup and Delivery centers, which is just a fancy name for the Market Fulfillment Centers (MFC), just like the one that was built in the New Tampa store that isn’t yet available to fill customer orders. 

According to this news, since Symbotic acquired the part of Walmart that first developed the robotic technology, one could assume the company will be perfecting the Alphabot technology and deploying it to the New Tampa store when it’s ready, and then construct the system in 400 Walmart stores as part of the initial agreement. 

Tesla Dealership & Verve Wesley Chapel Are Coming To Seven Oaks By I-75 

Photos of the construction of the new Tesla dealership (above) & Verve Wesley Chapel apartments (below right) by Joel Provenzano.

Local Tesla owners, both current and future, will soon have reason to celebrate. There are two new developments taking shape alongside I-75 in Seven Oaks, just south of the S.R. 54 exit, across Eagleston Blvd. from the existing Blue Heron Senior Living facility (see map below). 

Tesla, the electric vehicle (EV) powerhouse, recently poured the future dealership’s concrete foundation (photo, above) for a new one story building, which should be a little over 50,000 sq. ft. total on about eight acres. According to the description in Tesla’s permit, the new dealership will include a service center for electric automobiles, a showroom area, a customer lounge, a break room and office space.” 

The service area is slated to be about 41,000 sq. ft., which is downright huge for any dealership (with more than 50 service bays), leaving just 9,000 sq. ft. for all of the other functions. There will be 20 charging station parking spaces behind the building (of which half appear to be super chargers), and close to another 530 parking spaces onsite for inventory and customers’ vehicles. 

From what we’ve been told, Tesla might still get an offsite lot for additional inventory, depending upon how busy the dealership will be. Based on the number of Teslas already cruising around our area, the dealership could be one of the busiest in Wesley Chapel. 

According to a local Tesla sales representative, the dealership is slated to open by the end of this year. For those unfamiliar, these relatively new dealerships and the whole Tesla sales experience are very different from most other vehicle brands. 

How It Used To Work 

I still remember the very first time I rode in a new Tesla. Many years ago, a Tesla sales person came to my office at the time, in a silver ‘Model S’ P100D sedan. What a great-looking car it was, super clean and very modern. It also was the first time I had ever seen an almost all-white interior. 

Me and three of my coworkers piled in, with the sales person at the wheel, pulling out of our parking lot and onto the local street. He pulled slightly over to the side of the road, went to the drive settings on the touch screen, and went for a button labeled “ludicrous.” 

In my head I was thinking, “Why would anyone label a drive mode that way?” He hit the accelerator and we all found out really quickly how appropriate that name actually was! 

The map is from Collier Companies, modified by Neighborhood News.

The instant torque from the electric motor was nothing like I’d experienced before, as both my stomach and my brain were being relentlessly pushed into the seat back until he let off at 80 miles per hour, all of us finally able to take a deep breath after what seemed like an eternity, but in reality was less than 4 seconds. 

I had raced motorcycles when I was younger at the local drag strip, but this sedan was faster than that! “What a great way to sell cars!,” I thought. The point of these early demos was to give potential customers more than just a glimpse of these EVs. The idea was to allow you to experience the difference between Tesla and vehicles by any other automaker. 

Back in those days, and for a few years after, the demos were the only way to appreciate a Tesla first hand, unless you knew someone who drove one. You could either book an appointment and drive to a small sales office (if you could even call it that) in some back lot of a corporate park, or if it was being demoed to enough people, the sales people would bring it to your group’s location, as they did in my case. 

But, you couldn’t buy the demo vehicle you tested, as the sales were online only, with a set, no-haggle price. And, in many cases, a deposit was required to secure your place in line to even begin to ‘order’ more popular or upcoming models. 

Even with the new dealerships, however, not much of that sales philosophy has changed, and the Tesla brand takes great pride in its unique way of selling its vehicles. 

How It Works Now 

Tesla sales are still technically online, which means you still can’t test drive the exact vehicle you want to buy. The vehicles are still sold at a set price, with no haggling, and a $250 ordering deposit is required to secure the specific vehicle you want to buy, although the deposit may be less depending upon the model. 

We were told that the vehicle you choose gets removed from the “available inventory” when the deposit is received, or if the deposit is for an upcoming or brand new model, it secures your place in the ordering queue. 

While this may be counterintuitive to the traditional dealership models people are used to, most customers have raved about the simplicity of the process in their Google reviews. 

From what we read in the reviews, and speaking with two different Tesla sales associates, one in the national online/call-in sales office and the other a local (Westshore) sales person we spoke with by text, we got some further clarity. 

The in-person sales associates at the dealership are there to help answer questions (they were good at answering all of mine), review vehicle inventory that may be available locally, help customers place their online order to get an inventory vehicle or a custom-ordered vehicle from the factory, provide and schedule test drives in their demo vehicles, and help customers take delivery of their vehicles when they arrive at the dealership (or if they’re already present in inventory), including providing any remaining paperwork that needs to be signed. 

The sales associates clarified that if a vehicle is in local inventory, that vehicle is assigned to one of the physical Tesla sales offices (or dealerships), and you would have to pick up the vehicle from that specific office when purchased, explaining that inventory vehicles cannot be transferred or shipped to other dealerships or offices for pickup — which can occur within three days for inventory vehicles. 

If purchasing a custom-ordered vehicle from the factory, you can specify exactly which Tesla location you want your vehicle delivered to in the app. 

One thing I’ve always heard is that Tesla can deliver to your door like Amazon, but there’s a caveat to that. The company does deliver to homes through a service called “Carrier Direct” but the Tesla website states, “This fee-based option is available for customers who prefer to have their vehicle delivered, and who live more than 220 miles from the nearest Tesla delivery location.” So basically, this service isn’t available anywhere near Tampa Bay, as the national sales rep confirmed. 

That rep also said that Tesla does take trade-ins. It’s all done over the app at the time of purchase and there’s never an in-person inspection required. They’ll give you a “take it or leave it” price quote for the trade (again, no haggling), and the rep stated that their prices are very competitive with other similar services like Carmax or Carvana. They even encouraged getting quotes from one or both of those services in advance to know whose would be the best. 

Do People Like The Tesla Dealerships? 

This is not the first full-size Tesla dealership to be built in the Tampa Bay area. The first is in North Tampa, on N. Florida Ave., near the intersection with W. Fowler Ave. The location was the former Bob Wilson, Jeep-Chrysler-Dodge that had sat vacant for years. The site already had a parking garage, so Tesla just built a new dealership building on the site in 2018, opening its doors shortly after. 

Currently, there are mixed reviews of the existing Tampa dealership; the positives were mostly those absolutely praising the super simple Tesla purchasing and delivery process, along with staff’s ability to answer questions. 

But, the negatives were mostly about how others have found that the service department was severely lacking, in both the availability of needed parts and installing them, communication with/and scheduling of customers, the exorbitant cost of non-warrantied issues and the overall quality of the services performed. 

We’ll see soon enough how this new Wesley Chapel location will stack up. 

Urbon Apartments Now Have Verve 

The Verve Wesley Chapel luxury apartment complex, formerly known as Urbon at Seven Oaks, is quickly taking shape (right photo) adjacent to I-75, just south of the under-construction Tesla Dealership, directly across the street from Blue Heron Senior Living. 

Verve is a little further ahead of Tesla, with the buildings now going vertical, and with the bare concrete elevator shafts looming like ancient monoliths next to I-75. 

The apartments are being developed by The Collier Companies, which on its website describes itself as, “a multifamily housing management and real estate development company based in Gainesville, FL, [with] 12,000 apartment homes & growing.” 

Collier’s Tampa Bay-area portfolio is situated around USF and includes traditional apartment housing called Lakeview Oaks Apartments on N. 37th St, and two student-specific apartment complexes called Reflections Apartments on E. Bearss Ave. and IQ Luxury Apartments (built in 2016), which are on Bruce B. Downs Blvd., immediately south of the Haley Veterans Administration Hospital. 

The website for Verve Wesley Chapel doesn’t have much information, but it does currently state, “We don’t just rent apartments. From the moment you walk through the front door, you’ll feel the comfort that makes our residents happy to call us home. Cutting-edge amenities, meticulously-groomed grounds and a dedicated staff contribute to a higher standard of living. Convenient shopping, award-winning schools, local museums and parks are all close at hand, with sponsored activities to develop new hobbies while getting to know your neighbors.” 

The complex will be a fairly large one, situated on 16.8 acres and consisting of six 4-story buildings with 360 apartments total — including 144 1-bedroom, 168 2-bedroom, and 48 3-bedroom units. The center of the complex will be situated around a large swimming pool, with an unobstructed pond view towards the sunsets. Other amenities and features, like elevators, a gym, meeting spaces, large common areas, and 30 rentable 1-car garages will be similar to other newer, high-end apartments in the Wesley Chapel area. Verve is expected to open sometime later this year; we did not have information at our press time about what the rents might be.