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. 

Chick-Fil-A Goes Vertical Across From Epperson 

Although not everyone is happy about yet another chicken-driven restaurant opening in Wesley Chapel — with Raising Cane’s, Dave’s Hot Chicken, Chicken Guy! and Hangry Joe’s Hot Chicken all opening in our area within a few months of each other — Chick-fil-A may be the one chicken restaurant that most locals still embrace. 

Chick-fil-A — which is currently the third most popular fast food restaurant by sales, behind McDonald’s and Starbucks (in that order) — has now gone vertical (photo) on the east side of Curley Rd. (north of Curley’s intersection with Overpass Rd.; see map) across from the Epperson community, within the Watergrass Master Planned Unit Development. Most of the building’s shell is now in place. 

This new sign announcing Chick-fil-A’s latest Wesley Chapel-area location gained quite a bit of attention on social media, as Patricia Elizabeth, who has previously described herself on Facebook as the marketing director for “Chick-fil-A Wesley Chapel,” was quick to step into the conversation and give everyone the link to the store’s new Facebook page (created on Jan. 31) and explained that it would be, “Owned and operated locally by the same owner as Chick-fil-A Wesley Chapel” — the one on S.R. 54 just east of Bruce B. Downs Blvd., on S.R. 56, not the location in front of the Tampa Premium Outlets, as some may have been thinking. 

The new Chick-fil-A will be located five miles away, on a 1.9-acre lot appraised at more than $1.28 million. 

According to Patricia, despite being located in Watergrass, the new store is being called “Chick-fil-A Epperson Ranch FL,” because it was named by corporate. However, she assures everyone that, “We are happy to be a part of both neighborhoods!” She also announced that this Chick-fil-A should be open by the end of May. — JP

Please Be Aware Of The Crossing Guards & Signals On Mansfield Blvd. 

In our Sept. 3 issue, we told you about the new traffic signal that was installed along Mansfield Blvd., directly in front of Wiregrass Elementary, and that the signal was activated only a few days before the start of the school year. 

Only a few months later, that signal has already gotten a safety upgrade, thanks in part to some ongoing inattentive motorists, although the upgrade actually had been planned from the beginning. 

In Nov., a crew from Traffic Control Products of Florida was seen removing the overhead metal sign panels that said “No Right Turn On Red” and replacing them with electronic “No Right Turn” graphic signs that illuminate in all directions when pedestrians get the walk symbol (called an “exclusive pedestrian phase”), so that right-turning motorists stop and do not conflict with pedestrians in the crosswalk. 

These electronic signs had already been installed facing the two heaviest right turn movements but now, all four approaches to the location have them. When the signal was first installed, loops of wire were coiled on the span so that crews could easily come back and replace the signs with electronic ones when needed. 

It’s important that motorists pay attention to these overhead signs, as their primary purpose is to protect school children (and anyone else) using the crosswalks. 

Even more important is that motorists MUST pay attention to and obey the commands of the crossing guards/traffic control officers (TCOs), as they are trained by the Pasco Sheriff’s Office and frequently control traffic independently of what the overhead signal shows. 

Tasked With Keeping Your Kids Safe 

For the newer signal location, this traffic control responsibility falls to TCO Bob Terracciano (top photo) — the guy with the green gloves and whistle, who’s normally directing traffic from the middle of the signalized intersection. “Some days it runs smoothly, other days are a mess,” Bob told the Neighborhood News while keeping a constant eye on the approaching traffic. 

Bob has lived in the area for more than nine years, having moved from New York to Florida in January of 2016. He previously worked at a telephone company for 34 years, and found his current TCO job online, shortly after arriving here. 

He says that in all of the years he’s been directing traffic at that intersection (he also says that he hopes to be there for at least nine more years), he’s never had an incident with any of the pedestrians, but not without a lot of effort sometimes by him and the other crossing guards. 

Even though the signal has been in operation for months, Bob says there have been quite a few close calls and delayed starts caused by drivers who are staring up at the signal — or (more likely) down at their phones — even though Bob is waving them forward or telling them to stop using hand commands. If no commands are being given, then motorists must obey the traffic signal. 

Back in November, a local resident reported that the driver of an SUV was either not paying attention, or intentionally drove straight through the intersection when they weren’t supposed to, which caught Bob by surprise, leading him to waive his arms and yell to get the driver’s attention, causing the motorist to stop in the middle of the intersection not knowing what to do. Bob ultimately waived the driver through, but says close calls like these are completely avoidable. 

In general, Bob says he really likes the signal and that it’s been a huge improvement from the old 4-way stop: “Before the signal, I had to move and direct every single car from the stop signs.” 

However, Bob said he’s not really a big fan of the new electronic signs and prefers the metal ones, because he believes that when the electronic signs turn off and on, it may distract or confuse motorists from what he is directing them to do. 

Bob says the number one thing he asks of every driver is to “stay off your phone,” while driving through any school zone, which starts on Mansfield just south of the gate for the Wrencrest subdivision of Meadow Pointe. “When they get a big traffic ticket [over $400] they tend to not do it again.” He just wishes the Pasco Sheriff’s Office was able to patrol the school zone more often, as he feels that’s the biggest deterrent to poor driver behavior but, he says, Pasco doesn’t alway have the resources to do so. 

This sentiment is shared by the TCO down at the Wrencrest gate, who the students refer to as Mr. Thomas, who has been at that intersection for seven years and has never missed a single day, “or even a single second,” he says. 

Mr. Thomas also says that before he was a crossing guard, he worked for the California Highway Patrol for 30 years. He says that, at first, he was a little apprehensive about the signal down the street, but feels it has worked out well. The number one thing he asks of drivers is to please slow down whenever you are driving through any school zone. Mr. Thomas also says that he’s also never seen an accident with any pedestrians at his intersection, but you can tell that both Bob and Mr. Thomas fully intend to keep it that way. 

Both crossing guards also say they help cross the students from the adjacent John Long Middle School, even though they are not required to (as they are there for the elementary school students), but they do it as a joint effort, since the bell times for Long and Wiregrass Elementary are so close together. Bob notes that if the bell times change next school year, middle school kids may not have him or Mr. Thomas available to help them cross. 

But please, pay extra attention anytime the school zones are active. 

‘Mysterious’ Crosswalk Pops Up On Wiregrass School Rd. To Access 7-Eleven 

During the week leading up to Christmas break, crews were seen putting the final touches on a brand new mid-block crosswalk (with flashing beacons) on Wiregrass School Rd., directly in front of Wiregrass Ranch High (WRH), to the surprise of both parents and staff, who had no idea it was coming, or who was even installing it,….and it went up quick! 

It was like a surprise Christmas gift from a secret Santa had just appeared at the school’s doorsteps, literally. 

At the beginning of this 2024-25 school year, WRH principal Robyn White had sent an email out to parents about her concerns with students crossing mid-block, in order to get to the 7-Eleven on the other side of the road: 

“We need your help. I have noticed in the [morning], but more so in the afternoon, that students are crossing the road in front of traffic by the 7-Eleven. Please encourage your child, if they are a walker or bike rider, to use the crosswalk [at the signal] at Mansfield Blvd. The last thing any of us wants to see is a student get hit by a car or a bus. They think they are invincible and don’t hesitate to walk in front of moving vehicles and, as a parent, it is scary for me to watch. I appreciate your assistance as you discuss this safety concern with your children.” 

Since the 7-Eleven gas station opened in 2022, it’s been a very popular place for WRH students to grab a drink or a snack, as it is conveniently located just outside the school. 

But, the gas station was on the opposite side of Wiregrass School Rd. from the school, so students would just find gaps in the school traffic wherever they could, to cross anywhere from the sidewalk leaving the school property. There was no “designated” place to cross, except at the traffic signal, which was about 350 feet out of the way, and kids tend to take the shortest path possible. 

This new mid-block crosswalk is positioned perfectly to help with the problem, providing a well-marked and well-lit consolidated crossing point, located off the southern corner of the gas station, just outside the front gate for the school. 

The question on the minds of many residents and school administrators was, “How did it get there?” White and other staff members said they had no idea, since the new crosswalk was installed just outside of the school’s property. 

A keen eye would notice that the new sidewalk ramps for the crosswalk connect with the new sidewalk that was just laid around the property for the recently constructed Bay Paws Pet Resort (blue building in photo). Mallory White, the new Wesley Chapel Bay Paws manager (who previously was at the Trinity location), explained that Bay Paws provided the new crosswalk. 

“It was something that the county required, so our contractor worked with them on it over two weeks [to complete the crosswalk].” 

White also said that the crosswalk was one of the final steps in the Bay Paws site construction permit requirements, so the pet boarding facility could receive its Certificate of Occupancy (CO) to open, which she says she hopes will be by the time this issue reaches your mailbox. 

Over the past couple of years, Pasco County officials have been focusing even more on pedestrian safety and connectivity, with effective sidewalk networks, with all new construction permits. This new crosswalk is equipped with Rapid Rectangular Flashing Beacons (RRFBs) which are activated by a push button on either side of the street, similar to the ones recently installed on Mansfield Blvd and on County Line Rd in Meadow Pointe. 

There is no button in the median because the flashing sequence gives ample time to cross both sides of the street. The push button makes a loud chirp when pressed to let the pedestrian know that the flashing beacons have been activated.

S.R. 56 At Mansfield/Wiregrass Ranch Blvd. Gets Dual Left Turn Upgrade 

All approaches to the traffic signals on S.R. 56 and Mansfield Blvd. now have dual left turn lanes. The under-construction Orlando Health Hospital is seen here in the background. 

A major traffic pattern change has just been competed at the intersection of Mansfield Blvd./Wiregrass Ranch Blvd. and S.R. 56, as there are now dual left turn lanes in all directions. This change occurred rather quickly last month and only took a few weeks to finish. 

The change was a requirement of the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and Pasco County permitting conditions for the new Orlando Health Hospital, being constructed at the northeast corner of the intersection. This means that the hospital paid for and completed the work in advance of its anticipated opening, which is still expected to be sometime in 2026. 

The change was required to help offset and accommodate the additional traffic the hospital is expected to generate at that intersection, which was laid out in Orlando Health’s traffic study, which was submitted in advance of the project for government review. These operational and safety improvements should keep the signal working efficiently long into the future. 

The S.R. 56 intersection with Mansfield/Wiregrass Ranch Blvd.

All of the signals at the intersection had always been designed to accommodate these extra left turn lanes, but they were striped out with paint until needed. The first dual left (from Mansfield Blvd. northbound onto S.R. 56 westbound) was added in 2018 when FDOT contacted Pasco to let the county know that vehicular traffic leaving the schools in the morning was causing backups on Mansfield Blvd., creating a concern — and sometimes long delays — for local residents. 

Safety has always been a concern here as well, as there have been multiple serious crashes involving younger drivers making left turns in front of oncoming traffic under the previous permissive left turn signal. Now, with the dual lefts, all left turns are protected, which means left turns are only permitted with a green arrow, greatly reducing the potential for crashes. 

There’s also still room to add a third through lane in both the westbound and eastbound directions on S.R. 56 in the striped-out area, when needed. 

Meadow Pointe Blvd. Still A Concern 

Meanwhile, safety and efficiency are still concerns with the down stream signal at Meadow Pointe Blvd. and S.R. 56. 

District 2 Pasco County Commissioner Seth Weightman has said that improvements are coming to this intersection as well, an item that the Board of County Commissioners (BOC) passed in July. 

Dual lefts will be added for eastbound traffic on S.R. 56 to turn north onto Meadow Pointe Blvd., which backs up badly during the afternoon rush hour, and dual lefts will be added for northbound traffic on Meadow Pointe Blvd. to turn west onto S.R. 56, which experiences bad back-ups during both the morning and evening rush hours.