By Matt Wiley & Gary Nager
Residential and commercial growth are continuing apace in Wesley Chapel, as another large community has broken ground along S.R. 54, offering hundreds of homes in its first phase alone and as many as 4,800 total, and bringing more jobs to our area.
The Avalon Park Group, the same developers as the adjacent New River Township community, broke ground on Avalon Park West (APW, located on the north side of S.R. 54, just east of New River) on August 28.
The entire development, once completed, is approved for about 4,800 single-family homes, with the first community, Cypress Village, to offer 342 homes. But Eric Marks, the president of Avex Homes, said at the August 28 groundbreaking co-hosted by APW Greater Wesley Chapel that the number of single- and multi-family residential units in Avalon Park West will likely end up being closer to 3,500. It also is approved for nearly 700,000 sq. ft. of commercial space, including more than 560,000 sq. ft. of retail and 120,000 sq. ft. for office buildings. The community also features several permanent conservation areas.
Avex Homes, which is overseeing the development’s construction, is a new partnership between Orlando-based Avalon Park Group and sitEX Properties USA, a Switzerland-based real estate investment fund and project development company.
At the groundbreaking, which was attended by nearly 200 Avex/Avalon employees, Wesley Chapel and even New Tampa Chamber members, Marks said that Avex Homes will specialize in developing homes “with the lifestyle of families in mind,” including front porches, setback garages and a variety of open floor plans.
“We want to create communities, not housing developments,” said Marks, who also noted that, according to data from the National Association of Home Builders, Avex Homes expects to create 15 new jobs for Wesley Chapel residents in its first year.
According to the company’s website, the Avalon Park Group is a family of companies that was started by Beat Kahli, a Swiss investment banker, in 1995, and specializes in a range of developments, from master planned communities, such as Avalon Park West and New River Township, to industrial parks, such as the North Suncoast Industrial Park near the Suncoast Pkwy. in Pasco County.
For additional information about Avalon Park West and Avex Homes, visit AvalonParkWest.com or AvexHomesFL.com.
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