Meadow Pointe II Residents Fighting Proposed 7-Eleven

Wesley Chapel may be developing at breakneck speed, but hundreds of Meadow Pointe residents think there are still lines that need not be crossed.

One of those lines is at the southwest corner of Mansfield Blvd. and County Line Rd., where developers are hoping to build a 3,010-sq.-ft. 7-Eleven gas station and convenience store — adjacent to the Kids R Kids Learning Academy of Meadow Pointe.

A petition started by Meadow Pointe II resident Chris Dillinger was quickly approaching 1,000 signatures last week, as residents expressed concern about having a 16-pump gas station located so close to a preschool.

“That is our No. 1 concern,” said Dillinger, a 39-year-old high school counselor at Sunlake High in Land O’Lakes. “The way the school is set back off of (Mansfield Blvd.), it will basically be blocked in by 16 fuel pumps. It’s not a good set-up. It makes the school less safe.”

Dillinger and other Meadow Pointe II residents have been in contact with Pasco County governmental officials, voicing their concerns.

Trout Creek Properties, Inc., is either making a request for a special exception to sell gas under its current C-1 (neighborhood commercial) zoning, or asking to be granted a Substantial Modification Request to have the 5.32-acre parcel rezoned from C1 to C-2, which is general commercial.

Trout Creek’s first meeting with the county’s Development Review Committee (DRC) in December was first continued to today, but Pasco County senior planner Corelynn Howell said the meeting this afternoon was likely to be continued as well, to a date to be determined.

According to Howell, the developers will need to re-notice the development, which involves mailing notices to all of the property owners abutting the proposed development, as well as re-posting signs.

“The county has concerns about it, so we’re going back and forth with the applicant, negotiating the issues on both sides,” Howell says. “Everyone needs to get their ducks in a row.”

Howell did say the county is leaning away from granting a re-zoning to C-2, because it prefers the property remain residential commercial. In that case, a special exception appears to be the way forward for Trout Creek.

Meadow Pointe II has an ally in Pasco County District 2 commissioner Mike Moore, who represents the area on the Pasco County Board of County Commissioners (BCC).

Moore told organizers that if the re-zoning request made it past the DRC to the BCC — which he chairs — he would vote against it.

“I agree with them,’’ Moore said. “This is a terrible location for these gas pumps. With a daycare center right behind it, it’s just not compatible with the area, in my opinion.”

Another proposed 7-Eleven is currently working its way through the permitting process, near yet another preschool. Developers are looking to build a 2,988-sq.-ft. 7-Eleven at the corner of Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. and Vanguard St., in front of the existing Goddard School and the new Premier Heart & Vascular Center.

The developers had their pre-application meeting with county planners in October.

For more information about the Meadow Pointe II petition, visit http://bit.ly/2CvXWYw.

Wesley Chapel 2017 Year in Review: Development

Residents who live near the Quail Hollow Golf & Country Club golf course packed the Dade City Courthouse hoping to keep a developer from replacing the golf course with 400 homes.

Connected City, Sports Complex & Quail Hollow Kept The BCC Busy In 2017

We could probably dedicate all 48 pages of our upcoming Wesley Chapel issue to its rapid growth in 2017. It was just that crazy busy.

In fact, one could argue it was the busiest year on record in Wesley Chapel, with massive projects either gaining approval, moving ground or sprouting up in almost every corner of the area.

Let’s focus here, however, on what was approved in 2017 and coming down the road, and save what actually opened its doors for our story on 2017’s best new businesses.

The biggest project, the 7,800-acre “connected city,” was approved by the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) in February by a 5-0 vote, which is expected to help create something no other city in America has — a built-from-the-ground-up gigabit community.

District 2 Pasco commissioner Mike Moore, who represents much of Wesley Chapel, said after the vote, “We actually made history today.”

After nearly two years of studies and planning, the BCC’s green light has already triggered major development in the connected city sector, which includes the area running north from Overpass Rd. in Wesley Chapel to S.R. 52 in San Antonio, and west from I-75 to Curley Rd.

Metro Development owns roughly 35 percent of the land, and has already begun, well…connecting. Metro’s Epperson development has its first residents (as we reported last issue) and the first-ever Crystal Lagoon is already filled (see page 8).

Still to come — another Crystal Lagoon in the nearby Mirada development, more homes, schools and business, alternative transportation along integrated roadways and, potentially, jobs as developers and planners have touted the connected city as a futuristic economic engine.

While Wesley Chapel is jumping into the high-tech community pool headfirst, it also is looking to take a piece of the $15-billion a year pie that is youth sports.

A large sports complex with adjoining hotel was also approved by the BCC in the spring by a 5-0 vote, which later agreed to double the county’s Tourist Development Tax (TDT), or bed tax, in order to help finance it.

The $44-million project will be built on part of a 224-acre parcel located northeast of the Shops of Wiregrass in the Wiregrass Ranch Development of  Regional Impact (DRI). The parcel is owned by the county and has had a history of failed efforts to build something sports-related on it.

While the project is currently only in the planning stages, RADD Sports, which will develop it, says it is shooting for a spring 2019 opening.

In conjunction with Mainsail Development, the sports complex will have one of the first full-service Marriott-branded Residence Inns, a 120-room hotel that will be L-shaped to create a courtyard at the entrance to the sports complex — which also will have an amphitheater for concerts, a trail system, seven soccer fields and a 98,000-sq.ft. indoor facility expected to attract the top youth sports tournaments and athletes from around the country, with thousands of visitors expected to make an economic impact on the area.

And, residents who live near Quail Hollow Country Club lost a long fight with the course’s owners and developers, who received approval in June to replace the golf course with homes.

Andres Carollo and his Pasco Office Park LLC received a zoning change, by a 3-2 vote, which allows him to build 400 single-family homes, 30,000-sq.-ft. of office and retail space and a 10,000-sq.-ft. daycare center on the former golf course property.

Hundreds of Quail Hollow residents attended a handful of BCC and other meetings to make their voices heard, and successfully delayed approval of the project for months.

All around Wesley Chapel, new businesses started construction. A slew of restaurants — including a much-awaited Bahama Breeze on S.R. 56 — and boutique or green grocery stores are planned to begin building on or near S.R.s 54 and 56 in 2018.

Will 2018 be as busy? Wiregrass Ranch’s J.D. Porter recently hinted at some more major developments coming this year, so our guess would be:

Buckle up!

Palms Pharmacy In Tampa Palms Is Dedicated To Serving The Community!

It has been about a year since I first met and interviewed Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) Shahida (pronounced “Sha-Da”) Choudhry and pharmacy technician Naivis Valdez of the Palms Pharmacy in The Shoppes at The Pointe in Tampa Palms, and a lot of new things have happened in that short time.

Although no one will ever accuse the Palms Pharmacy of being overcrowded with merchandise, Shahida and Naivis have added a number of new products and services — and all are still available at prices that beat the national pharmacy or grocery chains, if you could even find the same natural, health-conscious brands at those pharmacy “superstores.”

And of course, even though some people do get to know their pharmacist, I can assure you that you will never receive better, more personalized service anywhere else. Yes, Palms Pharmacy has great products, but their specialty is still bringing back the “good old days” of the “corner drug store.”

A Pharmacy App For The Digital Age

Of course, in today’s fast-paced, digital world, Shahida and Naivis can offer technology to make your pharmacy experience even more convenient with a new, free app — an app that currently is only available at Palms Pharmacy in all of Tampa.

The app is called “RxLocal” and it allows you to refill your prescriptions, receive reminders and even interact with the pharmacy. “It’s so convenient,” Shahida said as she got me signed up to use the app. “Everyone who has tried it has found it really easy to use.”

Even so, one of the things I love the most about the Palms Pharmacy is that Shahida and Naivis are somehow able to beat the national drug chains on price and can even compete favorably with Walmart and other discount stores on everything from prescriptions to over-the-counter (OTC) medications.

In last year’s article about the store, I mentioned that I saved money on items like extra-strength Tylenol and Mucinex and those discounts haven’t gone away.

Best of all, with new products and services being added all the time, you’re sure to find what you’re looking for at the Palms Pharmacy.

If you like natural vitamins and supplements, the store now carries two additional all-natural lines — Ortho Molecular Products & Pure Encapsulations, as well as Nordic Naturals. Pure promises, “Zero compromises. Pure Results,” in supplements that have zero gluten, zero hydrogenated fat, zero artificial sweeteners and colors and zero magnesium stearate.

Meanwhile, Ortho Molecular Products promise, “Quality beyond what’s expected,” and to take multiple steps other companies may not take to ensure the quality of the company’s formulations.

Expanding The Zum Line & More

In our last story about the Palms Pharmacy, I mentioned that the store carried multiple products in the Zum line from Indigo Wild, which creates, “Natural products for body & home.”

My fiance Jannah absolutely loves the Zum Bar all-natural soaps and the company keeps coming out with new scents. Palms Pharmacy also carries Zum Kiss lip products, Zum Body lotions, Zum Rub moisturizers with shea butter and Zum Mist aromatherapy & body mists.

“Our customers have gone absolutely crazy asking for more of the Zum line and, of course, we listened,” says Shahida. “And we continue to add other all-natural products, like the American Provenance all-natural deodorants, because we keep getting customer requests for more.”

Shahida and Naivis also like to support local companies, like “KurVee Girl,” or KVG bath “bombs,” which the KurVeeGirl.com website describe as, “a great way to scent and enrich your bath with amazing oils essential for hydrating your skin and leaving it soft.”

Shahida says that KVG bath bombs and other all-natural skincare products are made nearby in Dade City, FL, and come in another unique variety of scents, including Wild Orchid, Ginger & Lime, Fresh Cotton and many more.

Also new at Palms Pharmacy is the line of LovePop pop-up greeting cards. Each card is a work of origami and there are cards for every occasion from birthdays to holidays to wedding announcements that will surely become a keepsake for anyone who receives one.

Discounted Lab Work, Too

Shahida and Naivis also are proud that the Palms Pharmacy has recently contracted with two laboratories in order to provide discounted lab tests to their patients.

“Some doctors already complain that our prescription drug prices are too low,” Shahida says, “but now, with our contract with Quest Diagnostics, we can offer discounted blood work that doesn’t have to be ordered by your doctor.”

A second lab, ZRT Laboratory, offers discounted saliva hormone testing.

“Doctors were sending me the results of hormone tests (for estrogen, testosterone, cortisol and more) and telling me which hormones to use to properly balance them,” Shahida says. “Now, we can do those tests here, send the results to the patient’s doctor for less and even compound them here.”

  

Community Caring, Global Reach

Shahida and Naivis also are proud to be rooted in the New Tampa community and beyond. They have been donating thousands of dollars in OTC medications and medical supplies to Puerto Rico, not just since Hurricane Maria (see story on pg. 12), but since Hurricane Irma hit the island in September.

“We also have donated a lot of school supplies to schools here in our community and our Team Palms Pharmacy T-shirts have been worn by people on mission trips all over the world, from Thailand to Switzerland to Puerto Rico and even the USF Latin American Medical Student Association mission trip to the Dominican Republic.

“We’re here to help any way we can,” she says. “So, come on in, have a cup of complimentary coffee or our ‘snack of the week’ and let us treat you like family, too.”

The Palms Pharmacy is located at 17008 Palm Pointe Dr. and is open Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturday (closed on Sunday). For more information, including about local delivery, call (813) 252-9063, or visit ThePalmsPharmacy.com.

Florida E.N.T. & Allergy Can Help You Cope With Allergy Season

At Florida E.N.T. & Allergy’s Wesley Chapel office, Dr. Yoon Nofsinger and her colleagues help people suffering from allergies and asthma — from pediatric patients to adults.  Photos by Gavin Olsen.

Every year, millions of people flock to Florida for our mild winters. However, did you know that those warm and more humid temperatures mean that our allergy season sticks around a lot longer? Even though you’re not worrying about shoveling snow or driving on icy roads, asthma and allergies are a real concern for Tampa Bay-area residents.

“People always associate allergies with spring when flowers are pollinating, but here in Florida, the fall and winter months can be even worse. The temperatures do still drop here and the winds pick up, pushing all of those allergens out into the air. This time of the year is especially brutal for my patients who suffer from allergic rhinitis,” says Yoon Nofsinger, M.D., a Board-certified Otolaryngologist with Florida E.N.T. & Allergy.

Dr. Nofsinger is one of three physicians who work at the practice’s Wesley Chapel office, located just off of S.R. 56, near I-75, in the Cypress Ridge Professional Center.

Dr. Nofsinger specializes in general otolaryngology (the medical term for medical and surgical management and treatment of diseases and disorders of the ear, nose, and throat), head and neck surgery, balloon sinus dilation and treating allergies. She received her medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, where she also earned a Graduate Degree in Anthropology. She completed her undergraduate education at Duke University in Durham, N.C., and is Board-certified by the American Board of Otolaryngology.

Dr. Nofsinger works with Peter F. Agnello, M.D., and Pierre Y. Musy, M.D., Ph.D., at Florida E.N.T. & Allergy’s Wesley Chapel office.

Dr. Agnello specializes in general otolaryngology and head and neck surgery. He received his medical degree from the Boston University School of Medicine, and his undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN. He did a residency at the University of South Florida’s College of Medicine and is Board-certified by the American Board of Otolaryngology.

Dr. Musy practices surgical and medical management of a variety of ear, nose, and throat problems. He has a particular interest in sino-nasal problems, and cares for both adult and pediatric patients. He holds several degrees from the University of Florida in Gainesville, including his medical degree and his Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics and Microbiology. He did residencies at the University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville, then practiced ENT in Montana and in Washington, D.C., before joining Florida E.N.T. & Allergy. Dr. Musy also is Board-certified by the American Board of Otolaryngology.

Allergic rhinitis is an allergy to dust, mold, pollen, mites or insect parts. Symptoms include coughing, watery and itchy eyes, runny nose and sneezing. Allergic rhinitis also puts you at a higher risk of developing sinusitis, or inflammation of the sinus cavity (see below).

“Allergies can cause your sinuses and nasal passages to swell, preventing the sinus cavities from draining properly, which increases your chance of developing a sinus infection,” says Dr. Nofsinger. “Any stuffy nose or cough that lasts more than two weeks is probably more than a cold, and you should see a physician.”

How Can Florida E.N.T. & Allergy Help You?

Asthma symptoms also can rear their head during these cooler months. The cold, dry air can trigger wheezing, cough, chest tightness and shortness of breath. Viral and bacterial infections that are more common this time of year also can bring an onset of asthma symptoms.

“Asthma is caused by different factors in different people, so it is always important to see a specialist,” says Dr. Nofsinger. “We get our patients on a personalized treatment plan that takes into account their lifestyle and any medications they are already taking.”

As for allergies, there are several treatments available at Florida E.N.T. & Allergy to help alleviate patient symptoms. Allergy shots are still the most common option; however, Dr. Nofsinger says sublingual immunotherapy, also known as SLIT, is even more convenient. During this therapy, an allergen solution is placed underneath the tongue — instead of through an injection — to boost the body’s tolerance to the substance and reduce symptoms. Patients administer the drops themselves at home instead of having to run back and forth to an allergy specialist’s office.

“Patients first come see us and undergo testing to confirm their sensitivities,” says Dr. Nofsinger. “We then prepare an allergen extract and send them home with directions to place it under their tongue for a prescribed amount of time. Patients can continue on this therapy for up to five years, until they develop a lasting immunity.”

SLIT has been readily available in Europe for years, and clinical trials have shown it to be safe and effective for the treatment of rhinitis, asthma and allergies, including to dust mites, grass, ragweed, pet dander and tree pollen. “Our patients not only find it effective, but it’s an extreme convenience,” says Dr. Nofsinger. “Instead of taking time off work to come to the office for allergy shots, they can treat their symptoms at home and get on with their daily lives, allergy-free.”

Florida E.N.T. & Allergy also helps patients suffering from sinusitis. Acute cases can be treated with decongestants and antibiotics. However, if the condition has become chronic, surgery may be necessary. Florida E.N.T. & Allergy’s specialists offer many surgical options, including balloon sinuplasty, a minimally invasive procedure that is performed right in the office.

Your Ear, Nose, &

Throat Experts

The specialists at Florida E.N.T. & Allergy have been helping pediatric and adult patients in the Tampa Bay area for more than 40 years. With 17 Board-certified physicians and 11 convenient locations, the practice’s experienced team specializes in all aspects of ear, nose and throat care from pediatric allergies to fitting hearing aids.

Florida E.N.T. & Allergy has locations in Tampa, Brandon, Riverview, Plant City, Lutz, Westchase, North Tampa and South Tampa, plus two St. Petersburg locations. The Wesley Chapel office is located at 26853 Foggy Creek Rd., Building 21, Suite 101. It is open Monday–Friday, 9 a.m.–5:30 p.m.

For more information or to make an appointment, call (813) 879-8045, or visit FloridaENTandAllergy.com.

Florida Orthopaedic Institute Is Our 2017 ‘Advertiser Of The Year!’

We have so many wonderful advertisers who continue to support the New Tampa & Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News that I decided a couple of years ago we should name an “Advertiser of the Year” each year.

Last year’s winner, Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel, is still throwing lots of support behind both WCNT-tv (more on that below) and our publications, especially our Wesley Chapel edition, and the Florida Hospital Physician Group has taken full-page ads in both editions since 2016. My friend Kristy Darragh of Florida Executive Realty hasn’t been off our back page in New Tampa for about 20 years (and Kristy also takes the two-page center spread in New Tampa a couple of times each year) and GL Homes has been promoting its The Ridge at Wiregrass Ranch community in full-page ads in these pages since the community began pre-selling homes in 2015.

The Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCCC)’s Board Member of the Year, Karen Tillman-Gosselin of Smith & Associates Realty has been on pg. 2 of every New Tampa issue since March. The Dimmitt Automotive Group has promoted its new Audi Wesley Chapel dealership in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel for several months before the dealership opened…and the list goes on and on. 

And, while it’s been hard to pick an Advertiser of the Year who hasn’t been buying full-page ads with us, we are thrilled that most of the assisted living facilities in our area are all buying half-pages — including Discovery Village at Tampa Palms, The Beach House at Wiregrass Ranch, Promise Pointe at Tampa Oaks and The Legacy at Highwoods Preserve.

To state the obvious, we have a lot of amazing advertising advertisers, including one who has been advertising in the Neighborhood News since before I took over in 1994 — dentist Dr. Michael Green —and another, pediatric dentist Dr. Paul Duga who has been with us for more than 20 years.

We’re also always appreciative of our newest advertisers, including Snowrolls Ice Cream, Jane Crabtree of Coldwell Banker Real Estate. North Tampa Law Group, and John S. Wood, CPA; and for returning advertisers who have been out of the publications for a while, like Jersey Mike’s Subs, The Dade City Chamber of Commerce’s annual Kumquat Festival, the Tampa Bay Black Heritage Festival and Panda Hugs Learning Center.

But this year, I am thrilled to say that the Florida Orthopaedic Institute (FOI) is our 2017 Advertiser of the Year! In addition to running full-page ads in 13 issues every year since 2014 (switching off between our New Tampa and Wesley Chapel issues), FOI (in 2017) added half-page ads in the issues that the full-page ads haven’t run in to promote the amazing orthopaedic surgeons at the practice’s Wesley Chapel office. We wrote another feature story about those doctors that appeared in our last issue (photo above). And, FOI just renewed its commitment to us for 2018!

  For more information about Florida Orthopaedic Institute (2653 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., Suite 201 (upstairs), visit FloridaOrtho.com, call (813) 305-7775 or see the ad on page 4 and please tell them that you read about them in the New Tampa Neighborhood News!

WCNT-tv Surpasses 500,000 Views & 1 Million Reach!

Fresh off the heels of our recent News Desk segments about a volunteer group helping provide supplies to Puerto Rico (see story on pg. 12), WCNT-tv — Wesley Chapel & New Tampa Television — has surpassed a total Facebook reach of 1 million people and has now surpassed 500,000 total views on Facebook and YouTube combined.

And, to build on that success, we now have a new Rate Card for not only WCNT-tv, but for combining WCNT-tv and advertising in the Neighborhood News (and on NTNeighborhoodNews.com).

In other words, if you’d like to promote your business to the most New Tampa & Wesley Chapel residents, call our sales rep, Tom Damico, at 813.910.2575 or email Tom@ NTNeighborhoodNews.com and ask for our 2018 Neighborhood News & WCNT-tv Media Kit and Rate Card.

And, please remember to View, Like & Share every episode of WCNT-tv on YouTube and Facebook and to check out our daily news updates on our “Neighborhood News” page on Facebook!

I Miss You, Doug!

I was so saddened to learn of the passing of my long-time friend and New Tampa Players (NTP) theatre troupe co-founder Doug Wall, who lost his nine-month battle with pancreatic cancer on November 25.

I met Doug for lunch shortly after he learned he contracted the disease, but he was so positive and happy about the possibility of his long-awaited New Tampa Cultural Center finally coming to fruition (see pg. 8) and about NTP’s recent successes that I was certain he was going to beat his illness.

I’m heartbroken for his family, and for myself, to have to say I was wrong.

Rest in Peace, Doug.