Category: Featured

Five Things To Look Forward To In 2022!

Wesley Chapel and New Tampa have been on a great run of fun and interesting projects, and 2022 should be no different. Here are the five we’re most looking forward to this year.

1. KRATE Container Park

The long-awaited KRATE container park at The Grove at Wesley Chapel is expected to be fully open by summer 2022 — which is great news for local residents in the quickly expanding S.R 54 corridor looking for more shopping and dining options.

There are so many cool things coming to Wesley Chapel this year, but KRATE ranks as No. 1, thanks to the unique nature of the project and the anticipation that has built up because it has taken much longer than many expected, due in no small part to a variety of Covid-related issues.

KRATE was the jewel of developer Mark Gold’s plans when his company, Mishorim Gold Properties, bought The Grove — then a moribund 250-acre parcel anchored by a shopping center — for $64 million in September 2019. Gold has invested an additional $20 million in the KRATE, which he claims will be the largest container park in the U.S. and something that will draw visitors from around the state to Wesley Chapel.

The seven-acre KRATE project will feature 55 businesses in converted shipping containers, each with their own product-centric mural painted on the side by artist Whitney Holbourn of Colorado.

At our press time, only two stores — Provisions Coffee & Kitchen and Shake-A-Salad — were already open. Once the others are ready, the KRATE is expected to cash in on what is likely to be a welcome experience in these Covid-ridden times — walking an open-air market featuring restaurants, retail shops and even a stage that will host concerts and other performances.

Its proximity to The Grove’s big box stores, and its popular restaurants like Treble Makers and the Falabella Family Bistro (see pg. 36), the Double Branch Artisanal Ales craft brewery, The Grove movie theater (and home of Side Splitters comedy club) and a new mini-golf course (see below) will make The Grove arguably the top entertainment destination hub in Pasco County, if not all of Tampa Bay.

2. New Tampa PAC

If we didn’t like shopping and desserts so much, this would be our No. 1.

Regardless, the New Tampa Performing Arts Center (NTPAC; photo, left) will provide a cultural boost to the area with its promise of music, dance and theatrical performances. The area already has an acting troupe, the New Tampa Players (NTP), that will call the PAC home and be one of what we hope are hundreds of groups to bring productions to the 350-seat theater.

When was the last time you had to get dressed up to attend anything in New Tampa proper?

Our only gripe — it would have been nice to see the NTPAC fronting Bruce B. Downs Blvd. in all its glory, lit up at night as drivers-by gawked, as opposed to being tucked out of view between an apartment complex and a grocery store.

But, after a nearly 20-year battle to get the place built, who’s complaining?

3. Lotte Market

This, very quietly, might be the coolest thing to open anywhere in 2022, because if you know, you know.

While we haven’t had any updates in a while on the plans for the new market, and no official announcement at all, we’re guessing Lotte Market will fill the 55,000-sq.ft. former Sweetbay Market with hard-to-find Korean, Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese food items, as well what is likely to be the largest selection of fresh — and, dare we say, unique — seafood, fruits and vegetables in the area.

The only other Lotte Market in Florida is located in Orlando, and that store, like most of its others located in Maryland, New Jersey and Virginia, have a handful of Asian restaurants or a food court. Lotte has already been approved by the city to put restaurants in the market, and we can’t wait to see which ones they will be.

4. Mini-Golf

The groundbreaking of PopStroke Entertainment was held on Feb. 2

Remember a few years ago, when the major complaint about the area was that there was nothing to do? Well, since 2016, we’ve added an Urban Air Adventure Park in Tampa Palms, and in Wesley Chapel we now have the Advent Health Center Ice facility, the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County, an indoor recreation center and outdoor roller hockey rink at the Wesley Chapel District Park and the Main Event bowling alley and game center on S.R. 56.

As if that’s not enough, in 2022, Tiger Woods PopStroke Entertainment, a mini-golf and restaurant concept the golf superstar owns with entrepreneur Greg Bartoli, is coming to Wesley Chapel’s Cypress Creek Town Center on the north side of S.R. 56.

The project officially broke ground on Feb. 2 and should be ready by the beginning of summer, if not sooner.

Builders describe the place as an “experiential golf and casual dining concept merging a dynamic, technologically advanced competitive golf environment with food and beverages.”

Sign us up!

And while we’re at it, please also reserve us a spot at the new Grove Mini-Golf, which is expected to open in March. While PopStroke skips all the bells and whistles associated with a traditional mini-golf course, Grove Mini-Golf is leaning into them with plenty of holes requiring tricky shots — one hole you shoot over a river, another into a river (you’ll see), and there’s even a figure-8 hole and lots of hills and rocks to accentuate a rich, tropical oasis experience.

And, nighttime neon lighting and fire will give it a fun, festive feel. All of the holes will be illuminated with neon lights and glow-in-the-dark flags and balls. Very cool!

5. Diverging Diamond Interchange

If navigating castles, rocks and water on a mini-golf course doesn’t get you excited, how about navigating the soon-to-be-completed (no, we’re not kidding) Diverging Diamond Interchange at the S.R. 56 and I-75 intersection?

We’re not sure if it will be easier figuring out the DDI or, say, shooting par, but the folks building it promise the new intersection is less confusing than it looks.

That would be great for those who want to venture out to that area but don’t because, well, ugh…that traffic. But, the DDI is supposed to eliminate all those conflict points and make for a safer interchange, using free flowing lanes — sometimes taking you to the other side of the road (relax, it’ll be fun!).

Just to be safe, though, we’d suggest hitting up YouTube to watch a few videos.

And…While these are our top 5, they aren’t the only cool things happening in our area in 2022, like the completion of the S.R. 54 widening project, Wesley Chapel’s second lagoon at Mirada —which, at 15 acres, is twice as large as the one in Epperson — new restaurants like The Living Room, and we might even see a few surprises. (We’re looking at you, empty Best Buy building on BBD).

New Tampa Sensory & Autism Friendly Park To Break Ground Feb. 14!

District 7 City Council member Luis Viera has championed building a sensory park in New Tampa since he first took office in 2016. The inspiration for the idea is personal — Viera’s older brother Juan has autism.

It’s somewhat fitting, then, that Viera’s labor-of-love — the New Tampa Sensory & Autism Friendly Park — will officially break ground on at 9 a.m. on Valentine’s Day (Monday, February 14), at the New Tampa Community Park in Tampa Palms.

“There have been some delays, like Covid, but it is a great day for New Tampa that this park is finally going to be built,” says Viera. “It’s going to be a big deal for a lot of people.”

While the city has made a number of improvements in recent years with playground equipment that has made its existing parks more accessible to children with autism, including the New Tampa Community Park, this full-fledged autism/sensory park will be the first of its kind in the city.

Proponents of the park have said that as many as 40,000 children in and around the New Tampa area are likely to use the park each year.

Viera said the lack of such facilities has always been a pet peeve of his. One year after being elected in 2016, he says he pulled the previous City of Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn aside and they had a long discussion on the importance of possibly building a sensory-friendly park for those on the autism spectrum.

Viera requested $90,000 be allocated in the 2018 budget for the design, and that the park be located in New Tampa.

He jokes that he told Buckhorn he would wrestle with whoever the next mayor was for the construction money to build the park.

Fortunately, it didn’t require too much wrestling. In 2020, current Tampa Mayor Jane Castor passed a $1.3-billion budget for Fiscal Year 2021, which included $1.7 million to build the park (rendering above).

The park, which was originally earmarked to be built on five acres of land behind the BJ’s Wholesale Club on Commerce Palms Dr. in Tampa Palms., is for children with a wide range of physical, cognitive, sensory and socio-emotional abilities.

It will include multiple play pieces that are wheelchair accessible, a sensory area geared towards children with autism or other sensory or cognitive challenges, a new art mural based on a ‘Fantastic Florida Nature’ theme, and more, all built on 10,000 sq. ft.

Those identified as having Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) generally do not process information from their five senses as everyone else does, and can become overwhelmed and unable to communicate and interact because they are overcome with anxiety. The park will benefit families with children and adults with ASD (and other similar disorders) and focus more on soothing and serene activities.

Everyone, however, will be allowed to use the park. Viera says the hope is that all children will be able to play together.

With ASD numbers growing, from one in 150 children in a 2007 report to one in 44 children — according to the most recent data provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) — sensory parks (and increased sensitivity to those afflicted with ASD) are becoming more prevalent across the country.

Most recently, the Wesley Chapel District Park, located 20-25 minutes north of New Tampa, opened a universally inclusive 7,000-sq.-ft. playground in 2019.

“I think this will be symbolic,” Viera says. “This tells parents raising kids with sensory issues that they are a priority, and that we care (about) and stand with them.”

To further his cause, which includes putting playground equipment for the disabled in every city park, Viera says he is looking to plan a handful of townhalls across Tampa — including one in New Tampa — to discuss other special needs concerns and how communities can help.

autism Luis Viera sensory

Gary’s Top 25 New Tampa Restaurants!

Every year, in the issue after we report the results of our annual Reader Dining Survey & Contest, I always feel compelled to give you my dining favorites, including all of the restaurants that opened in (or very near) Wesley Chapel and New Tampa the previous year.

As someone who remembers when Good Fellas, The Boston Cooker, The Ultimate Bagel and Joy-O-Wok in Tampa Palms were the only restaurant options in New Tampa — and who has sampled every new place to eat since then — I do feel uniquely qualified to provide you with my annual list of favorites in both of our distribution areas.

And, even though quite a few new eateries opened in our distribution areas in 2021 after the reader voting ended, my top-25 “survey” lists aren’t quite as different from the readers’ lists this year as they have been in previous years, especially in Wesley Chapel.

And, I’m excited to say that this year, both Stonewood Grill & Tavern and Treble Makers Dueling Piano Bar & Restaurant have both repeated as my Favorite Restaurant in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel, respectively, which is a pretty big accomplishment, considering all of the new competition that opened in 2021 in both of our distribution areas.

On pages 28-32 of the latest New Tampa issue, you’ll find short write-ups about my 25 favorite restaurants (new and existing) in New Tampa for 2021.

Enjoy! And, try to remember that, as it says above, these opinions about local restaurants are mine alone, so I don’t expect you to agree with me about everything (or anything). Feel free to let me know when you agree or disagree!

1 — STONEWOOD GRILL & TAVERN
17050 Palm Pointe Dr., Tampa Palms
(813) 978-0388

Despite the fact that a number of new restaurants have opened in New Tampa the last two years, it was still too hard for me to disagree with our readers as to which restaurant in New Tampa is my #1 favorite for 2021 — Stonewood Grill & Tavern!

There is no doubt that despite the fact that all seven of my top New Tampa favorites on this page are good enough, in my opinion, to one day challenge for New Tampa’s #1 restaurant, Stonewood still has the best (and best variety of) steak, the best ahi tuna appetizer and some of the best fresh fish options, and those have always been the most important choices for yours truly.

Stonewood also has delicious bruschetta, an outstanding sweet tea brined pork chop, an excellent blackened chicken pasta, super-tasty Tuscan chicken and great new crafted bowls with ahi tuna, southwest chicken or salmon, plus an incredible “two hand” chicken club sandwich with bacon and Swiss.

When you throw in the fact that Stonewood also is mine and Jannah’s favorite bar in New Tampa, with superlative service and fair drink prices, and you can understand why it has repeated as my favorite restaurant in New Tampa this year (as it has been with our readers every year but one since 2015) and has long been in my top 5.

2 — VIA ITALIA
8644 Hunter’s Village Rd.
The Village at Hunter’s Lake
(813) 475-4857

Although I still prefer it for pasta moreso than for its amazing variety of pizzas, the reason Via Italia ranks as my #2 favorite restaurant in New Tampa is because those pasta dishes are all so authentic and delicious it’s hard for me to go very long without them.

A lot of places in our area have good pasta with pesto sauce, but Via Italia’s pesto Genovese is the best and also is the only place that serves authentic pasta pesto Siciliana (photo). And, add in delicious bruschetta, meatballs, oven-baked chicken wings, lasagne, cavatelli with broccolini and sweet Italian sausage and the “intensely flavored” linguine alle vongole (clams) and you have one of New Tampa’s best.

If owner/chef Roberto Maganuco ever adds fresh fish and/or grilled steaks and chops, it could easily be my #1.

3 — ACROPOLIS
14947 Bruce B Downs Blvd.
Oak Ramble Plaza
(813) 971-1787

Even though Acropolis Greek Taverna isn’t new, it was taken over by new owners Eddie Nasr and Stacy Esposito in 2021 and has definitely returned to its former top-5 glory with both yours truly and our readers. My favorite dishes are the saganaki (fried cheese) appetizer, the lamb lollipop chops and the amazing Athenian fish pictured above, although there are many other Greek specialties I enjoy, too — including the mini-gyro trio (lamb, pork and chicken), the pastitsio (Greek-style lasagne), the chicken Rhodes (in garlic parmesan wine sauce) and the pasta Santorini (in a creamy lemon wine sauce), to name a few — to keep me coming back for more. And, while the “Acropolis dressing” on the Greek salad isn’t a traditional Greek vinaigrette, it’s pretty yummy.

4 — FRAMMI
17631 Bruce B. Downs Blvd.
(813) 523-5075

Before 2021, this restaurant was still called “Oakley’s Grille” and featured some of New Tampa’s best hamburgers, chicken sandwiches and a few Italian specialties from new owner Luca Ammirati, who took over a couple of years earlier. But, when Luca decided to add an entire additional menu of his native Italian specialties and rename his restaurant Frammi early last year, it catapulted all the way up my list of favorites, with an outstanding black angus beef ragu, pasta pesto Genovese, a semi-spicy sausage ragu, a spicier arrabiata red sauce and the savory pasta vongole (clams) pictured above. Yes, Frammi still has those great burgers, fajitas, chicken and pressed sandwiches on his expanded American menu, but it is his new and extensive (without being expensive) Italian menu that keeps me coming back for more.

5 — THE GRILL AT MORRIS BRIDGE
10920 Cross Creek Blvd.
(813) 388-5353

When I first heard that a new, upscale restaurant was coming to the space previously occupied by Beef O’Brady’s and a couple of failed Italian restaurants in the Cross Creek Plaza, I was excited about the possibilities. Once I got to sample the new Grill at Morris Bridge opened in Dec. by brothers Frank and James Gouveia and Executive Chef Daniel Friley, I was even happier. No, The Grill isn’t cheap, but it has excellent steaks, delicious fresh fish, the best Caesar salad in New Tampa or Wesley Chapel, great crab cakes, authentic New England clam chowder, a tasty dry aged pork chop and a wonderful rigatoni with chicken and baby broccolini, plus New Tampa’s best wine list and amazing bar food and drink specials.

6 — FAT RABBIT PUB
16029 Tampa Palms Blvd.
City Plaza at Tampa Palms
(813) 252-3004

Even though the Fat Rabbit Pub could have dropped a little more in my personal rankings when it stopped offering a fresh fish special every week, the fact is that this is still one of New Tampa’s best restaurants with one of its most creative, better-than-sports-bar-food menus in our area. The Fat Rabbit serves the best blackened wings, plus delicious burgers, an amazing blackened chicken roll appetizer, delicious street tacos (with pork, shrimp or short ribs) and new rice bowls like chicken tortilla and the tasty and tender short rib bowl shown above, plus blackened chicken, Tampa Palms cheese steak, Key West grilled chicken and other unique sandwiches, and the area’s best tater tots, all coupled with an ultra-premium liquor bar and craft beers.

7 — LIMA PERUVIAN
19056 Bruce B. Downs Blvd.
New Tampa Center
(813) 304-0205

You may not have known that Peruvian food has long been considered the best of the Latin cuisines, but if you try owner Oscar Escudero’s Lima Rotisserie Chicken & Peruvian Cuisine, you’ll understand why it’s true. Yes, the rotisserie chicken is outstanding, but I love Lima for its fresh fish ceviche (available with one or a trio of unique sauces), lomo saltado Lima (beef tenderloin tips or diced chicken breast wok-sautéed with soy sauce, onions and tomatoes) and tallarin saltado with flamed tenderloin tips, a variety of shellfish or diced chicken (photo) with lo mein-style noodles, pescado a la chorrilana (fried fresh fish filet), Peruvian-style fried rice and some of the best black beans and rice in our area. And, you can top it off with a Cusqueña Peruvian beer.

8 — CALI
17004 Palm Pointe Dr.
Shoppes at The Pointe
(813) 975-1222

It seems that virtually every restaurant in our area now serves some sort of bowls, but Cali (formerly Ciccio Cali) was undoubtedly the first local restaurant to focus on the now-popular bowl culture. Cali also serves great wrap sandwiches (like the California club wrap with bacon and char chicken), unique baked pizzas and of course, those epic bowls.

The bowls at Cali are all available with seared ahi tuna, char or blackened chicken, grilled steak and a variety of veggies proteins (like lentil bites) and bases, but my favorites are the Hot & Crunchy bowl with seared ahi tuna, the Lean & Clean bowl with char chicken, roasted broccoli and cauliflower and the grilled steak fajita bowl.

9 — BAYSCAPE BISTRO
10630 Plantation Bay Dr.
@ Heritage Isles Golf Club
(813) 994-3445

F or good, old fashioned American cuisine with a variety of other options, owner/chef Eddie Bujarski’s Bayscape Bistro offers breakfast all day (try the brioche French toast, meat lover’s hash or the Breakfast in Hand), smaller plates like delicious battered and fried grouper baskets, wings and chicken strips, a fresh grilled mahi and other sandwiches, hot dogs and burgers, and wonderful signature dishes like mojo pork loin, a 12-oz. ribeye steak, a pasta garden with roasted veggies, roast half chicken and a really delicious country fried chicken (photo). Yes, even though it’s located at a golf course, Bayscape is open to the public and also features karaoke on Friday nights and $25 family of four takeout meals.

10 — FRESH KITCHEN
8648 Hunter’s Village Rd.
The Village at Hunter’s Lake
(813) 336-3800

My third favorite new restaurant to open in New Tampa in 2021, Fresh Kitchen is a Florida-based mini-chain with 15 locations either already open or opening soon, and it has some of the best options for your freshly made bowl of any restaurant.

My favorite proteins are the grilled steak, the almond-baked chicken planks (both shown in the bowl above), grilled citrus or BBQ chicken and even Caprese tofu. My favorite bases are the baby kale Caesar and kale slaw, but Jannah loves the sweet potato noodles and spinach salad bases. We both enjoy the parmesan broccoli and sesame green beans, as well as the creamy white ginger and herb balsamic vinaigrette sauces.

The best of the rest:

11. LAS PALMAS
12. LIANG’S BISTRO
13. ORONZO HONEST ITALIAN
14. KOBE JAPANESE STEAK HOUSE
15. CANTINA REAL MEXICAN
16. SUSHI CAFE
17. WOOD FIRED PIZZA
18. MICHI RAMEN
19. LITTLE GREEK
20. GLORY DAYS
21. THAI RUBY
22. POKE ISLAND PLUS
23. MAHANA FRESH
24. BURGER 21
25. PEABODY’S

food gary's favorites top 25

The Story of Justin Scott: Never Give Up!

Justin Scott, surrounding by his family and friends, got his first playing time on Senior Night against Durant. (Photo: Charmaine George)

Wharton senior Justin Scott took in every high five, every pat on the back and every hug on the most glorious night of his life.

The doctors who birthed him wouldn’t have believed it. His first teachers would be floored. Most anyone who knows anyone with cerebral palsy would be flabbergasted.

This kid can play.

Overcoming the greatest of odds, Justin held his head high as he walked off the field towards the locker room, still talking about the game, a 2-0 Wildcats win over Durant, a victory he started and played almost all 80 minutes of, like it was a dream he hoped would never end.

“I was told I would never walk, I would never walk, and I was told I was going to die before I was two year old,” Justin said. “Now look where I am — playing soccer for my high school team.”

On Jan. 14, 18-year-old Justin started at forward for the Wharton boys soccer team, a surprise reward for his years of perseverance, his positivity and his commitment to his teammates.

Justin says soccer has long been his passion. He once had a hat trick in a league game at the YMCA and, in limited action at Turner-Bartels K-8, he was a goaltender who never allowed a shot past him.

But, in high school, as the players get bigger and stronger, Justin was outmatched.

He didn’t try out for the soccer team as a freshman, because he was too nervous. He was cut as a sophomore but, instead of giving up, he accepted a spot as the team’s manager and promised he would try out again.

He again was cut junior and senior years. “I really thought this year I had a chance,” Justin said.

His chance did finally come, on Senior Night, where friends, teachers and family — his mother Michelle and her husband Rob, his father Michael Scott and his wife Jennifer, and grandmother Blannie Whalen — gathered while waving cutouts of Justin’s head on a stick, to celebrate the young man who just wouldn’t quit.

Justin’s teammates were as excited for him as he was, smiling as they welcomed him to the starting lineup. (Photo: Karl Greeson)

When he was introduced as part of Wharton’s starting lineup, he trotted out to the middle of the field where his smiling teammates high-fived him. When the first whistle blew, he took off like a bolt, chasing down the opponent, and blocking a long pass attempt by jumping in front of the ball, the thud sending a shiver down his mother’s spine.

“I was pretty nervous,” Michele said, “but I was also so full of pride. He played so well. He was fearless.”

Justin was born prematurely, a childbirth during which Michelle had an allergic reaction “to a penicillin-type drug” and went into anaphylactic shock. Justin was born with brain damage and, sometime around the age of 1, was diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

He learned how to walk, which wasn’t supposed to happen, and learned how to talk, too. Eventually, he was running and jumping around and fell in love with soccer, and grew into a popular kid that teachers and classmates rallied around.

While cerebral palsy had stripped Justin of many of the motor skills and coordination needed to play, he never stopped once he started, not only playing but learning how to be a linesman and refereeing games and helping to coach his old middle school team.

And, of course, he was a great manager, always there, always encouraging, so eager to be part of the team. But of course, his dream was to play. And Wharton coach Scott Ware finally gave him his opportunity.

Justin didn’t score, but he had a few chances. (Photo: Karl Greeson)

“He deserved it,” Ware said. “He’s definitely earned it.”

Justin called his mom when he first heard it might happen and, when it became official, he brought home his kit (uniform) and proudly tried it on for her.

“He told me, ‘Mom, this isn’t just about me, I just want people with disabilities not to give up on themselves,’” Michelle said. “That’s how he is.”

The next day, Justin, who has been accepted into a number of colleges but is really hoping to attend the University of Florida, wore his kit to school, and later that night played in it: No. 14.

And Justin played hard, as hard as he could, eager to make the most of the moment. He chased down opposing players who had the ball, mixed it up in the box with others trying to jostle for a shot, actually had a few potential goals go awry and even had a header.

Every time he came close to a ball near the goal, his teammates on the bench would lean forward, and in unison yell “Justin” in anticipation of a miracle.

“We were all excited for him that he was playing,” said senior Christian Lundblad. “If he had scored, I would have stormed the field. I might have gotten in trouble for it, but I would have done it. We were all rooting for him tonight.”

At halftime, he was asked if he was tired. “I could keep going for another two days,” he said.

In the second half, a ball was played into the box from the far side. The ball miraculously found its way through four players and the keeper, right to the feet of Justin. He was surprised it got to him, and reacted as quickly as he could, sliding and poking the shot just wide of the open net. It was agonizingly close.

“Nine times out of 10 the goalkeeper stops that ball,” Justin said. “That’s why I missed it. That will haunt me for days and years.”

But, it didn’t stop him from smiling afterwards.

Just playing in the game was a dream come true. Justin said he doubts his coach even knows just how much it meant to him. He was proud, and grateful beyond words for an opportunity he thought would never come.

“I just never gave up,” he said. “It’s the story of my life.”

soccer Wharton

PHSC Officials Cut The Ribbon At The New IPAC!

Pasco Hernando State College held the official ribbon cutting of its Instructional Performing Arts Center (IPAC), which has been open less than a year, on Jan. 6. Speakers praised the public-private effort to bring the facility to fruition. *(Photos: Charmaine Georg*e)

After nine months of operating quietly on the campus of Cypress Creek High off Old Pasco Rd., the Pasco Hernando State College (PHSC) Instructional Performing Arts Center (IPAC) is preparing to spread its wings in 2022.

On Jan. 6, PHSC and governmental officials held the IPAC’s official ribbon cutting, with a dozen or so local dignitaries (like county commissioners Ron Oakley and Mike Moore and Florida State Rep. Randy Maggard, a PHSC graduate) on hand to give short speeches, some of them focusing on the success of the IPAC and its future offerings to the community.

Afterwards, IPAC executive director Lauren Murray, DMA (pictured above), said that PHSC students have already embraced the theater classes, and will be able to take dance classes this semester and participate in the facility’s music program starting this fall.

There also will be group piano and guitar lessons, which also will be available to the public, and Murray (right photo)has high hopes for launching a community art series this fall, which would include things like jazz trios, locally produced musicals and even stand-up comics.

“It will be pretty diverse, with musical, theatrical and dance events that we expect will reach a broad range of people,” said Dr. Murray.

The state-of-the-art, 35,000-sq.-ft. IPAC features a number of studios for things like dance, music and video production, and the 444-seat Will Weatherford Theater — named for the former Florida Speaker of the House who helped secure funding for the $18-million facility, is considered the heart of IPAC.

The facility already has won two awards — a first place Special Projects in the Florida Educational Facilities Planners’ Association, Inc., 2021 Architectural Showcase!, and an Excellence in Collaboration award from the North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce.

“It’s a nearly $20-million investment in our region that will be truly transformational for our students, our families and the residents of this area,” said PHSC Provost Dr. Kevin O’Farrell. “There is really nothing like the Instructional Performing Arts Center that we have here at PHSC.”

Ray Gadd, deputy superintendent for Pasco County Schools, was one of those first approached when the idea of building a performing arts center or arena came up years ago. He told the ribbon-cutting crowd that in his search for the right kind of design, he collected floor plans from the Tampa Bay area’s Mahaffey, Capitol and Straz theaters, and even a theater in Singapore that had a $100-million price tag.

“We didn’t quite get there,” he said, laughing. “Regardless of the cost, what we got was a jewel.”

There have already been 26 events held at the IPAC, most of them small and self-produced by local groups who rented the theater. There have been two fully-staged theatrical productions, musical events, day-long conferences and Dr. Murray said the active Indian community in Wesley Chapel has held two dance events with three more planned this spring.

She is hoping to augment the positive start with the community art series, outdoor festivals, week-long festivals and large-scale events.

“We plan to reach a lot of people,” Murray says. “We really are looking to cover the gamut.”

For more information, visit PHSC.edu or call (813) 536-2816.

IPAC