You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet!

Each passing year seems to be the biggest one yet for Wesley Chapel.

The area’s major growth began at the start of the last decade, and Wesley Chapel’s continued expansion and evolution have proceeded unabated to what we have now: a bustling mini “city” whose flowering has been astounding.

But, even with an eventful 2019 in the books, there is a chance we literally haven’t seen anything yet.

Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore (right) and CEO of the North Tampa Chamber of Commerce Hope Allen.

“I think 2019 was our biggest year yet, but there is going to be a lot of exciting things coming along in 2020,” says Hope Allen, the CEO of the North Tampa Chamber of Commerce (formerly the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce).

More than 1,000 commercial permits have been filed in Wesley Chapel’s three zip codes over the last three years, including 498 in 2019. Those that get approved typically come to fruition within 18 months. So, much of what we saw open in 2019 was news in 2017 and ‘18.

Wesley Chapel got its first green grocer in 2019, as Earth Fare opened in February. Allen thinks this was one of 2019’s more significant entries into the Wesley Chapel market, because a green grocer was so desperately desired by so many local residents. For Allen, it’s not a matter of quantity when it comes adding to Wesley Chapel’s growing landscape, but rather filling a need, or a desire.

“I think that Earth Fare had a big impact, because it filled a void,” she says.

But, Earth Fare was just the beginning of a busy 2019 for Wesley Chapel. A number of new restaurants and bars, including Walk-On’s Bistreaux & Bar on S.R. 56 and Glory Days Grill on S.R. 54, opened, and there are plans for dozens more coming in 2020 and beyond.

“The economy is still strong,” says Pasco County District 2 Commissioner Mike Moore. “Typically, you’ll see the builders slow down when they see a change…but they aren’t slowing down.”

With all that growth, traffic remained an important issue for local residents.

S.R. 56 extension

The county did begin work on widening S.R. 54, and also moved forward with the construction of the much-anticipated Diverging Diamond Interchange (DDI) at the intersection of S.R. 56 and I-75. And, the S.R. 56 extension which was finally finished in 2019 — and has been well received by local commuters desiring another east-west road — will soon have something other than open pasture land along its length.

Yes, there will be more homes. And lots of them. According to the Tampa Bay Business Journal, Taylor Morrison Homes recently closed on 750 acres of land for $23.5-million at the northwest and southwest corners of the S.R. 56/Morris Bridge Rd. intersection, land that is already entitled for roughly 1,600-1,700 homes. 

Wesley Chapel saw its fair share of new homes go up in 2019, and thousands of housing permits are in the system for the coming years. Last year, 4,335 single residential permits were filed with the county. In the last three years, 11,448 have been filed.

The Connected City in northern Wesley Chapel has hundreds of homes under construction, including another 713 waiting on approval for Metro Development Group’s Mirada development, which will soon be home to our area’s second Crystal Lagoons® by Metro Lagoons® amenity. Avalon Park West has plans for more than 1,300 homes off S.R. 54, and Winding Ridge in the Wyndfields MPUD is seeking approval for 469 homes, just to name a few.

This formerly rural area is filling up fast, good news for those who prefer a suburban lifestyle but much to the chagrin of many others.

“We hear about it from some residents, typically from people who have been here a long time and moved out here for a quiet, peaceful life,” Allen says. “If that’s what you are looking for, this is not the place to be. This is going to be an active suburban core.” 

Emphasis on the word “active.” The county rebranded its tourism efforts as the Florida Sports Coast, a move heavily influenced by Wesley Chapel’s growth in the sports market. Although Pasco’s hiking and biking trails, Gulf coast fishing and outdoor attractions like Treehoppers in Dade City also are important aspects of the new push, the success of AdventHealth Center Ice and the soon-to-open Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County in the fastest growing area of Pasco likely sparked the rebranding.

Looking ahead to 2020, Allen personally lists the Wiregrass Sports Campus opening, likely in July, as the most anticipated opening of 2020 (and she is hopeful that Raymond James Financial breaks ground), but there is stiff competition.

The Blue Heron assisted living facility in Seven Oaks and the AdventHealth-Moffitt Cancer Center building on the AdventHealth Wesley Chapel campus will be completed by the end of the year and will provide much-needed services for local residents. 

The Main Event entertainment center and the Florida Avenue Brewing Company on S.R. 56 will help spark the local nightlife scene, and a much-anticipated Aldi grocery store, as well as a host of additional new restaurants, will keep folks in the area buzzing.

And, let’s not forget the massive and speedy transformation of The Grove (see story, pg. 6),  which after being left for dead by many will have, by this time next year, it’s own craft brewery, a dueling piano bar, an axe-throwing hangout, new restaurants and a one-of-a-kind shipping container park that, if developer Mark Gold is correct, will become Wesley Chapel’s downtown.

As Commissioner Moore says, “The whole county, but especially Wesley Chapel, is growing. It’s the fastest-growing area in the state and I don’t see an end in sight. Do you?”


Vice President Pence To Visit

Mike Pence will host a rally at the Venetian Event Center on Jan. 16. (Photo: Gage Skidmore)

Vice President Mike Pence is coming to town.

The Venetian Event Center at St. Mark The Evangelist Catholic Church on Cross Creek Blvd. in New Tampa, which in addition to weddings has hosted a few political townhalls organized by city councilperson Luis Viera as well as a City of Tampa mayoral debate in 2019, will be the site when Pence visits next week for a re-election rally for President Donald Trump.

Pence will lead the “Keep America Great” rally Thursday, January 16 at 1:30 p.m. at the Venetian, which is located at 9724 Cross Creek Blvd.

Venetian director of marketing and communications for the center, Valerie Mainguy, confirmed that The Venetian had been rented by the Trump campaign, but said she had no idea what they would be doing there, or who would even be there. 

She said the event center could only hold 1,000 people, according to City of Tampa fire code.

To register for tickets for the event, go here: https://www.donaldjtrump.com/events/keep-america-great-event-with-vice-president-mike-pence-in-wimauma-fl

The decision to come to New Tampa was a last-minute one, as the rally was originally scheduled for the Valencia Lakes retirement community in Wimauma. But FloridaPolitics.com reported that complaints from Valencia Lakes residents and protests from the property owners association board forced the event to be moved.

According to Florida Politics, one of the complaints was that many attendees would be bused in and would overwhelm the private, gated community.

Some in New Tampa have similar concerns, especially since the event could conclude right around the same time that kids are getting out of school.

Cross Creek resident Cindy Kelly wrote on her Facebook page that “No matter your political leanings, hosting this event at St. Mark’s at 1:30 on a Thursday afternoon is not a good idea. At a minimum, how will Wharton and Benito kids get home from school if they live on either side of the church? We have enough of a challenge with traffic in New Tampa. Tiny Cross Creek (Blvd.) does not have the infrastructure to host this event.”

Asked about how the Venetian Event Center planned to deal with any traffic issues, Mainguy said: “They (the campaign) are taking care of all of that.”

Mainguy refused to provide any other information about the event. “We just rent the building,” she said. 

Tampa city councilmember Luis Viera (left) and Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan hosted a townhall at the Venetian Event Center. (Photo: John C. Cotey)

Viera took to the local community website NextDoor.com to alert local residents about the Pence rally.

“When the Vice President of the United States arrives, there is the obvious justified heavy security presence with accompanying traffic challenges, etc.,” Viera wrote. “I have alerted our School Board member Cindy Stuart and am told that the School District is aware and on it.

“Therefore, if your child or children go to a school on or near Cross Creek, or you live in the area, just be aware before you plan your day if this event goes forward.  I assume that the District will release a plan, but FYI for school and other purposes.“

The New Tampa Democrats cited some of the same traffic concerns in a Facebook post, in addition to the costs and potential protest rallies – a Rally Against Mike Pence page for that date is already up on Facebook – and are encouraging people to call St. Mark to ask that the rally be moved.

Pence is in Florida to help shore up Trump’s support among Hispanic voters — he’ll attend a second event in Kissimmee after his New Tampa visit — but Hillsborough County is a focus for Republicans as well.

While New Tampa has long been considered a red, or Republican area, it has been more fertile ground in recent elections for Democrats. 

In 2016, President Trump may have been elected nationwide and won Florida, but Democrat Hillary Clinton won every New Tampa precinct by a combined 58-38 percent margin.

In 2018, Hillsborough County officially turned blue. In New Tampa, longtime local Republicans Shawn Harrison, the Dist. 63 State House Representative, and Hillsborough County Commissioner Victor Crist, were swept out of office by Fentrice Driskell and Mariella Smith, respectively, and neither race was particularly close.

Another Republican County commissioner, Ken Hagan lost all but two New Tampa precincts but still survived unknown political newcomer Angela Birdsong.

Tonelli’s Wildcats Off & Running Again

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before.

More than one month into the new high school basketball season, Wharton High is undefeated, playing great defense, and establishing itself as the team to beat in Class 7A-7.

If that sounds familiar, it should. After all, the Wildcats have won seven district titles in the past 10 seasons, and jumped out of the gate with starts like:

  • 9-0 (last year)
  • 9-1 (in 2017-18)
  • 8-1 (2016-17)
  • 11-1 (2015-16)
  • 13-0 (2014-15) and on and on.

The difference between those teams and this year’s squad? Youth. Head coach Tommy Tonelli has led his youngest team to a quick 10-0 start heading into the meat of the regular season. 

“This is by far my youngest varsity team ever,” says Tonelli of a roster that includes four freshmen and four sophomores among the 12 players. “We lost six seniors, three starters, and the county’s Player of Year in Darin Green (now at UCF). That’s a big readjustment to make.”

They seem to be adapting just fine. The Wildcats’ closest game this season was a 61-49 win over Lennard High — the 450th win of Tonelli’s career — and six of their wins have been by more than 22 points.

Their season-opening run included a tournament championship — 49-33 over Berkeley Prep — at Nature Coast Tech’s holiday tournament.

Helping with that readjustment are the team’s only two senior starters — captains Carr Thiam and Gio Reyes, who have both emerged from Green’s wide shadow to lead the Wharton kids.

“They want to continue to sustain the traditions we have and the excellence we’ve shown in past years,” Tonelli says. “They have a lot of pride. Hopefully, they get to put another district championship banner up there.”

Carr Thiam fires in three of his career-high 34 points in a win over Steinbrenner. (Photo courtesy of Jess Self)

Thiam, a versatile forward who can score from long range or create his own shots off the dribble, is averaging a team-high 23.7 points per game, along with 6.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.2 steals. Reyes, the point guard, is averaging 17.9 points and 5.3 assists a game.

Both players have embraced their roles as leaders and the team’s go-to players.

“We know we have a lot of new guys and we have to get them going, be more vocal, so they pick up things faster. We get on them every day,” Thiam says. “We talk about (leading) a lot.”

“It’s all we talk about,” Reyes adds, smiling.

Tonelli says the seniors aren’t just leading verbally, but by backing up their words on the court.

“They set the right example,” he says. “I always tell the guys, if you want to see how it’s done, and you want to see what playing hard is, just watch those two. If you ever have any doubts, watch those two.”

The Wildcats are coming off a 26-5 season, and the team advanced to the Class 8A Regional final last year. Thiam and Reyes don’t want to be part of any team that ends the Wharton string of 11 straight seasons of 20-plus wins, and if this season looked like a ripe time to finally catch Wharton on the downside, well, Thiam says “not this year.”

So far, the Wildcats are 3-for-3 in their all-important District 7A-7 match-ups, handily beating Alonso, Steinbrenner and Plant and letting the county know it is best not to be fooled by Tonelli’s youthful roster. 

Against Steinbrenner, Thiam scored a career-high 34 points.

“I hit my first shot from deep, and I thought, ‘Oh, this is going to be a good game,’” Thiam says. “I was surprised it was 34 though. I thought I had like 25 or something.”

Wharton’s youthful roster is far from a hindrance, says Thiam, but rather a benefit. He runs off a list of teammates he think will be stars down the road, and Reyes does the same.

The team does indeed have a wealth of young talent. Three of the freshman on the roster — guards Chandler Davis and Karmello Branch and forward Reginald “RJ” Bell — all started for the Turner-Bartels middle school team that went 8-0 and won the Hillsborough County championship last season.

Davis has recently moved into the starting lineup.

The Wildcats are getting contributions up and down the roster, from sophomore forward Trevor Dyson (8.3 ppg, 7.7 rpg) and guard Jordan Brown to junior guard Elijah Barnes and the only other senior, forward Josh Barnett, who is the tallest Wildcat at just 6’-5”.

“We’ve got pretty good depth, albeit inexperienced in a lot of ways,” Tonelli says. “But, I have a lot of confidence in what those guys can do. We may be lacking for physical size, but we have a lot of skill, a lot of guys that can put the ball in the basket…I definitely like what I see in the early going.”

2019: You weren’t so bad

Like construction site dirt through an hourglass, these were the days of our lives.

And in New Tampa in 2019, there was a lot of construction dirt.

Whether it was the New Tampa Recreation Center expanding, the New Tampa Performing Arts Center beginning or The Village at Hunter’s Lake – anchored by Sprouts — taking shape, there were plenty of dump trucks to go around.

Not bad for an area that seemed to be showing its age last year. After a series of closings in previous years and months across New Tampa – HH Gregg, Staples, Bed Bath & Beyond, Ruby Tuesday, etc. – there was enough concern that a few area folks decided our ‘hood needed a good looking at.

In June, local residents packed a room at Compton Park to voice concerns as a study by the USF School of Public Affairs kicked off.

Then, as if on cue, it was revealed that the old HH Gregg was going to be taken over by Urban Air Adventure Park, and a 16,000-sq.ft. Indian market called Taza was taking over the old Staples building, and Aldi was interesting in the Ruby Tuesday spot, and The Brunchery was moving into the former Boston market, and get this….are you sitting down….there is a light at the end of the long tunnel that is the vacant Sweetbay Supermarket.

LL Cool J would tell us not to call it a comeback, but we’re going to anyway.

New Tampa is back, baby!

But seriously though, it was a good year for the area, and 2020 is very likely going to be, as the kids like to say, off the chain, as most of the aforementioned places will all be opening.

So, what else happened in 2019?

How about this:

Fire Rescue Station No. 23 opened, giving the New Tampa area 17 fire rescue stations! We jest, it’s actually four fire stations, but you should feel pretty darned safe. Speaking of safe…

…. Unincorporated New Tampa will once again be covered by City of Tampa Fire rescue in 2020, thanks to the efforts of District 2 Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan and new mayor Jane Castor, who are both quite popular in New Tampa. Speaking of popular….

Tampa City Council member Luis Viera (center) celebrates his win on March 5 with Heritage Isles’ retired Colonel Mike Escudie (left) and Jon Fletcher, president of Vietnam Veterans of America of Tampa.

…. District 7 City Councilman Luis Viera was re-elected, with a higher percentage of the vote than any of the other 23 people who ran for the six available city council seats. Viera received 82 percent of the vote in New Tampa There is no truth to the rumor he is seeking out the 18 percent who did not vote for him, and inviting them to coffee and a chance to prove himself. And by no truth to the rumor, we mean there is totally some truth to that rumor. Speaking of rumors….

…the sale of Pebble Creek Golf Club never materialized, but the search is not over. But it’s still on the market. Speaking of markets…

…..Sprouts is coming! Did we mention that already? It should be a slam dunk winner for New Tampa. Speaking of slam dunks…

Darin Green leads Wharton in scoring.

…. Wharton’s Darin Green was named Hillsborough County’s top basketball player for the 2018-2019 season. He shined for one of the county’s best hoops programs. Speaking of high school athletes shining…

….Wharton’s Zach Goldbold won a Class 4A state championship by throwing the javelin a whopping 171 feet and 11 inches, and Freedom swimmer  Michelle Morgan qualified for the 2020 Olympic Trials, and both Freedom tennis teams won district championships, and Freedom’s Cooper Smith went to state in golf and Wharton’s Teiley Vaughn won a gold medal with the USA Softball U-17 Women’s National Team and sorry are we rambling? We tend to suffer from logorrhea at times. Speaking of logorrhea….

Nupur Lala

…. that was the word that Benito eight-grader Nupur Lala spelled correctly to win the Scripps Spelling Bee 20 years ago. She’s currently doing her residency at Rhode Island Hospital in Providence, and is hoping to do a fellowship in neuro-oncology, specifically glioblastoma multiforme, which we could have never spelled if she hadn’t told us how when we interviewed her for a story in June. She was an absolute delight, and still super smart. Speaking of super smart…

Drew Falkowitz

…Tampa Palms resident Drew Falkowitz, 16, became the youngest graduate in University of South Florida history in June, earning a degree in cellular and molecular biology. Sure, that sounds impressive, but my kids can play Fortnite until they pass out in a puddle of their own drool at 5 a.m., so who’s the better father now, Steve Falkowitz? Speaking of fathers….

…Father David DeJulio departed St. Marks after 16 years. It was, pardon the pun, a rather dispiriting event for many of the Catholics in New Tampa. Not to be outdone, Tirso “Junior” Cintron retired as Wharton’s head custodian after 22 years, which also broke up a surprising amount of people. Not to be outdone, publisher Gary Nager held a party celebrating 25 years of the Neighborhood News. That was another sad and heartbreaking event, but enough about Gary singing karaoke.

We hope you had a great 2019, and strap yourself in because 2020 is already shaping up to produce some monumental moments.

P.S. Kinnan-Mansfield. Sorry. We couldn’t do an end of year wrap-up without mentioning it.

Potential Tenants Set Sights On Former Sweetbay Building

Long before Tampa City Council member Luis Viera had his code enforcement eyes trained on the AMC movie theater at Highwoods Preserve, they were focused like a laser on the long-shuttered former Sweetbay grocery store right across Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. from the theater.

The Sweetbay building was filthy, and the parking lot was not only overgrown with weeds and other vegetation, but sometimes, it was virtually overflowing with tractor-trailers and parked storage trucks.

Sometimes, it was a dumping ground for people’s cast-off furniture, appliances and clothes.

Efforts to clean the area were sometimes successful, but little by little, the parking lot adjacent to Home Depot would revert to its former rundown status. “What it needs,” Viera has said, “is a new tenant.”

For the first time since the Sweetbay store closed in 2013, that is actually a possibility — although it won’t be anytime too soon.

According to John Neukamm, the attorney for KNK Tampa, Ltd., the California-based owners of the building, prospective purchasers and tenants have begun reaching out to his client in advance of the property becoming available in November 2020.

There have been countless stories swirling about the reasons behind the building staying empty for the past seven years. The Sweetbay store is practically a New Tampa landmark, but not in a good way. Viera has argued that it is arguably New Tampa’s most notorious eyesore.

“That’s unfortunate,” Neukamm says. “My client didn’t want it to be that way.”

Here’s the story:

In February of 1999, the property, then owned by Walter Property Investments, LLC, was leased to Kash ‘n Karry Tampa, Ltd., for a 20-year term, beginning with the completed construction of the building, which was in November of that year.

In 2001, KNK Tampa, Ltd., which has no relation to Kash ‘n Karry, bought the property, which is currently worth $1.54 million, according to Hillsborough County property tax records.

Kash ‘n Karry continued to operate under the lease until June 14, 2006, when its Belgian parent company Delhaize America Inc. converted it to a Sweetbay Supermarket, where whole pineapples and cookies were handed out to customers at its happy New Tampa grand opening.

In January of 2013, however, Publix and Walmart had each only strengthened their respective holds on the Tampa Bay grocery market, and Delhaize announced it would be closing 22 stores in the Tampa Bay area, including its New Tampa location.

In October of 2013, Jacksonville-based Bi-Lo Holdings, the parent company of Winn-Dixie, paid $265 million for 72 Sweetbay stores, plus the leases to 10 other underperforming Sweetbay supermarkets that had already been closed, one being the New Tampa location.

The New Tampa lease had six years remaining at the time. However, if there were attempts by either Delhaize and Bi-Lo Holdings to negotiate its way out of the lease, they failed. 

Subleasing would have been another option, but with such little time remaining on Sweetbay’s lease, it was likely a tough sell considering what it would have cost to properly renovate the building.

Bi-Lo Holdings has continued to pay the rent at the New Tampa location. Those monthly lease payments will come to an end in November. 

“Because we are a year out from that day, we have started to open up a dialogue with prospective purchasers and tenants,” Neukamm says. “We have been contacted already by a number of folks who are interested.”

Over the years, a number of brokers have inquired about selling the property, but Neukamm says his clients felt talks were premature because of the existing lease. 

He says there will “likely” be a new owner or tenant in place by this time next year.

And, what does Viera, who says he has been asked countless questions about the old Sweetbay since being elected in 2016, think about the possible elimination of the area’s most prominent vacant store?

“It’s about time,” he says. “It’s about time.”