Wesley Chapel Preps For Busy 2019

The Steak-K-Bob at Saltgrass Steak House.

Restaurant and retail news is golden.

And, it seems, never ending. Already this year tentative plans have been revealed to build a Rock & Brews Restaurant on the south side of S.R. 56 just east of the Tampa Premium Outlets, right next to a proposed Saltgrass Steak House.

Both are part of the Cypress Creek Town Center Development of Regional Impact (DRI).

Nothing seems to get our readers more excited than news about the Cypress Creek Town Center.

In January of 2018, we broke the news about Earth Fare, HomeGoods, Chipotle, Walk-Ons Bistreaux and Blaze Pizza coming to the already burgeoning commercial and retail development on S.R. 56. It was the most popular story on our website all year, with twice the traffic as the story that was second — an update on the diverging diamond interchange (DDI) that should begin construction at I-75 and S.R. 56 any day now.

Chuy’s was one of 2018’s popular restaurant openings.

In fact, Cypress Creek-related stories and maps (2) — touting the arrival of restaurants like Chuy’s and Mellow Mushroom as well as many others — held the Nos. 3 and 6 spots on our 2018 web traffic rankings.

Wesley Chapel was gripped by Cypress Creek Fever in 2018, and there’s still so more to come. Earth Fare, HomeGoods, Walk-Ons and Blaze should all open in the first quarter of 2019, Chipotle just recently opened, and vertical construction has begun on Hobby Lobby, Burlington, Five Below and others.

The list of new places being built all across Wesley Chapel is seemingly endless. In addition to Mellow Mushroom, Chuy’s, Bahama Breeze and the Hyatt Place Hotel on the north side of  S.R. 56, there was MOD Pizza and Nationwide Vision At Home on the south side near the Tampa Premium Outlets. 

A little to the east of I-75 on 56,  the Hilton Garden Inn hotel on the south side opened and in the Wiregrass Ranch DRI a few more miles to the east, the even newer Fairfield Inn on the north side of 56 did as well, as did Nothing Bundt Cakes highlighting a slew of new stores at the Shops at Wiregrass. 

Main Event could be open by the end of the year.

Main Event Entertainment is building an entertainment center offering bowling, laser tag, adventure courses and food and drink, between the outlet mall and I-75 (in the same area as the Rock & Brew and Saltgrass Steak House proposals).

Along with the new Wiregrass Sports Complex, which broke ground in 2018, and an indoor athletic facility at Wesley Chapel District Park, those complaining about there being nothing to do in The Chap should hopefully find some peace.

And, the development wasn’t limited to places to shop and eat — houses are going up at near-record levels, and Wesley Chapel broke ground on one fire station (No. 38) while revamping another (No. 13 on Old Pasco Rd.)

Getting to those places might be an issue in 2019 (early frontrunner for Story of the Year!), as the DDI at S.R. 56 and I-75 is just one of a number of major roadway projects being built in Wesley Chapel.

While the S.R. 56 extension from Meadow Pointe Blvd. to U.S. 301 in Zephyrhills made great progress basically out of view in 2018, the DDI will begin work smack dab in the middle of it all. Combined with the widening of S.R. 54 from Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. to Zephyrhills that started in 2018, driving in our area should be interesting in 2019.

But hey, at least there’s someplace to go.


Freedom knocks off Wharton 51-49

TAMPA – Unlike early-December’s lopsided, 19-point Wharton victory, Friday night’s boys basketball matchup between Freedom and the Wildcats was a back-and-forth affair, fitting of the neighborhood rivalry atmosphere on display in the Patriots’ gym. 

Everything that went wrong in the first meeting for Freedom — an early deficit that steadily grew, slip-ups on defense and poor decision making — has disappeared since the Dec. 4 meeting. The Patriots responded with an eight-game win streak leading to the rematch, including a tournament victory in the Calvary Christian Shootout over the holiday break. 

Friday, they made it nine-straight. After four fourth quarter lead changes, Patriot senior Xavier Betancourt stepped back from a pair of defenders to create space and drained a three-pointer with less than 10 seconds remaining to give the Patriots a 51-49 victory.

The win pulled Freedom into a first-place tie with Wharton in Class 8, District.

“The first time when we lost (to Wharton) we didn’t really play like ourselves,” Betancourt said. “We came in nervous because of how packed and loud their gym was; this time we were prepared and hungry inside, wanting to let everything out.” 

Freedom (12-1, 8-1 in 8A-8) drew the game to a late tie at 46-all as Kevin Rodriguez (game-high 17 points) drained a three-pointer.

Jasper Floyd shoots over a Freedom defender.

Then with under a minute to play, the last swing of momentum to go Wharton’s way came via an impressive Carr Thiam (nine points) rejection of a Freedom layup attempt under the basket, and a breakaway basket-and-1 from Salim Richardson.

However, Freedom and a boisterous home-court fanbase was not to be denied as Trevian Hinson converted a late foul into two free throws to pull Freedom within 49-48, and Betancourt finished the lead changes with his game-winning three-pointer. 

“We used that loss to Wharton as motivation since that game, just like we’ve been motivated by the good things that have happened since,” Freedom coach Ken Angel said. “Anytime we play Wharton, it’s an emotion-filled game. These guys are neighborhood buddies, they see each other all the time, and everyone wants to win this game when we play.” 

Wharton (11-3, 8-1) got a team-high 14 points from Darin Green, and Jasper Floyd had 11 points in the loss.

For more on the game, make sure you check out our story in the Jan. 25 edition of the Neighborhood News.

Kinnan-Mansfield Outlook Bleak

The long-simmering debate over whether or not Kinnan St. in New Tampa and Mansfield Blvd. in Wesley Chapel should have the 30-foot gap between the two roads paved over and connected may be on life support.

At least that’s the way it felt on Dec. 13 at the Pasco Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) meeting in Dade City, where there was zero support for connecting the two roads.

It looks like, frankly, it might literally be the end of the road for Kinnan.

Meadow Pointe resident Richard Traugt told Pasco’s MPO that connecting Kinnan St. to Mansfield Blvd. “would be insane.”

With a few dozen Meadow Pointe residents in the audience, the MPO was briefed on the Wesley Chapel Roadways Study — which had been presented to the public in a workshop back in May. The study, while coming to no conclusions, looked at multiple options for connecting Wesley Chapel and New Tampa at the Hillsborough-Pasco county line.

 The briefing, delivered by Meghan McKinney of the consulting firm AECOM, was followed by District 2 Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore delivering what may well be the eulogy for Kinnan-Mansfield.

“Connecting Mansfield and Kinnan makes no sense for Pasco County residents,” Moore said. “It will only help the people in the developments in Hillsborough County just over the border. There are things (Hillsborough County) could have done in the past, like opening up Live Oak (Blvd.), but they got into a battle between Hillsborough and the City of Tampa. They could have opened that up, (but) didn’t do it. Now they want to put the burden on us? Shame on them.”

Moore’s remarks were greeted with loud applause from the residents in attendance, eight of whom signed up to speak to the MPO, which is comprised of the five Pasco commissioners, city council members from Zephyrhills and New Port Richey, and the mayors of Port Richey and Dade City.

Mike Moore, left, is a vocal critic of connecting Kinnan St. and Mansfield Blvd.

Residents told the MPO that opening up Mansfield Blvd. to traffic from New Tampa, namely from new homes in K-Bar Ranch, would be a disaster. The 450-page report, using traffic projections for the year 2040, suggested the connection would add as many as 4,000 cars to Mansfield, a two-lane road — which many in attendance claimed cannot be widened, even though there has never been any proof of that claim presented by county staffers — running north to S.R. 56.

“It would destroy the flavor of the community me and my neighbors bought into
and it would lower property values,” said Michael Kaufman, who also was critical of the City of Tampa’s decision this summer to approve 700 more homes in K-Bar Ranch, which backs up against the southern end of Meadow Pointe.

“They (Tampa) are creating a problem; it’s not up to us to fix it,” he added.

This photo taken by a drone shows the 60-foot gap between Kinnan St. (on the bottom) and Mansfield Blvd. Hillsborough and Pasco counties are stalemated on the issue but continue to discuss connecting the two roads.

Mansfield Blvd. runs past an elementary, middle and high school, Pasco-Hernando State College and entrances to a handful of Meadow Pointe II communities. The safety of students attending those schools was the concern echoed by most.

“It would be insane,” said Richard Traugt. “I’m against it for safety purposes alone.”

“There is grave concern among Pasco County residents that this would have a severe and negative impact on the quality of life and safety,” said Chris Dillinger. “It is easy to dismiss our fears as whiny and the over-reactive opinion of a small group of residents, but this notion is especially convenient for those would benefit from accessing the short cut through our neighborhood.”

At this point, the debate over Kinnan-Mansfield may no longer raging, but other options to make connections remain viable and even had the lukewarm approval of some of the residents in attendance. Connecting Meadow Pointe Blvd. to K-Bar Ranch Pkwy., as well as Wyndfields Blvd. to K-Bar Ranch Pkwy., or even both, appeared to be palatable choices.

Tampa and Hillsborough County have argued to connect all three.

“I’ve heard nothing positive about Mansfield Blvd. being opened, period,” said Pasco’s Dist. 5 commissioner Jack Mariano. “Connecting to Meadow Pointe Blvd. is the most sensible one. If Hillsborough is blocking that, we’ve got a problem. We need to have a strong discussion with them.”

Mariano joined Moore, Dade City mayor Camille Hernandez and Zephyrhills City council member Lance Smith in siding with the residents in attendance. Pasco commissioners Ron Oakley (District 1) and Kathryn Starkey (District 3) left after the presentation and before public comment, without offering their opinions, and three other MPO members did not attend.

McKinney said Pasco will conduct a public opinion poll in February, with basically yes or no votes on the various connections. A standalone option for making the Kinnan-Mansfield connection will not be on the survey, but it will be included as part of the multiple connections options. Those results will be passed on to the MPO, who will then make a recommendation to Pasco’s commissioners.

New Tampa Says ‘Goodbye, 2018!’ — Remembering Some Of Our Top Stories

One of the best things about working for a local publication are the stories.

Stories that are sometimes about your friends and neighbors and your children’s schoolmates, or the road you drive to work or your favorite local restaurant. And, there are the stories about people you didn’t know, but do now, and maybe you’ll share a wave at Publix that you wouldn’t have otherwise.

Some are happy stories, and some are sad. Too many sad stories, sometimes.

But, almost all of them are memorable, in one way or another.

Here are some of the most popular, according to Facebook and our website, and memorable stories we wrote this year, in no particular order:

CHAMPS!

Hey, everyone likes a winner, right, and in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel we definitely had our share in 2018.

Nelson Agholor

Like Nelson Agholor. It’s doubtful many people even knew the Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver attended Liberty Middle School until he made our cover, and to be honest, we didn’t know either until his Eagles won the Super Bowl.

But sure enough, he was a flag football legend back in the day — and a pretty good hoopster, too — before going on to become a football star and a Super Bowl champ.

And, let’s not forget a little way up the road at Florida Hospital Center Ice, where the U.S. Olympic women’s hockey team trained in preparation for winning their own championship, an Olympic gold medal in South Korea.

The nail-biting shootout win over arch-rival Canada was one of the most classic hockey finishes in Olympic history. Could they have done it without the warm weather and friendly hospitality of New Tampa and Wesley Chapel filling their souls with a strength unlike any other?

We’d like to think not.

And, who has a friend that had a child play on a team that won a championship this year, like the Turner-Bartels boys hoops team winning that school’s first title, or the boys and girls track team winning a first district title for Benito?

*Raises hand*

NEWS

There were so many stories we did on kids winning chess championships and math and debate competitions and starting their own clubs that we lost count (and by the way, keep those stories coming!).

But do you know what people really liked to read and comment on?

Traffic!

(Right?)

But mostly roads. So, which road do we start with?

We could start with Bruce B Downs, which we declared was Bruce B. Done, which was mostly true according to the county, until some paving issues arose, and those finishing touches that were supposed to be completed turned out to be more numerous than expected.

However….it’s still a dramatic improvement and soon, very soon, the big trucks and orange-vested fellows will be gone, and BBD’s completion really is the highlight of many people’s transportation year.

Now, about Kinnan-Mansfield…

Oh, never mind.

Even with 700 new homes okayed for neighboring K-Bar Ranch, Pasco County is standing firm in its opposition to connecting the two roads. It appears hopeless.

That leaves the folks in K-Bar with one way in and out, and that makes for a pretty bleak commuting future for those who can’t afford to put a helicopter pad in their backyards.

COMMUNITY

In with the new and out with old, they say.

Local voters nearly booted Ken Hagan off the Hillsborough Board of Commissioners, but while he survived, long-time resident and political representative Victor Crist did not. Same goes for fellow New Tampa resident Shawn Harrison.

State House District 63 candidate Fentrice Driskell.

But, fresh faces like county commissioner Mariella Smith (she defeated Crist) and State Representative Fentrice Driskell (she beat Harrison) should offer a fresh perspective and some new ideas. Hopefully, they will benefit New Tampa.

District 7 City Council member Luis Viera is running for re-election in 2019, and he had another busy year. We don’t want to say the guy is everywhere and at every event, but we actually saw him bagging groceries at Winn-Dixie, mowing our neighbor’s lawn, handing out programs at a Wharton orchestra event, helping someone find the right flooring at Home Depot, playing trivia at the Fat Rabbit and holding a townhall with three people at a bus stop.

And that was all in the same day!

We will say this — 2018 may have been as busy a year as there has been in terms of activism for bettering our area.

Hillsborough County School Board member Cindy Stuart (left) and Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera.

If you have a complaint, there’s a place for you in New Tampa. There is a New Tampa Council, there is a group that meets to fight for pedestrian safety, there is a group that argued against the re-naming of the New Tampa Library, there were multiple town halls, there were meetings at the library and there were forums and workshops and studies and presentations.

If you really want to know, there’s no excuse not to. It was a good year for New Tampa, as work continues on traffic issues, roads and sidewalks are being studied and the New Tampa Rec Center expansion and autism park steam towards completion — all items that continue to be pushed at the multitude of public events in New Tampa.

EVENTS

A beer tasting event in an event center at Catholic church?

Sign us up!

Seriously, the New Tampa Brew Fest was arguably the best event we attended all year, and not just because they had to kick us out at the end of the night.

Twice.

While there is plenty of room to improve, and we hope they stick around and give it a second shot because New Tampa needs more events like this.

The Taste of New Tampa was, as usual, another wonderful event as well, and nothing beats doing it indoors at the largest skating facility south of New York.

We want more, people. Get to work.

SADNESS

New Tampa has had its fair share of awful tragedy over the years, often making national news, and 2018 was no exception, as sadness gripped the area following the death of West Meadows resident Pedro Aguerreberry in June.

Riding bikes with his 3- and 8-year-old sons, 42-year-old Pedro was struck and killed by mentally ill Mikese Morse (who has since been declared unfit to stand trial).

It was a devastating loss for his family and friends. Pedro was universally loved by everyone who knew him.

And, while we didn’t, we certainly wish we had.