Category: Featured

Wiregrass Ranch Prepped For Major Projects

Wiregrass Ranch Map — (Map by Blake Beatty)

West Palm Beach-based commercial developer John Dowd played a pivotal role in the development of the Wesley Chapel and Wiregrass Ranch area near S.R. 56 when, with the stalwart help of JCPenney as the lead anchor, he helped spearhead the birth of The Shops at Wiregrass mall.

Dowd admitted that it wasn’t easy. Right before the mall finished, the economy started to slow. Had it been six months later, Dowd doesn’t think the mall would have ever been built. “We had tenants come to us who had literally just signed leases and wanted out,’’ he said. “Everybody was so afraid of what was going to happen to the world.”

But, thankfully, the world did survive. And, so did the mall.

John Dowd shows a map of the Wiregrass Ranch DRI and where some of the planned construction will take place.

Dowd is back in the area, and is again teaming up with local landowner/developer JD Porter to help give the Wiregrass Ranch Development of Regional Impact (DRI) another economic shot in the arm.
At the Wesley Chapel Economic Development meeting at Mulligans (inside New Tampa’s Pebble Creek Golf Club) on April 28, Dowd and Porter regaled a crowd of more than 100 local business leaders with tales from the past, but mostly of a future they see as bright and bustling.

The Wiregrass mall, which Dowd said didn’t have the start everyone had hoped when it opened in 2008, is now enjoying the kind of success that was expected. That is triggering further development in the area, as the Porter family carefully and judiciously parcels out its land to businesses and developers who fit into their long-range plans.

Dowd said he was attracted to working with the Porter family because of the family’s deliberate style. Unlike many landowners, JD Porter said he is no rush to sell to the highest bidder and turn an instant profit. Instead, the Wiregrass Ranch DRI continues to only greenlight projects the Porter feel add value to the entire area.

Wiregrass Ranch Set To Expand

Here’s some of those plans Porter and Dowd shared at the Economic Development meeting:

1. On S.R. 54, just down the road from Walmart, the first project between Dowd and Porter will be a 12,600-sq.-ft. strip center, with two nicely designed buildings. Two restaurants are already signed up, with two more close to coming aboard as well. The project will feature a typical mix, including a cell phone store, nail and hair salons, restaurants and “good neighborhood use” businesses.

“We already have more interested tenants than we have space for,’’ Dowd said.

2. On S.R. 56, east of the Wiregrass Mall expansion (which will include restaurants, a movie theater and a grocery store), Porter and Dowd are doing is having site work done at another shopping center, to be called Wiregrass Commons at 56, which will include a “green” or specialty grocery store.

Nothing has been signed yet, Dowd said, and “we’re not doing any of the small stuff until we get an anchor signed up. Once that happens, that will be a 50,000-60,000-sq.-ft. project in total and a nice addition to the area.

3. Porter also said a hotel would be finalizing a deal within 30 days, and that is expected to also immediately east of the Wiregrass Commons at 56 project. He did not say which hotel, but we have heard rumors it will be a Marriott Fairfield Inn.

4. Even further east on S.R. 56, the long-awaited Raymond James Financial campus is close to officially announcing its arrival.

No, seriously.

JD Porter says big things are coming. — JD Porter (left) says big things are coming to Wiregrass Ranch, including Raymond James.

Porter joked that he was sick and tired of talking about the long-rumored project, which some had begun to doubt. But doubt no more.

“We got good news (April 27) and I truly believe within the next 2-3 weeks we’ll have a permit,’’ Porter said. “Having that permit triggers the closing. Having that closing means the other two or three office users, which we are we are talking to right now — anywhere from 600,000 square feet to another 1.2-million-sq.-ft., Fortune 50 companies — they close, and I would suspect we’re going to see movement within the next 4-6 months after that.”

Porter said Raymond James will add between 4,000-6,000 jobs, and that you can double that total to 8,000-12,000 jobs with the other unnamed businesses set to follow.

That will also begin to create some of the day traffic that Dowd says is necessary if the area is going to attract more quality restaurants, as well.

5. Porter said they will be closing on an assisted living facility, “in the next 45-60 days”. Porter didn’t disclose any other information, but the facility will be called Beach House at Wiregrass Ranch Assisted Living & Memory Care, which is owned by the Prevarian Companies.

The facility will be multiple stories when completed next to North Tampa Behavorial Health, which also is expanding and will be adding 48 rooms by the end of the year.

6. As part of trying to force vertical integration into the development plan, Porter said that in 30-45 days construction also should begin on a condo project, called Altis at Wiregrass, which will be located directly north of Wiregrass Commons at 56.

“If I would’ve said condos in Pasco County 3-4 years ago, you probably would have told me to get the hell out of here,’’ Porter said. “Well, it happened.”

Porter hinted at four-story structures, with rooftop pools and verandas. “Something typical of Hyde Park and South Tampa,’’ he said. “But not typical Pasco County.”

The condos, which according to site plans will include 394 multi-family dwellings in 15 separate buildings, are part of Porter’s plan to build new and different projects in the area. “If you wanna play in the sandbox, you have to step it up,’’ he said. “We are very fortunate to be in the right area. If people want to be here, bring something new to the table.”

Just The Beginning Of New Phase For Wiregrass Ranch

Porter promised other major announcements concerning major retailers still to come. But for now, he is pleased with the area’s progress, citing the proximity of an expanding hospital, a state college with room to grow into a full-fledged university and more retail in the area. He also expects an increase in new homes as well, and once the residential areas mature a mixed-use town center can be developed.

DonPorterWEB — Members of the Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce Board, including past President Jeff Novotny (holding plaque) were honored to present the plaque that will adorn the boardroom at the WCCC office in The Grove named for the late Don Porter to Don’s son JD and daughter Quinn (center), during the Chamber’s Economic Development briefing at which JD and commercial developer John Dowd spoke about Wiregrass Ranch.

Porter also said his family is rethinking its commitment of donating 120-acres to the county to build a park in the area. A tennis center fell through more than a decade ago, as did a proposed baseball complex on the site last year. In November the county announced it would be seeking partners in a public-private relationship to build an indoor facility on land that also would include outdoor fields.

But Porter, frustrated with the county’s inability to move forward on donated land, says he may take back some of it back by the end of the year and build the park privately, as part of his long-range plan to provide the area with “synergy”.

“We are looking to create something we can be proud of out here not just tomorrow, but 10-50 years down the road,’’ he said.

Look for more updates on this area at WCNeighborhoodNews.com.

Grey Wolf Armory Suffers Second Break-In Since March

Three hooded and gloved suspects knocked a hole in the Grey Wolf Armory wall and made off with more than 30 weapons early Sunday morning, the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office said.

The PSCO says that between 2:53 and 2:57am, the suspects entered through the east side of the Wesley Chapel gun shop, located at32733 Eiland Blvd., after smashing the exterior lighting and taking advantage of the fact that that side of the building is obscured by hedges.

The suspects made off with 30 hand guns, two long guns and one sniper rifle, leaving in an unknown direction. Other more expensive guns were left untouched.

The business has an alarm, but it was never activated, and the suspects crawled around to avoid surveillance camera and motion detectors, the PCSO said.

This is the second time in two months the Grey Wolf Armory has been broken into. According to a post on the business Facebook page from March 14, someone broke in and damaged a half-dozen guns while smashing a glass display unit, but was only able to make off with a single hand gun thanks to the PCSO’s quick response.

“If I was a conspiracy theorist, I would wonder if someone had it in for us,” a post reads on the Facebook page of the Grey Wolf Armory. The new post suggests that the Sunday break-in was orchestrated by the same people from March, because they tried to break in at the same point as March but found the walls had been reinforced and moved to a more vulnerable spot. They also, the post says, took several guns Sunday that they tried but failed to take the first time.

Anyone with information is asked to call investigators at (800) 706-2488.

First In Tampa Bay Real Estate Continues Mary Ann Diorio’s Legacy

(l.-r.) Astrid Coffey, Nick Diorio and Jolene Baldwin today run First in Tampa Bay Real Estate, which has a nearby office on N. 56th St. in Temple Terrace.

Mary Ann Diorio was one of the first advertisers in the New Tampa Neighborhood News. For two decades, she advertised her property management business on these pages. After a battle with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Mary Ann passed away in September 2015.

Her husband, Nick Diorio, and daughter, Jolene Baldwin, are continuing Mary Ann’s legacy through their business, which is called First in Tampa Bay Real Estate and uses the website MaryAnnRents.com, finding tenants for property owners in New Tampa and the surrounding areas, and managing properties for those owners.

Nick has been a licensed Realtor since 1987. When he retired from a 20-year career at Verizon in 2008, he got his real estate Broker’s license and opened First in Tampa Bay Real Estate. Mary Ann had been working at other area companies, and Nick says they “joined forces” at First In Tampa Bay Real Estate in 2013. Astrid Coffey, a Pebble Creek resident and licensed Realtor since 1998, has been with the company since 2014.

When her mom passed away, Jolene also became licensed as a Realtor and joined the company.

“If you’re a landlord and we manage your property,” Nick explains, “we act as your representative.”

So, for example, the tenant pays rent to First In Tampa Bay Real Estate, and calls the company to schedule necessary repairs. “It takes the emotion out of being an owner and having to deal with tenants.”

For example, he says landlords often give tenants the benefit of the doubt, so if tenants say they’ll be a “little late” on rent, they grant them extra time to pay.

“But then, all of a sudden,” Nick says, “it’s the middle of the month, then it’s the end of that month and that ‘slow pay’ turns into a ‘no pay.’”

He works with tenants whenever possible, but will start a 45-day eviction process if the tenant doesn’t pay as agreed. “We don’t want to evict,” he says, “and I would say less than three percent of our properties ever get evicted.” But, he adds, there’s a process in place to ensure that all rent is paid on time.

The Diorios’ friend (and former New Tampa resident) Linda Crenshaw, with Nick & Mary Ann Diorio.

A Pebble Creek resident named Joan says she started working with Mary Ann 18 years ago, when Joan became responsible for a property a family member owns in Tampa Palms.

“I had a camaraderie with Mary Ann for so many years,” Joan says, “but the company hasn’t changed. They’re very helpful and friendly, the rent is always on time, and they take care of business.”

Ernie Angelilli owns a townhome in Tampa Palms and had worked with Mary Ann for the past eight years.

“Mary Ann was always there, but over the past couple of years, Nick became more integrated with the business,” Ernie says. “The transition was seamless and you couldn’t even tell Mary Ann was getting sicker.”

Ernie also says that First In Tampa Bay Real Estate is “fabulous” and lists many reasons why he recommends the company. “They’re pleasant, easy to work with, and very responsive,” he says. “They properly screen tenants and I’ve never had any problems with payments. They always let me know in advance if there’s a problem and give me options to resolve it. Then, they give very detailed statements on anything they do.”

Nick says, “This business has always been Mary Ann’s business,” and explains that his role was always more behind the scenes. “For the two years she was sick, we began building trust with her clients, and our clients have stayed with us since she passed away.”

Mary Ann’s way of handling her clients set the standard for how Nick, Jolene and Astrid now continue running the business.

“Our tagline has been, ‘We manage your property properly,’ and that’s what we do,” Nick says. “Mary Ann was always honest and straightforward. For example, she’d rather give you her honest opinion, even if she risked losing the business when a client didn’t hear what they wanted to hear [about what their property is worth on the rental market].”

‘Priced Right & Shows Well’

“If a property is priced right and shows well, it’s going to rent right away,” Nick says, warning that asking for too much rent can backfire on a property owner. “If you let it sit for a month, you’ve lost that rent (for that month).”

First In Tampa Bay Real Estate recently listed a 4-bedroom, 3-bathroom home in Hunter’s Green for $2,950 per month. It was rented in 6 days for a monthly rent of $2,850.

“We’re coming into the busy season because people are starting to look now so they can move when school gets out,” says Nick. “But, even in the middle of winter, a house will still rent if the price is right.”

As for showing well, when the Realtors at First In Tampa Bay Real Estate take on a new client, they give their professional opinion as to what needs to be done, usually easy fixes such as painting or removing wallpaper.

“Making a small investment often makes a big difference,” Nick explains. “We give you advice to get the price you want. If you don’t want to do these things, you might get less, and your home might be the last one rented.”

When a renter moves in, a member of the First In Tampa Bay Real Estate team does a walk-through via video to record what the property looks like. When that tenant moves out, another walk-through is conducted to determine what needs to be corrected before the property goes back on the market. “This provides proof to both the owner and tenant of the condition of when they moved in and when they move out,” says Nick.

Someone from First In Tampa Bay Real Estate also checks on each property in person at least once every six months, to check on the property’s condition. Checklist items include being sure sprinklers are on, air filters have been changed, and there are no bugs, since pest control is normally the responsibility of the tenant.

First in Tampa Bay Real Estate currently manages about 90 properties.

“We’re not a large company,” says Nick, “so we’re able to offer personalized services, but we have the benefits of a larger company because of technology.” He says this includes a 24-hour emergency phone number that is always answered.

“It’s not about the number of accounts we have,” Nick says, “but about having accounts that are happy with us.”

First In Tampa Bay Real Estate is located at 9385 N. 56th St., #312. Hours are Mon.–Fri., 9 a.m.-5 p.m., with other hours available by appointment. For more information, go to MaryAnnRents.com, call Nick at 417-9575 or email nick@nickdiorio.com.

Hargreaves III Is Headed To The NFL, But Where?

The best high school football player in New Tampa history is about to become the highest-drafted National Football League (NFL) player in New Tampa history.

Former Paul R. Wharton High star defensive back Vernon Hargreaves III, who went on to a standout career at the University of Florida in Gainesville, is expected to be taken in the first round of the NFL Draft, which will pick the first round tonight beginning at 8 p.m.

Hargreaves will attend the draft, which runs through the weekend and is being held at Roosevelt University’s Auditorium Theatre in Chicago.

While other Wildcats football grads have flirted with the NFL (linebacker Larry Edwards was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Buffalo Bills in 2007, and linebacker Josh Jones played in some preseason games for Jacksonville in 2012), none has had the impact Hargreaves is expected to.

According to NFL.com’s analysis, “With top-notch ball skills and exceptional instincts that drew praise from Alabama’s Nick Saban, Hargreaves possesses the football makeup to become a Pro Bowl corner.”

Hargreaves — whose sister Chanelle graduates this spring from Wharton after a sterling volleyball career and who also will attend Florida — grew up in Miami and Greenville, NC, where his dad Vernon II was an assistant football coach at the University of Miami Hurricanes and at East Carolina University, respectively.

In 2010, Hargreaves II took a job at the University of South Florida in Tampa, eventually enrolling his son at Wharton.

Hargreaves did not play football until high school, but was clearly a natural and excelled from the start.

According to various NFL draft experts and analysts, as well as most mock drafts, Hargreaves should be a top-10 pick as arguably the purest cornerback in the draft (although FSU safety Jalen Ramsey is rated a notch higher on most boards). ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper, in one of his most recent mock drafts, has Hargreaves going No. 14 overall to the Oakland Raiders.

“Hargreaves lacks some measurables, but the tape doesn’t lie,” Kiper wrote, alluding to the one knock on the former Wildcat — his 5-foot-11, 207-pound frame. That did not stop Hargreaves, though, from earning all-Southeastern Conference honors every year as a Gator, nor does the former Wildcat see that as a negative.

“Playing in the SEC, I’ve covered Amari Cooper (currently with the Oakland Raiders), I’ve covered Odell Beckham (New York Giants), Jarvis Landry (Miami Dolphins) and Kelvin Benjamin (Carolina Panthers),’’ Hargreaves said at the NFL Draft Combine last month. “You gotta compete. At the end of the day, it’s all about competing. Height, size, that doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, if you can play ball you can play ball.”

Hargreaves can certainly play ball. He was an All-State pick every season he played at Wharton, and excelled everywhere coach David Mitchell put him. On special teams, he returned kicks when called on and blocked a handful of field goals and extra point attempts. He also filled in at quarterback and wide receiver, rushing for 237 yards and seven touchdowns as a junior and adding 313 yards and three more touchdowns receiving that same year.

“He could do it all,’’ Mitchell said.

It was as a lockdown corner, however, that Hargreaves achieved fame, with nine career high school interceptions and more than 203 tackles while twice earning All-American honors, winning two national titles on Team Tampa in 7-on-7 and earning MVP honors as a senior at the prestigious Under-Armour All-America Game in St. Petersburg.

Hargreaves was a freshman starter at Florida, and a sensation his first two seasons. He proclaimed himself to be the best cornerback in the country prior to his junior season, and went out and totaled 33 tackles, 4 interceptions and 4 passes defended.

So, where will Hargreaves, who is lauded for his quick-twitch athleticism, aggressiveness and 39-inch vertical jump allowing him to get his hands on passes intended for taller wide receivers, be drafted?

While Kiper (and CBSSports.com) has him at No. 14 in mock drafts, he also said on a national conference call that Hargreaves could be in the mix to go to the Baltimore Ravens at No. 6. Most recently, however, he has been more critical of Hargreaves and his chances at an All-Pro career.

Drafttek.com says Hargreaves will be taken 8th by the Philadelphia Eagles, WalterFootball.com has him going No. 10 to the New York Giants, and SBNation.com has the Chicago Bears taking him at No. 11.

Chances are, however, that local fans of Hargreaves are hoping that NFL.com analyst Charles Davis and Sports Illustrated’s Don Banks are correct:

They both have Hargreaves lasting until the No. 9 pick, where the hometown Tampa Bay Buccaneers could address a glaring need and snatch up the local kid.

The NFL Draft will air live on the NFL Network, with Round 1 tonight at 8 p.m. Rounds 2-3 will be held Friday, Apr. 29, and rounds 4-7 will be held Sunday, Apr. 30.

Hunter’s Green Kids Plant Flowers & Memories For Nick Wolf

Nick Wolf loved butterflies. His parents, Christina and Jim, raised them in the family’s patio garden. He and his younger brother Scott learned almost everything about them, and loved to share little tidbits of information about butterflies whenever they had the chance.

Last year, as a brain tumor ravaged the fifth-grader’s body, but never his spirit, and the end was near, Christina told Nick that when his time came, to remember to send messages from heaven via butterflies.

Thanks to almost 70 former and current students, teachers, friends and family, some of those message-carrying butterflies may actually land in a perfectly manicured garden behind Hunter’s Green Elementary, where Nick attended school.

Teacher Cheryl Pahl led a contingent of earnest gardeners on April 9 in building and planting the Nick Wolf Memorial, a butterfly garden behind the school near its athletics track just off Cross Creek Blvd.

Christina planted the ceremonial first plant, a pentas, as Jim and Scott looked on.

“I know this is how he would want to be remembered,’’ she said.

Pahl has not only spent the past 15 years helping children to grow in her role as one of the gifted class teachers at HGE, she has done a pretty good job in school’s garden as well. Tomatoes, beans, and kale — lots of kale — have sprung forth from a dozen or so raised beds she and her students monitor (and steal a healthy treat or two from on occasion).

Pahl said she was honored to help plant some memories for those who knew Nick. Built with money left over from last year’s fifth-grade fund raiser, the garden was tilled and ready to go when friends and family showed up at HGE on Saturday morning.

“He just knew how to light up a room,’’ said Alexa Trafficante, a former math and science teacher at HGE who taught Nick in the fourth grade. “He always came in with a joke to tell you. He even had a smile if it was the day after a chemo treatment. That’s why I think a butterfly garden is the best way to show our love for him.”

Nick was experiencing headaches and nausea in May of 2011 when Christina took him to the doctor. In just a week after that first visit, as Nick continued suffering from unbearable pain, he was diagnosed with a primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET) on the right side of his brain and headed into surgery, followed by months of radiation and chemotherapy. He spent 89 straight days in the hospital.

“All he wanted to do was get back to school,’’ Christina recalled.

Although he suffered permanent hair loss after six rounds of chemotherapy and 31 radiation treatments, Nick appeared to be winning his battle. “Yes, he got some stares, but that didn’t bother him at all,” Christina said.

In September of 2014, an MRI showed no indication of cancer. However, a few months later, Christina said, the tumor had returned. Nick also was fighting hemolytic anemia, an abnormal breakdown of red blood cells in which they are destroyed and removed from the bloodstream, a condition likely caused by the amount of chemotherapy he received.

Maxed out on radiation treatments, there was sadly little left for Nick to do.

“Nick was a fighter,’’ Christina said. “After he found out it came back, he cried for a bit but he said, ‘I’m not giving up.’”

Nick continued to talk about the future. He wanted to buy his own laptop when he got older. He wanted to know what kind of car he was going to get. The fact that he continued to press on with such a devastating tumor amazed doctors.

Christina took him to school to exchange valentines at HGE in 2015. She says Nick was able to complete many of the items on his bucket list — he swam with dolphins, rode on a motorcycle, served as an honorary team captain for the USF baseball team and got to go on a Disney Cruise with his family.

He was still fighting and defying the odds, until on April 12 of last year, following a seven-hour seizure, he slipped into an unconscious state. He survived another month before finally passing away at age 11 on Mother’s Day.

“Aside from that last month, even knowing what his condition was, he always had a smile on his face,’’ Christina says. “He just had an amazing attitude.”

That is what many who helped plant the butterfly garden will remember about Nick, and why so many showed up to help.

To attract monarch butterflies, the gaggle of gardeners planted plenty of milkweed, which is the only thing monarch butterflies eat, Paul said.

The group also planted plumbago and cassia, a flowering tree that attracts caterpillars. “If the caterpillars eat the tree, and it has yellow flowers, the caterpillars will be yellow,’’ Pahl said.

Parsley, dill and penstemon were also planted, all of which are feeding plants for caterpillars, as well as butterfly weed.

Pahl hopes to add a citrus tree, since butterflies like to lay eggs on citrus trees.

A brief ceremony followed the planting. A plaque with Nick’s name on it was placed in the garden, and butterflies were released by Christina into the sky. Most of them headed right for the fresh plants. Others landed on giggling children who had helped plant the garden.

Some, Christina likes to think, may have even been carrying messages.