Meadow Pointe II Residents Fighting Proposed 7-Eleven

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wesley Chapel 2017 Year in Review: Development

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Buckle up!

New Tampa 2017 Year in Review: Food

Ford’s Garage was a hit immediately after opening.

Fat Rabbit, Wok Chi & Snowrolls On Our List Of Favorite New Eateries In 2017

As part of our “year in review” series of stories in this issue, assistant editor John Cotey and I decided that I should include something about all of the new restaurants that opened in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel in 2017.

And of course, since I love to write about new places to eat, I decided to mention a few of my favorites that opened in our area over the past 12 months.

In Wesley Chapel, my favorite new eatery is Noble Crust.

But, Noble Crust was far from alone on the list of new places to eat north of the Pasco County line in our distribution area. In The Shops at Wiregrass alone, in addition to Noble Crust, Irish 31, Wok Chi and Menchie’s all opened and all of them were great additions to the dining scene at the Shops.

After Noble Crust, Ford’s Garage is definitely my favorite newcomer, with a really good seared tuna appetizer, tender steaks and a great Chicken Henry entrée. None of the other new entries around the Tampa Premium Outlets mall make my list, as most are fast food, my favorite of which is Culver’s, followed by Pollo Tropical, Starbucks, Panda Express, Wendy’s and Taco Bell.

Fat Rabbit

Irish 31 also makes my list of new favorites, even though the menu has a few too many fried items for my taste. However, the Ploughman’s salad and Farmer’s Fried Chicken, as well as a pretty good ribeye steak keep it near the top of the newbies for me.

I also really enjoy not only the build-it-yourself stir-fry dishes at Wok Chi, but also the Chi-Licious pork spareribs, the egg rolls and dumplings and even the hot green tea.

Meanwhile, here in New Tampa, we didn’t see as many new places to eat open, but The Fat Rabbit in the City Plaza at Tampa Palms shopping center and Precinct Pizza on Cross Creek Blvd. are both pretty good, with Fat Rabbit being my favorite of the two for its excellent burgers and blackened wings.

And, although it isn’t truly a restaurant, per se, the new Snowrolls, the  ice cream shop in the Pebble Creek Collection also is pretty incredible. Even though you can now get rolled ice cream in other places in our area, the quality of the ice cream and the variety of  flavors and toppings at Snowrolls is second to none.

This first location of a new franchise also has excellent crepes, amazing authentic Italian coffee and coffee drinks, as well as a new chocolate gyro that swirls milk chocolate and hazelnut flavors with more to come. It isn’t ice cream, but it’s indescribably smooth chocolate and you can even add toppings to it, too.

I’d also like to give a shout out to the new owners of Café Olé Restaurant on Cross Creek Blvd., who have converted a small portion of the existing restaurant (which has long been my favorite in New Tampa) to a Venezuelan bakery and coffee shop with great café con leché and a variety of authentic Latin desserts.

We Lost A Few, Too

Unfortunately, New Tampa also saw a few restaurants close in 2017, including Vuelo Mexican Grill, Takara Sushi & Sake, Paramount Lebanese Kitchen and Dairy Queen.

New Tampa 2017 Year in Review: Sports

Dave Andreychuk, the NHL’s all-time leader in power play goals who captained the Tampa Bay Lightning to its only Stanley Cup in 2004, gives his Hall of Fame induction speech on Nov. 13 at the Allen Lambert Galleria in Toronto.

TOP STORIES OF 2017: Andreychuk Hall of Fame Induction Caps Memorable Year

It has been a while, maybe ever, that the areas served by our publications have had such a banner year for sports.

In most years, a big event like the Federation Cup being held in Wesley Chapel might be the year’s top highlight. Or the opening of a state-of-the-art ice facility able to lure Olympic teams to town. Or perhaps, the promise of a large indoor sports complex.

Big stories, all.

But for New Tampa, none can top Hunter’s Green resident and former Tampa Bay Lightning captain Dave Andreychuk finally making the NHL Hall of Fame.

If he had a dime for every time someone in New Tampa bumped into him and told him how unfair it was that he wasn’t already in the Hall of Fame, Andreychuk could buy Hunter’s Green.

The NHL’s all-time leader in power play goals finally got the call on June 26, and was officially inducted on November 13.

Friend Andy Ritter, along with a handful of other Hunter’s Green residents, attended the ceremonies in Toronto, just a short drive from where Andreychuk grew up in Hamilton.

Ritter said that no matter where they went in Toronto, Andreychuk was always the unassuming star.

“He was just the local kid that made good,” Ritter said.

Which sums up the way many in New Tampa feel about him.

But, he wasn’t the only New Tampa sports standout who celebrated a huge success in 2017:

New Tampa’s Ellie Pleune was the Gasparilla Distance Classic’s first-ever two-race winner.

* Ellie Pleune, then an 8th-grader at Benito Middle School, didn’t win just one race at Gasparilla in 2017.

She won two.

Pleune, 13, became the youngest-ever female winner in the 40-year history of the Publix Gasparilla Distance Classic 5K on Feb. 25, and then turned around the next day to also win the 8K race, the first time in the event’s history the same person captured both titles.

 

* Wharton High shortstop Drew Ehrhard won the prestigious Saladino Award, which honors the top senior baseball player in Hillsborough County.

Saladino Award winner Drew Ehrhard (with trophy), is joined by (l.-r.) his mom Shannon, his dad Rodney, Tony Saladino and Drew’s brother Zack.

Ehrhard joined past winners like Tino Martinez, Gary Sheffield, José Fernandez and Lance McCullers after hitting .422 with four homers and 24 RBI in 2017 to lead the Wildcats to an 18-9 record and the Regional championship.

*  New Tampa resident and left-handed pitcher Brian Lee went 11-3 with a 1.00 ERA, and won four straight playoff games, including the State semifinal, for the Lions. King lost the next day, but Lee’s performance was one for the ages.

“It’s as a good a performance I’ve seen in my 42 years,” King High veteran coach Jim Macaluso said, “and I’m not saying just in King High School … I’ve never seen anyone in the county, around the state, that threw the pressure games he threw, and won.”

* On Sept. 28, Freedom finally beat Wharton in football, after seven straight seasons of lopsided losses. Dominick Vazquez capped a 99-yard drive in the final moments to give the Patriots the 12-7 win in front of the largest Freedom crowd in years.

Coach Floyd Graham said it was one of the best feelings of his coaching career. But, it wasn’t enough to keep him on the sideline, as just two months later, Graham resigned.

* The U.S. Federation Cup played its tennis semifinals at Saddlebrook, exciting the strong tennis communities at Arbor Green, Hunter’s Green, Tampa Palms and others.  Hundreds of New Tampa residents were in attendance for the 3-2 win over the Czech Republic. (The U.S., by the way, went on to beat Belarus 3-2 for their first Fed Cup title in 17 years)

*Florida Hospital Center Ice opened near I-75 in Wesley Chapel and hosted the Taste of New Tampa and the U.S. Women’s national hockey team in its preparations for the Winter Olympics.

New Tampa 2017 Year in Review: Development

Rendering of the proposed Village at Hunter’s Lake

TOP STORIES OF 2017: Approvals For Hunter’s Lake & The Cultural Center & More Assisted Living

While things continue to explode in nearby Wesley Chapel — with new homes, restaurants, hotels and even a Crystal Lagoon — New Tampa also had some notable development news in 2017.

After some quiet years, a few new local businesses opened. Among them were the Discovery Village at Tampa Palms Assisted Living & Memory Care facility on Commerce Park Blvd. and a RaceTrac gas station and convenience store on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd.

Discovery Village joins The Legacy at Highwoods Preserve and the Memory Lane Cottages in Tampa Palms for New Tampa residents who want to keep their elderly family members close to home. Another new assisted living facility, Promise Pointe at Tampa Oaks, which is being developed by the same company that is building The Beach House in Wesley Chapel, will open in 2018 at the Fletcher Ave. exit off I-75.

A new community, Stafford Place (off Tampa Palms Blvd., behind BJ’s Wholesale Club), has been building homes and taking in residents. And, the University of South Florida Federal Credit Union opened a New Tampa branch— its first standalone branch — at the northwest corner of BBD and Imperial Oak Blvd., in the Trout Creek area in front of Winn-Dixie.

The biggest development news in 2017, however, involved The Villages at Hunter’s Lake, which will be constructed right across BBD from Hunter’s Green.

Developers of the Hunter’s Lake project were approved by the Tampa City Council in June to add a second and third access point off BBD, paving — pardon the pun — the way for Hunter’s Lake to move forward.

The project, approved 6-0 by the Council, will include 241 multi-family units, the long-awaited New Tampa Cultural Center and a strip shopping center.

Plans for the construction of those access points have already been submitted, and the project, still awaiting some permitting, could break ground next year. The stretch along southbound BBD already is being prepped for construction work (see our 2017 Roads Recap on page 10).

The multi-use project will be built on the parcel’s 14 acres of developable land (the entire parcel is 80 acres) and will include a 30,000-sq.-ft. Cultural Center, a four-story, 241-unit multi-family project called The Haven at Hunter’s Lake and even a green grocer, such as gourmet supermarket Fresh Market or Sprouts.

Hunter’s Lake also will include a retail shopping strip center, a restaurant (with a drive-through window) and a community park with a dog park.

The project has been described by developers and local leaders as a hub of sorts for New Tampa, comparable to Hyde Park in South Tampa.

North of the county line, development continued practically unabated, and we’re pretty sure New Tampa residents have seen or heard about most of these (thanks to us):

*Florida Hospital Center Ice opened as the largest skating facility south of New York state. The Taste of New Tampa’s return was held at FHCI.

* The ballyhooed Crystal Lagoon in Wesley Chapel now has water. It was topped off last week, and the water looks like everything it was advertised to be. Epperson, the community where it is located, finally has residents. Expect it to become one of the area’s trendiest places to live.

* A new sports complex, expected to be a mecca for state and national tournaments for youth basketball and volleyball teams, was approved for the Wiregrass Ranch area. If you have a youth team of any sort in New Tampa, expect the facility to be a regular stop.

* Costco opened on the south side of S.R. 56. ‘Nuff said.

* The Sierra family property on the north side of S.R. 56 in the Cypress Creek Town Center is in full development mode, as at least 10 businesses began to take shape in 2017, from restaurants like Chuy’s Tex-Mex and Bahama Breeze Island Grille to businesses like hair and nail salons, and the area’s first Five Below discount store.

Also included are plans for a green grocer – Earth Fare has been mentioned – on the north side of S.R. 56., and an Aldi grocery store right across the street on the south side of S.R. 56.

Count on 2018 being just as busy.