Category: News

Porter’s Wiregrass Ranch Keeps Taking Shape

JD Porter isn’t looking to develop Wiregrass Ranch with just anything.

He wants earth-shakers and difference-makers. He wants heart-stoppers and jaw-droppers.

He wants unicorns.

AdventHealth Wesley Chapel? That was a unicorn.

“No one believed that was happening,” he says of Wesley Chapel’s first hospital.

The Shops at Wiregrass?

“I don’t think our family thought that was possible,” he says of Wesley Chapel’s first mall.

Pasco Hernando State College? The Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus? Raymond James Financial (which chose Wiregrass Ranch out of 78 different sites, according to Porter)? And, most recently, Orlando Hospital (see story on pg. 4)?

Unicorns.

“Every time there’s been something that would be the holy grail, whether by chance or we’ve just done things the right way or a combination of both, we’ve gotten them,” Porter says. “Then, when you get them, you’re like, ‘okay, what’s next?’”

Those unicorns, which have provided jobs and people to the area, now surround what will be the centerpiece of the 5,100-acre Wiregrass Ranch Development of Regional Impact (DRI) — the long-awaited Wiregrass Ranch Town Center.

Porter says the Wiregrass DRI, which is being developed by his family’s Locust Branch, LLC, and extends from S.R. 56 north to S.R. 54, and west to east from Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. to Meadow Pointe Blvd., will soon have its biggest missing piece.

While it doesn’t have any publicly announced tenants just yet, Porter and Scott Sheridan, the chief operating officer of Locust Branch, LLC, are making the kind of careful choices that will cement the roughly 100-acre Town Center as what they expect to be the downtown area of not only Wesley Chapel, but north Tampa as well.

“We are laying the groundwork,” says Sheridan. “We are having active conversations with users who will be a key part of the Town Center. It’s all about finding the right blend.”

There are plenty of options, and Porter and Sheridan are in no rush to make any of them.

“No town center, no downtown has had this much space set aside ahead of time,” Porter says. “In today’s environment, there’s nobody that would sit on property that valuable in order to let it grow We’ve already started planning by how we’ve oversized it in order to see what it actually could be, versus what can we throw in here just because we sold everything around it. That, to me, makes it much more attractive as a canvas. Nothing is forced.”

*The map above shows the approximate location of the planned Wiregrass Ranch Town Center.*

One major component of the Town Center, which Porter hasn’t mentioned before, will be a potential four-year college, keeping with the education corridor concept hatched years ago along Mansfield Blvd. (home to an elementary and high school and Pasco Hernando State College, a two-year institution).

“I think (a 4-year college) would be a great fit,” he says. “It would benefit everyone in the county.”

Porter also says that he’d like to see an ethnic grocery store, maybe a local butcher, baker and seafood guy, among a large assortment of small family-run businesses.

“I want it to be somewhere you go if you want something authentic,“ he says. “Where people don’t mind paying a little extra for something real.”

Porter wants plenty of civic uses. He says he’d like to see someone relocate their Master’s degree, MBA or nursing programs to the Town Center. According to Porter, Pasco County already has asked to reserve 75,000 sq. ft. of office space at the site in order to build a county center.

Also exciting are the possibilities – and there’s already been talks — of mid-rise buildings with structure parking.

“That changes the skyscape,” Porter says. “It changes what we’re going to look like. It’ll be done better than anyone else in the county….and in North Tampa, by far.”

Restaurants, Too

When it comes to restaurants, high-end establishments like Cooper’s Hawk, which will open next year, will be chosen over many of the national chains you see on the west side of I-75. In fact, Porter says he can see another 5-6 restaurants coming to Wiregrass Ranch in the same category as Cooper’s Hawk.

Although he can’t say which ones until later this year and early next year, he says to get a good idea, take a look at some of the more upscale restaurants along Boy Scout Rd. in the Westshore area of Tampa, where you’ll see at least two or three restaurants that will be coming to Wiregrass Ranch in the future.

“We’re looking at higher caliber and quality,” says Sheridan. “We’ve turned down quite a few places and elevating who we’re talking to.”

Sheridan says some smaller restaurants that will bring a more local hometown feel also fit into the plans. Both Porter and Sheridan say finding the right balance between big and small, and local and national, is the key to building a successful Town Center.

When it comes to preserving the country feel of his family’s land, Porter says “We will create something everyone talks about, but never delivers. We’ve probably spent as much time planning that out as what the streetscape will look like.”

And, for those who worry that brick and mortar is going to one day envelop the remaining country charm of Wiregrass Ranch, Porter says he is not just giving lip service to making sure plenty of the land he grew up on survives.

“There’s going to be programmed green space throughout the Town Center,” he says. “We will create something everyone talks about, but never delivers. We’ve probably spent as much time planning that out as what the streetscape will look like. It’s ever-changing. We’ve got the ability to do some really creative stuff. It will shine in a way that nothing else has, I think that’s fair to say.”

With careful direction — “It’s critical that it comes off as well-designed,” Sheridan says — Wiregrass Ranch’s Town Center is set up to succeed.

With housing developments like Esplanade 55+ (860 homes), Estancia (1,184), Persimmon Park (450) and an entirely new, yet-to-be-named 2,000-home subdivision to be built east of Wiregrass Ranch Blvd. behind the proposed Town Center, there will be plenty of customers for whatever Porter brings to town.

“The most important aspect of getting this stuff is making sure that you’re not only successful on a Thursday and Friday night, but that you’re staying busy as hell all the time,” he says. “When your doors are open, you’re all packed up. That’s the thing we’re addressing way more than anybody else in the county.”

To feed those future retail and commercial tenants, the Town Center will receive the benefit of foot traffic from Orlando Hospital and Raymond James Financial employees, which will number more than 5,000 once both places are built, a sports campus that already attracts thousands of athletes and their parents every month, not to mention the schools and a mall that will be walking and biking distance away.

And, that doesn’t even include the rest of the Wesley Chapel, Zephyrhills and New Tampa residents that are within a short drive. In fact, from K-Bar Ranch in New Tampa to the proposed Town Center will be less than a 10-minute drive.

Patience, Porter says, will soon pay off for everyone in Wesley Chapel.

“As soon as you see Orlando Hospital start doing stuff, you’re going to start seeing the infrastructure in the Town Center come at the same time,” Porter says. “Then, it becomes a reality vs. we have cow pens there now. It becomes easier to sell it. Now that we have an announcement, now that we have permitting, we’re actually set up to start telling a significant story.”

Path Is Clear For Tampa Palms Blvd. Repaving Project

*New signs and crossings will bring added safety to the Compton Dr. intersection with Tampa Palms Blvd., one of Tampa Palms’ most dangerous, according to the City of Tampa.*

The City of Tampa may have had some grander plans for Tampa Palms Blvd., but after some back and forth with residents, the road to getting the project completed appears to be…well…paved.

A second online presentation by the city went better than the first and, barring any major changes, the plans for repaving and adding safety enhancements to Tampa Palms Blvd. should be ready by October. If the city can settle on two contractors — bids are in, so it should be a timely process — for the roadwork, the $3-million-plus project should begin sometime in the first half of 2023, if not sooner, and will be completed by the end of next year.

One full-depth reclamation project contractor will be hired to basically churn up the base material, take out all of the old asphalt and repack it, while a paving contractor will “come in and makes it look all pretty,” said Cal Hardie, the City of Tampa’s capital projects manager, who added that the repaving should only take roughly three months.

“The good news is that Mayor Jane Castor has put some ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act Grant Program) money into the project, so we’re able to expedite the repaving,” Hardie told those participating in the online presentation. “It’s a high priority.”

The repaving of Tampa Palms Blvd. will go forward in two segments — the south loop (or Segment 1), which runs from the north intersection of Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. to the south intersection through Tampa Palms Area 3, and the north loop, or Segment 2, which runs from the south intersection of BBD to Ebensburg Dr. in Tampa Palms Area 2.

Not only will the road — which is showing its nearly-40-year-old (in some sections) age and has been labeled “failed” by a few city officials — be repaved, a number of enhancements will be added in the hopes of addressing a number of concerns, including speeding, intersection safety, pedestrian access and school pick-ups and drop-offs.

The multimodal paths, used by pedestrians, skaters, bikers and even golf carts, will not be reconditioned as part of the project.

“We only have the budget for inside the curbs,” Hardie said. “I’m reserving funds because construction costs are skyrocketing. Even though we have a healthy budget, I’m actually a little nervous about being able to fund everything once the bids come in. There is no extra money.”

The city is proposing narrowing the width of the four road lanes to 10 feet each, making room for 2-foot striped buffer on the outside of each lane (curb and median sides).

And, while residents previously shot down the idea of losing a lane which would have made room for a dedicated bike path, there will be shared lane markings added to the outside lanes as a reminder to drivers that bicyclists also may use the lanes.

Hardie said the biggest and most common complaints the city receives about Tampa Palms Blvd. is speeding. The speed limits in various parts of the 4-mile loop are 35 and 40 miles per hour, and the city is recommending a 35 mph speed limit throughout.

There likely will be speed tables or removable street cushions placed at key locations. The removable street cushions are rubber speed tables that are uniquely spaced to allow emergency vehicles (with their wider wheel base) and bikes to pass through unimpeded. If it is determined they would be effective in a different area, they can be easily transferred, unlike your typical cement speed table.

Hardie said enhanced crossings will be added throughout the road at key points. He showed a map that had four marked crossings, and two marked crossings with Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons, or RRFBs, at Compton Dr. (southern intersection) and Tampa Palms Trail (the TECO easement). However, since the trail at the TECO easement is not an official road and is on private property, a few residents suggested moving the RRFB to another location, with which Hardie said he agreed.

RRFBs are pedestrian-activated, and Hardie said St. Petersburg installed quite a few of them and found that they were effective in increasing the numbers of cars yielding for pedestrians.

“They (RRFBs) do work very well,” Hardie said.

RRFBs will be a good option at Compton Dr. and Tampa Palms Blvd., which Hardie says is the most dangerous intersection along the roadway. A roundabout was suggested by a few residents.

“A roundabout is not off the table,” Hardie said, “but, with safety needs across the city, we’d have to have a crash history study to fund a roundabout because they are quite expensive. We’re not saying no, but they are not a part of this project.”

The residents online for the presentation, which was followed by a Q-n-A session, seemed in favor of most of what Hardie had to say, a far cry from the first online presentation in September 2021. At that presentation, Hardie pitched the idea to convert the four-lane Tampa Palms Blvd. into two lanes — one in each direction — as a traffic-calming measure. That concept, however, was soundly rejected by residents, who sent more than 100 emails of displeasure to the city.

tampa palms Blvd.

New Tampa’s Cohn Wants To Make A Difference In Congress

If you’re looking for a political candidate that you can trust to stand up for what is right for you, your family and your neighbor’s family, Alan Cohn says he’s that guy.

The long-time Grand Hampton resident is running for the redrawn U.S. Congressional District (CD) 15, which covers parts of New Tampa and Wesley Chapel, and Cohn thinks the voters’ familiarity with his work as a former investigative reporter with ABC News in Tampa (and Sarasota) shows the kind of member of Congress he would be.

“What people have seen from me, from my work on ABC in Tampa, is a guy who has gone out and uncovered political corruption by both Democrats and Republicans,” Cohn says. “While people are skeptical (of politicians), they find in me a candidate who has called it out on both sides and has worked to make the community a better place already.”

This will be Cohn’s third attempt at winning a Congressional seat. He lost in 2014 to incumbent Republican Dennis Ross (60.3 percent to 39.7 percent) and in 2020 defeated Adam Hattersly in the Democratic primary before losing to Scott Franklin (R-Lakeland) 55.5%-44.6%.

However, the new congressional map for this election shifted CD 15 more towards Cohn’s favor as a Democratic candidate, while Franklin is now running in Florida’ 18th Congressional District. The new map doesn’t change CD 15 from being a Republican-favored seat but it’s closer to a 50-50 split than it was in 2020 and encompasses more of Cohn’s home turf.

“This is not the same Congressional District,” says Cohn, who was the last Democrat to enter the five-candidate field. “I waited for the maps to be final and looked very hard at this District. There’s only about 1,000 voters that separate Democrats and Republicans. This is a swing District.”

According to the Cook Political Report’s 2022 Partisan Voting Index (PVI), it also will be Florida’s closest, with whoever the Republican representative ends up being to be a 4-point favorite. The Republican field includes some well-known names in GOP circles, including former Secretary of State Laurel Lee, Sen. Kelli Stargel and Rep. Jackie Toledo and political newcomers Demetries Grimes and Kevin McGovern.

Cohn is running against four others in the Democratic primary — comedian Eddie Geller, political consultant Gavin Brown, third-generation Army veteran Cesar Ramirez and 30-year postal service veteran Bill VanHorn.

The heart of the new CD 15, Cohn says, is New Tampa, where he and wife Patty have raised their family. Their children, Ann and Aaron, graduated from Wharton High; Aaron is now pitching with Class A Stockton in the Oakland A’s organization.

Not only is Cohn recognizable from his time as a television reporter, but he has been a familiar face around New Tampa and Wesley Chapel.

“This is where we are ingrained in our community,” Cohn says. “Most people have seen me on the ballfields. Patty and I have been so involved with the community. It’s such an incredible opportunity to serve now.”

Upon entering the race, Cohn quickly collected several big endorsements from the likes of former Governor and current gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist, U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, former State Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, former Florida Education Commissioner and USF president Betty Castor and U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, the co-chair of the Florida Congressional Delegation who also is the co-chair of candidate recruitment for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Cohn told FloridaPolitics.com he raised more than $100,000 in the first 14 days after filing to run on June 16.

“We have worked in this community and have voted in this community and will win because, in the short time I’ve been in the race, I have raised the resources to reach the voters that we need to reach,” Cohn says.

And, he says, those need-to-reach voters are predominantly independents. According to Cohn, how those with no party affiliation break in their voting, especially in CD 15, could determine the results of the upcoming election.

“That’s really our key,” Cohn says.

The Primary Election will be held on Tuesday, August 23, and the general Election will be held on Tuesday, November 8.

“We have been working with people who are interested in candidates who do reach across the aisle, who are problem solvers. That’s what I aspire to be,” Cohn says. “The fact of the matter is the last 9-10 months I’ve doing a lot of writing on the national level and here in Florida and calling out both parties when it’s been needed to be done.”

Cohn has a number of issues he is focused on, such as lowering taxes, fighting against rising prescription drug costs, veterans’ issues, investing in education and much-needed improvements to our transportation infrastructure.

And, he thinks he can get other members of Congress on board as well. Despite the frayed nature of this country’s political discourse these days, where sides are taken based solely on political affiliation, and working with the opposition is frowned upon by the fringes of both parties, Cohn thinks his record shows an ability to reach across the aisle to get things done. And, Congress has to be fixed, he believes.

“If we fail, the country is in danger,” he says.

As one example, Cohn cites his work with District 12 Republican Congressman Gus Bilirakis in 2010, when Cohn exposed companies charging veterans large illegal fees. The law, however, had no teeth, and Bilirakis saw the report and filed a bill to give the law more of a bite, via criminal penalties.

Cohn, a 1985 graduated of Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY, has a won a number of awards for his investigative reporting, most notably the prestigious 2007 Peabody Award for uncovering that defective parts had been installed on U.S. Army Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters.

“My record stands apart from anyone else’s,” Cohn says. “If you are a Republican, a Democrat or an independent, you’re frustrated and understandably cynical. And I’m a guy who not only wants to get results but has gotten results. Voters are tired of the nonsense they see on TV and read in the newspapers. I’m the guy who they remember getting solutions to real problems in this community, and I think that stands above anything.”

The Living Room Is Getting Ready To Open In Wesley Chapel!

Zach Feinstein, the co-owner of The Feinstein Group, which has opened three successful restaurants in Dunedin (including the original Living Room on Main St.) since the group was established in 2014, says “The Living Room should be open in Wesley Chapel by the first week in August.”

Zach and his wife Christina (pictured above), who took over The Black Pearl on Main St. together when they were just dating (“My friends told me I was crazy,” says Christina. “But obviously, it’s all worked out.”), are not only the proud owners of The Living Room and The Black Pearl, but also the Sonder Social Club, located on Douglas Ave. (off Main St.), and all three restaurants are completely different from each other.

The Sonder Social Club is primarily a cocktail lounge featuring, according to Zach, “some of the best craft cocktails in the Tampa Bay area,” although it does have a few food items, including charcuterie boards and cauliflower-crusted artisan pizzas.

The Black Pearl, which Zach says he and Christina have “greatly upgraded” since taking it over, is the most upscale of the three, with starters like escargot en croute and white truffle lobster risotto and entrées like Hereford filet mignon, Chilean sea bass Lyonnaise and Maple Leaf Farms seared duck breast. The Black Pearl is ranked #1 of 133 restaurants in Dunedin on Tripadvisor.

But, the Feinsteins say, The Living Room is the most “mainstream” of their three eateries, which Tripadvisor ranks #10 of 133 restaurants in Dunedin. “We’re perfect for a ‘Big Night Out’ or date night,” Zach says, “but our menu pricing is very fair, so we’ll also be a great place to meet your friends for a craft cocktail and some appetizers anytime throughout the week.”

Zach and Christina, who got married in 2017, say they looked at South Tampa and other locations to open their fourth restaurant before they decided to bring The Living Room to Wesley Chapel. “With all of the growth out here near the mall,,” Zach says, “we felt that Wesley Chapel was our best option.”

Although Zach adds that the menu will be similar to the Dunedin location, which has starters like flash fried pork dumplings, beef tenderloin empanadas and tuna poké, shareables such as a smoked salmon flatbread and Korean BBQ lettuce wraps, and entrées like brown butter diver scallops (photo to the right), sautéed red grouper and a spicy pork chop, “our Executive Chef Joshua Rhynes will have a few new surprises on the menu, too.”

The Feinsteins have spared no expense when it comes to their newest restaurant. When you walk in, the first thing you’ll see is a 100-year-old bookcase and hand-carved hostess stand that both came from a historic home in Hyde Park. The bar area, although similar in size and orientation to what used to be in Ciao! at the mall, “is being completely redone,” says Zach, as are the spacious main dining area inside (with a huge wine selection), the expanded (soon to be covered) outdoor patio (with live music), and two interior private dining areas, one with seating for up to about 70 people and the other an almost-speakeasy-like room for up to 12 people that even has its own private entrance/exit door hidden inside a bookshelf.

“There’s definitely no place like The Living Room in Wesley Chapel,” says Zach. “No one can beat our food or our craft cocktails. And, Christina has outdone herself designing the place. Welcome Home!”

The Living Room is located at 2001 Piazza Ave., Unit 100, in The Shops at Wiregrass. For more info, visit TheLivingRoomonMain.com, and stay tuned to our “Neighborhood News” Facebook page for the latest updates.

The Living Room

Chamber Up For National Award

CEO Hope Kennedy has had a hand in putting Wesley Chapel on the map with her stewardship of the former Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce, now known as the North Tampa Bay Chamber (NTBC).

Later this month, Wesley Chapel, and its massive growth, could play a hand in putting the Chamber itself on the map.

On July 26, Allen and Board member Michael Berthelette will be in Indianapolis answering questions from the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE) judges in a final test to see if the NTBC is named the Small Chamber of the Year for the entire country.

The extensive application process got the NTBC to the finals, but the 45-minute Q-&-A session on July 26 will account for 2/3 of the NTBC’s score.

The following night, at the Awards Show at ACCE’s annual convention in Indianapolis, the winners will be revealed.

“When I first looked at the application I giggled,” Kennedy says, referring to how difficult it looked. “But Javan (Grant, the current Board chair) convinced me to do it. (The application) ended up being 31 pages long. It’s very comprehensive. However, the end result is that we are a Chamber of the Year finalist.”

The NTBC touted two of its programs in 2020-21 in its application — a Road Show in which Kennedy went to businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic and filmed interviews for social media, letting people know which businesses were still open, and the Chamber’s reimagined Celebration of Excellence awards program, which was held both in-person and virtual last November.

The NTBC is a finalist in Category 1, the smallest category, along with the Mason City (IA) Chamber and the Zionsville (IN) Chamber.

The ACCE is comprised of more than 1,600 Chambers of Commerce from across the U.S. It will name four winners in four different categories (according to size, budget and location of the chamber).

“This is the Academy Awards for Chambers of Commerce, Kennedy says. “For me, this is the pinnacle of my career.”

The NTBC has 570 members, many of which are from Wesley Chapel and New Tampa, although there also are member businesses located in western Pasco and north Pinellas counties. Kennedy said when she started at the Wesley Chapel Chamber 11 years ago, there were roughly 200 members.

Awards are nothing new for the NTBC, which won the 2019 Small Chamber of the Year for the state of Florida from the Florida Association of Chamber Professionals (FACP).

Hope kennedy North Tampa Bay Chamber