KRATE Balls Of Fire, It Officially Opens Saturday!

KRATE tenants celebrate a successful night at the Friends & Family event June 1. (Photo: John C. Cotey)

The KRATE Container Park at The Grove has opened in bits and pieces over the past few months, but this Saturday, June 4, the park will finally celebrate its Grand Opening.

More than 70 percent of the 94 repurposed shipping containers will be “officially” open for business — although many have been open for months — and the celebration will be marked by live music at a new bandshell, family events and plenty of food and shopping.

The Grand Opening celebration on the 4th is scheduled from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., with nighttime entertainment from 6 p.m.-9 p.m.

A Friends & Family event was held June 1, drawing a sizable crowd that included social media influencers with a total following of roughly four million.

“Opening KRATE was mission impossible,” Grove developer Mark Gold of Mishorim-Gold Properties says. “We did not expect a pandemic, supply chain shortages, and a backlog in permitting. But, we did it and everything we promised we would do has become reality. We are proud of the sense of community we have built here at the Grove at Wesley Chapel and our KRATE park and look forward to providing even more opportunities to bring together friends, families, and neighbors.” 

KRATE is just one part, but perhaps the crown jewel, of The Grove’s transformation, which began when Mishorim-Gold Properties, a partnership between Gold and Mishorim Real Estate, bought the 200+ acres for $62.7 million in 2019. Gold has since poured more than $100 million into renovations, including $20 million or so for a container park he promised would be one-of-a-kind.

KRATE faced a number of obstacles to opening, primarily due to Covid-19 and permitting snags. But little by little, the containers were transformed inside and outside — thanks in large part to artist Whitney Holbourn, whose hand-painted, business-themed murals adorn the exterior of each shop — into an attractive, outdoor shopping park featuring 70% restaurants and 30% retail businesses.

Nickole Davis, who opened All Good Things Gifts in February, says she is excited to see KRATE take another step toward reality. Davis sells a variety of personalized items, like her popular Wesley Chapel-branded home decorations, and says local consumers will be pleased by the variety of different kinds of shops in the KRATE, which include a children’s boutique, a Budget Blinds showroom and a huge variety of different cuisines from around the world, including Puerto Rican, French, Hawaiian, Mediterranean, Venezuelan and Japanese influences and so many more.

“The park is still in its infancy and there’s a lot of room for growth, so I think as more people know that it’s open, it can become something special,” says Davis, who added that her business has been hitting sales goals and doing very well since opening.

She is not alone. Some of the restaurants, like the Bacon Boss HQ, TJ’s Hot Dogs and Mojo Grill Latin Fusion, have been regularly selling out and running out of inventory, a sign that the public is eager for the KRATE.

Portions of the parking area between the various KRATEs have opened, including by the Bacon Boss HQ (nearest the stage at the north end of the park) and other interior parking areas around the other KRATEs, but that parking will be closed for the Grand Opening event on June 4, due to the amount of foot traffic expected in the area. 

There will be plenty of KRATE parking in the lot in front of the big box stores at The Grove, including World Market and Dick’s Sporting Goods. Gold also promises that a separate KRATE parking lot is coming to the south end of the container park (north of the Outback Steak House) that should be done “soon.”

Also Coming Soon…

In addition to KRATE, Gold continues to fill the rest of The Grove property. New businesses slated to open in the near future include: Woodie’s Wash Shack, Five Below, Bealls Outlet/Home Centric, Starbucks, a national rental car chain, a national grocery store and a miniature golf course.

“We are the ultimate shopping and entertainment destination, not just for Wesley Chapel, but for the region and around the world,” Gold says.

Which KRATEs Are Already Open & Which Ones Are Still To Come?

OPEN RESTAURANTS & BARS:

Blush Wine Room Caramel Martini
Palani’s Roast Pork Bowl
SubZero nitrogen bowl
Tacos El Patron chicken taco

Please note that we will have full reviews of each of the following open & planned eateries in future issues. But, where else but the KRATE Container Park can you find all of these cuisine types?:
• Tasty Ramen
• El Prince Mediterranean
• Shake-A-Salad 
• The Fryroom
• La Creacion Express
• Mojo Grill Latin Fusion
• Provisions Coffee & Kitchen
• The Bacon Boss HQ
• TJ’s Hot Dogs
• Tacos El Patron
• Chamo Bites Venezuelan Cuisine 
• Subzero Nitrogen Ice Cream   
• Blush Wine Room 
• Urban Sweets
• Palani’s Hawai’i Noodles
• Brew Bar
• Yummy Tablas
• Rhythm Pon Jamaican Grill

OPEN KRATE RETAIL SHOPS:
• The Rebellious Hippie
• Maeberry Co.
• Katie Beth’s Boutique
• Pasco EDC’s Smart Start
• All Good Things Gifts
• We Rock Rocks
• Gadgets Emergency Room
• Tonella’s Flower Shop
• Budget Blinds
• Center Ed

RESTAURANTS STILL TO COME:
• Boba Mac’s Tea & Eats 
• Falafel Factory
• Pisco Peruvian Chinese 
• Ato Japanese
• 365 Café
• Bakery X
• Bebo’s Cheesesteaks
• Sugar Pop!
• Flipn’ Fries
• Higher Flour
• Café Zorba

KRATE RETAILERS STILL TO COME:
• Insane Vape & Smoke Shop
• The Toy Jungle
• Grove Cigars 
• 2 Extreme Tattoos
• Valiart Jewelry Designs
• Life Essentials Refillery

Green Files Countersuit In Pebble Creek Battle

Saying she will not be silenced by a lawsuit filed against her by Pebble Creek Golf Club (PCGC) owner Bill Place, Pebble Creek resident and activist Leslie Green is firing back with a counterclaim lawsuit of her own.

Denying all of Place’s allegations in his lawsuit, Green filed her countersuit on May 11, suing Place for defamation.

In his lawsuit, Place alleged that Green had personal and selfish motivations when it came to fighting against development of the golf course, and conducted a smear campaign by reaching out to developers, city, county and state officials and others in order to stop him from securing a so-called brownfield designation and selling to a developer who would build homes on the land. 

She “made things personal and pervasive,” according to Place.

“I never felt it was personal,” Green told the Neighborhood News. “I was merely trying to save our greenspace and keep our zoning what it is. That’s all it was to me.”

Green, who has lived along the 10th hole at PCGC for nearly 30 years, has been a vocal critic of Place’s efforts to sell the 54-year-old golf course and clubhouse, which he shut down on July 31, 2021.

She originally started the “Save Pebble Creek” Facebook page in March 2019 to rally residents when Place sought the brownfield designation to offset the costs of removing pesticides and other chemicals from the property, a requirement before he could sell the 150-acre property for development.

The application was denied, but Green continued her efforts as Place attempted to woo developers. She denies, however, that she ever used “blatant falsehoods” to sway KB Homes and Pulte Homes to back out of deals to buy the property to develop homes on it.

There are roughly 1,400 homes in Pebble Creek, and 130 of them border on the golf course. But, far more residents than just those living on the golf course are opposed to development, claims Green.

Green’s countersuit claims that Place’s lawsuit “can only be construed as revenge for expressing and encouraging others to express their constitutionally protected right to freedom of expression.”

The counterclaim suit accuses Place of disparaging Green by asserting she was “immoral, selfish, dishonest, and acted with animosity” resulting in damage to Green’s “integrity, character and professional competence amongst the general public.”

Her suit also alleges that “Mr. Place published false statements about Ms. Green…intentionally and with malice, having knowledge of the falsity of the statements and/or with reckless disregard for the truth or falsity of the statements…and was intentional, knowing, malicious, and with callous disregard of Ms. Green’s rights.”

As a result, Green “has suffered, is suffering, and will continue to suffer severe and irreparable harm and substantial damages in an amount to be proven at trial.”

Green is seeking damages for “lost income and business opportunities, litigation costs and expenses including attorney fees, and other actual damages, including irreparable and quantifiable harm to Ms. Green’s personal and professional reputation amongst her residential community and the public at large.”

Place has 20 days to respond, but has already received a requested extension.

A virtual court date has been scheduled for Nov. 7.

Place is currently negotiating with GL Homes, which has already presented a preliminary development plan to some residents. A recent meeting with GL Homes on May 18 drew a small protest by those opposed to building more homes in Pebble Creek, which Green attended.

Local Spelling Whiz Aims For Prestigious National Title

Bruhat Soma isn’t exactly sure what “pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis” means (it’s a synonym for the disease known as silicosis), but the 45-letter word, the longest in the English language, gives him no trouble when it comes to spelling it, or pronouncing it for that matter.

That shouldn’t come as any surprise, considering that Bruhat, a 5th grader at Turner Bartels K-8 School, is something of a world-class word speller.

This week, the 10-year-old whiz kid will compete at the prestigious Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.

Bruhat (who will be wearing No. 38 at the competition) will be one of 234 kids vying for the title. The Bee begins May 31; the Semifinals (June 1) and Finals (June 2) will be hosted by former “Roots” and “Star Trek: The Next Generation” star LeVar Burton will air on the Ion TV network at 8 p.m. each night.

Bruhat will be one of the youngest competitors, but not the youngest — that honor will go to Matthew G. Yi, a 7-year-old 4th grader from New Orleans. But, Bruhat is already battle-tested. 

Last year, he finished second at the Regional qualifier, stumbling on the word “caryatid” (a sculpted female figure serving as an architectural support taking the place of a column), which he incorrectly spelled “carotid.” 

Ever since, he has had just one goal:

Being the champ.

“I just like competitions. I really want to get that trophy,” Bruhat says, his eyes widening and a large grin filling his face. “It’s so big!”

The winner also receives $50,000.

Bruhat has only been competing in spelling bees for three years. His dad, Srinivas Soma, signed him up when he was in the second grade for a spelling and math bee put on by the North South Foundation (aka North South), which organizes educational contests like spelling, math and geography bees, as well as others.

(l.-r.) Turner-Bartels principal LaMarr Buggs and gifted teacher Laurie Gonzalez, with Scripps National Spelling Bee contestant Bruhat Soma and his father Srinivas. (Photo: Charmaine George)

Although he didn’t have time to prepare, Bruhat finished first in the math bee, and sheepishly says he was eighth in spelling.

“There was no pressure,” dad Srinivas says. “He liked it. He started to show interest in it.”

Srinivas says Bruhat now has even more interest in reading and spelling, devouring everything in sight. He will read just about any piece of paper or book he can get his hands on, and works at least an hour a day on his spelling online at SpellPundit.com.

“I like unusual words,” Bruhat says. “If I see a word with an unusual spelling, I try to find out more information about it.”

Like “cwm” (pronounced “koom”), an ancient Celtic instrument similar to a violin. And yes, cwm is in the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary.

“I like eccentric words like that,” Bruhat says.

For his end-of-the-year gifted class project at Turner Bartels, Bruhat created his own alphabet (with uppercase and lowercase letters) and wrote a poem about soccer in his new language.

“He excels in mathematics, but his real love is words,” says his gifted class teacher Laurie Gonzalez, 

His classmates, and the entire school, will be pulling hard for Bruhat.

“He is an amazing kid,” Gonzalez says. “He is gentle, kind and wicked smart. The other kids are very supportive of his achievements and they are kind of in awe of his level of intelligence.”

His buddy, Tejas Gattu, is sure to be watching as well.

“He (Tejas) always, like, tells me, ‘Wow, you’re the champion,’” Bruhat says. “One time, at a North South Regional, he said out loud so everyone could hear, ‘Bruhat, are you the state spelling bee champion?’ I was like, I already told you. I think he’s excited, he thinks it’s a big deal. He’s my best friend.”

Srinivas, who is originally from Nalgonda is southern India, says the cheering section at home — his mother Jyothi and sisters Reshma (6) and Laasya (8) — and in the Live Oak Preserve community are ready to root for Bruhat.

“There will be a lot of people cheering for him,” Srinivas says.

Bruhat will need the good vibes in what is sure to be a pressure-packed week.

While he hopes to see the White House, the Washington Monument and as many other memorials as he has time for, the Spelling Bee competition will be fierce. Since there were eight co-champions in 2019, the Scripps organizers have made the event more difficult. It now includes definitions in some rounds and, yes, the words are even tougher.

“I watched the 2019 spelling bee and I knew all the words, or like 98 percent of them,” Bruhat says. “In 2021, it was more like 50 percent.”

But, he is ready. He will be trying to become the second New Tampa student to win the national bee, joining Benito Middle’s Nupur Lala, who won the title on her second try in 1999 as a 14-year-old by spelling “logorrhea.”

“I’m very excited to compete, but when the competition day comes closer, I’ll probably feel kind of nervous,” Bruhat says. “For now, I’m excited. My goal is to become the Scripps Spelling Bee national champion. I have prepared for that.”

Pebble Creek Development Battle Is Headed To  Court 

The former Pebble Creek Golf Club.

From greens to Green, the battle over what to do with the former Pebble Creek Golf Club (PCGC) is now headed to the courts.

PCGC owner Bill Place and his company Ace Golf are suing Pebble Creek resident Leslie Green, seeking more than $30,000 in damages for defamation and tortious interference (or interfering with a contractual relationship) as well as attorney’s fees, after Green chased off potential developers, says the suit filed March 28 in Hillsborough Circuit Court.

Green, who has lived along the 10th hole at PCGC for nearly 30 years, has been a vocal critic of Place’s efforts to sell the 54-year-old golf club, which was shuttered back on July 31, 2021.

She started the “Save Pebble Creek” Facebook page in March 2019, leading the opposition against Place’s efforts to secure a so-called brownfield designation to offset the costs of removing pesticides and other chemicals from the property, a requirement before he could sell the 150-acre property for development.

The application was denied after residents banded together to fight it, leaving Place to shoulder costs that he said would be more than $1 million.

Green has posted more than 600 times on the Facebook page, according to the lawsuit.

Place declined to comment on the suit itself.

Green, in a statement released through her lawyers at Stanton I.P. Law, P.A., said, “This is not about who lives on what side of the street, this is about protecting our neighborhood’s quality of life. In my opinion, the proposals that have been presented will drastically change our neighborhood. My neighbors and I have the right to voice our concerns and advocate for the type of neighborhood we can all be proud to live in. This lawsuit does not change my resolve and will not be used to silence my disapproval with the proposed changes.”

No court date has been set, but Green has filed for an extension to respond to the suit until May 10.

The lawsuit alleges that Green’s fight against efforts to develop homes on the course were “personal and selfish motivations on the part of Green and an animosity against Ace Golf and Place,” and she also conducted a mail campaign to reach out to developers, city, county and state officials and others, established a GoFundMe page to pay legal fees for her “personal endeavors,” communicated with the press, engaged in mass mailing letter writing campaigns and contacted developers and officials through multiple phone calls.

All of these efforts are categorized in the lawsuit as the “Green Method.” According to the lawsuit, she “made things personal and pervasive through a campaign of harassment and dissemination of blatant falsehoods through multiple channels.”

Place also says Green made false statements in an effort to publicly shame him by saying he engaged in a “golf course flopping scheme” and intentionally sabotaged the course so he could sell it.

This Pebble Creek resident is opposed to development on the former golf course.

The results, says the lawsuit, were that two developers ended up withdrawing their interest.

In July of 2020, KB Homes, Pulte Homes and several other builders provided bids to redevelop Pebble Creek, and, in June 2021, Place came to terms with Pulte. Place alleges that Green used the “Green Method” to directly contact Pulte Homes and deliver “blatant falsehoods” that led to the builder pulling out in August 2021.

When a bid by KB Homes was then accepted, Green again sent “targeted communications,” according to the suit.

“It worked again,” the lawsuit alleges, as KB Homes also withdrew its bid.

Place told the Neighborhood News last week that he is currently working with another builder, and hopes the rezoning process can begin by the end of the year.

He said the builder, which he did not name, has already presented a preliminary development plan and has met with small focus groups in an effort to convince residents that the project would be a benefit to the area. There are roughly 1,400 homes in Pebble Creek, and 130 of them are on the golf course.

“I completely understand why the people who live on the course are upset,” Place says. “But, for the people that don’t live on the course, most of them are not part of this Leslie Green movement. They are just people out there living their lives who probably never play golf and don’t care about golf. That’s most of the people out there. They are not the ones trying to cause issues. In the long run, those are really the people who will decide things, whether or not we’re allowed to do any development or not.”

Place says he already has the zoning credits for 600 homes, but the plans have always been to build only 260 or so. 

“I have to find a use for the property,” he says. “I pay $30,000 a year in property taxes, I pay a guy $50,000 a year just to maintain the property the best we can. I’m not looking for a fight, I’m looking for a solution, and I’m absolutely wanting to work with residents.”

Place Says Cart Path Removal Designed To Stop Trespassers

Pebble Creek Golf Club (PCGC) owner Bill Place says it’s a matter of safety.

Pebble Creek resident Paul Manobianco says it feels more like retribution.

A number of cart path areas on the sprawling golf course, which has been closed since July 31, 2021, as Place has been seeking a developer to convert the fairways and greens into homes, have been fork-lifted off the ground and piled onto the remaining path. Bright orange spray paint directs people away from the mess.

Several Pebble Creek residents are complaining that Place is purposely tearing up the golf course so they will stop walking and biking on it. And, they’re not necessarily wrong.

“I received calls from residents, saying they are constantly seeing ATVs running around the property, motorcycles, bikes, people walking around the property,” Place says. “It’s a huge issue because I remain liable for that.”

So, Place says he set out to stop it. PCGC is private property, not a public park, he says. He alerted both of Pebble Creek’s Homeowners Associations in a March 26 email that he had contacted the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office about beefing up their presence at the shuttered course to keep trespassers off and was looking into “removing portions of the cart paths to discourage their use.”

On April 2, in another email, he announced that the cart path removals would begin April 5.

“Slabs of the cart paths were lifted and placed on the existing cart paths every 100-300 feet,” Place says. “We did it in such a way that if, down the road, a solution to keep the golf course or if the county wants to buy it as a park, the sections can be lifted back up and put back in place.”

But, residents like Manobianco aren’t happy. Considering the difficulty Place has had securing a brownfield designation and developers in the face of resident resistance, as well as the recent lawsuit filed against Pebble Creek resident and activist Leslie Green (see story on pg. 4), this has all the makings of a payback.

“He wants Pebble Creek residents to pay for the denial of the brownfield, for fighting the rezoning, for Leslie for speaking up and for developers walking away,” says Manobianco, who lives in one of the 130 homes located on the golf course.

Mary Lou Tucker says that even when the golf course was open, residents would enjoy leisurely walks and bike rides on the course in the early morning or after the golfers had finished for the day. For those who lived on or near the course but didn’t play, it was a nice community amenity.

“I fail to see the logic behind the recent actions undertaken on our course,” Tucker says. “I cannot understand the reasoning behind spending money to destroy one’s own property needlessly… and antagonize the residents in the process.”

Tucker says walks on the golf course have been a way of life for Pebble Creek residents for decades.

“I have lived here on the course for 20 years and cannot remember ever being prohibited from taking advantage of a safe, and silent path for walking or riding a bike,” she says. “It’s very disappointing to see this.”

Place says other than the ATVs and motorcycles, trespassers could face other hazards. The course is only being maintained to the most basic of county standards, meaning to within 200 yards of each home. The interior of the course is overgrown in many areas, meaning snakes and other wildlife could be lurking.

Manobianco says Place’s efforts could prevent the course from ever being sold as a golf course again, which some think might be the idea. “You’d have to put 2-3 million back into it just to play golf again,” he adds.

Place insists the measures taken are for the safety of the residents, and not retribution for opposition to his plans to sell the course to developers.

“I don’t like doing this,” Place says. “It’s just not safe to walk through. I’d like it to be this nice park, available to everybody, but I can’t afford to make it a park, nor have the liability for doing so.”