Metro Development Group announced on Dec. 26 that the much-anticipated Crystal Lagoon at Epperson is filled.
Yes, those are actual photos of the lagoon, not renderings.
To commemorate the first-ever Crystal Lagoons’ amenity in the U.S., Metro will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony next week, on Friday, January 5.
“Metro Development Group is excited to be the first to bring this amazing amenity to the U.S.,” said Metro president Greg Singleton in a press release. “We have celebrated many milestones with Crystal Lagoons over the past two years and we are proud to have earned the distinction of being the first developer to inaugurate a Crystal Lagoons’ amenity in the U.S.”
While filled with crystal clear water — maintained by ultra-sonic technology that uses sensors to monitor the quality of the crystal-clear water, and uses 100 times less chemicals than a traditional swimming pool and 50 times less energy than conventional pool filtration systems — work continues on the 7.5-acre lagoon at Epperson.
As you can tell by the pictures, some palm trees are in place but still to come: a waterslide, private cabanas, in-water obstacle platform, swim-up bar, tidal pool, restaurant, family beach, yoga lawn, an entertainment plaza, an area for special events and more.
Metro is planning an official grand opening celebration in early spring 2018, where Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps is scheduled to appear.
Hope Allen & Jen Cofini thank the Board’s longest-tenured members Dr. Micah Richeson (left) and Steve Domonkos, who have each served for seven years.
Congratulations to the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCCC) for another truly amazing year of growth in both membership numbers and in standing within not only Wesley Chapel and New Tampa, but throughout Pasco County and beyond.
The WCCC wrapped up 2017 at its annual breakfast meeting on Dec. 5, at Pasco Hernando State College’s Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch, where 2017 Board of Directors chair Jennifer Cofini of Parks Auto Group handed her gavel over to local dentist Dr. Zack Kalarickal, who will lead the Board in 2018. Pasco County Clerk & Comptroller Dr. Paula O’Neil swore in Kalarickal and his new Board.
After that rite of passage, as her final acts as Board chair, Cofini firstnamed a few award winners for 2017, including Karen Tillman-Gosselin of Smith & Associates Realty, who was named the Board Member of the Year. Also honored at the event, emceed by Bob Thompson of Thompson Brand Images, was my former WCNT-tv partner Craig Miller of Full Throttle Intermedia, who won Rookie Board Member of the Year, in part for his more than 200 man-hours putting together the Chamber’s “Explore Wesley Chapel New Tampa” video. Mary Nash of the Advisor magazine won Ambassador of the Year, although the honor wasn’t announced at the event because Nash wasn’t present at the meeting.
Board Member of the Year Karen Tillman-Gosselin (center) is joined by outgoing Board president Jen Cofini (right) and Chamber CEO Hope Allen.
Also recognized were Cindy Ross of RP&G Printing, who chaired the Chamber’s Ambassador Council, and attorney Cristen Martinez of Martinez Law for chairing the Chamber’s Women of Wesley Chapel (aka WOW) group.
(Note-Although it also wasn’t announced at the meeting, WCNT-tv’s own Mollyana Ward has been named the WOW chair for 2018.)
Also recognized at the breakfast, which was provided by WCCC Ambassador Peter Gambacorta of Private Chef of Tampa, were the Board members who have had the longest tenures — Dr. Micah Richeson of Cypress Creek Chiropractic and Steve Domonkos of The Shops at Wiregrass, both of whom have served on the Board for seven years.
Cofini also reviewed some of the Chamber’s 2017 accomplishments, including the WCCC’s acquisition of the Greater Pasco Chamber, which allows Wesley Chapel to extend its reach out not only to western Pasco, but also to northern Pinellas county. Cofini also noted that the WCCC hosted more than 150 networking events during
2017.
Dr. Kalarickal also mentioned that the Chamber has agreed to continue as a partner in WCNT-tv, which just passed a Facebook reach of 1 million and has had nearly 500,000 views on YouTube and Facebook.
Sadly, shortly after the meeting, WCCC membership director Jennifer Tussing announced she was leaving the Chamber to work at Martinez Law. You’ll be missed, Jen!
For more information about the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce, visit WesleyChapelChamber.com or call (813) 994-8534.
Wesley Chapel resident Randy Lewer and other volunteers placed wreaths at the graves of thousands of U.S. military veterans buried at the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell.
Back in December 2006, Wesley Chapel resident Randy Lewer and a couple of his buddies from the U.S. Military Vets Motorcycle Club held a small ceremony at the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell to remember the veterans buried there during the holidays. Randy says just a few people gathered in the rain that day for a brief ceremony.
The group had been provided with seven ceremonial wreaths (honoring the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Air Force, POWs {Prisoners of War}/MIA {Missing In Action}and Merchant Marines), which were donated from the organizer of an effort to lay wreaths on the graves at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. That effort has since grown into what is now called “Wreaths Across America” and helps to adorn graves at about 1,500 military cemeteries throughout the U.S.
While Wreaths Across America has grown nationwide, Randy’s efforts at Florida National Cemetery (which is located in Sumter County, northeast of Brooksville), have flourished into one of the largest in the country.
Last year, Randy estimates that 8,000-10,000 people came out to the Florida National Cemetery, where 21,600 wreaths were laid on the graves of those buried there. While there are more than 100,000 U.S. military veterans and 30,000 spouses buried at the cemetery, he says the number of graves adorned with the wreaths is determined by how much fund-raising is done.
Randy is one of the Wreaths Across America organizers who work nearly year-round to raise funds to purchase the wreaths. Many local organizations and community groups, such as the Boy and Cub Scouts, Civil Air Patrol, and even companies, ask friends, family and neighbors to sponsor the wreaths for $15 each.
“Wreaths Across America” was held on Saturday, December 16, Randy was expecting to place at least 21,200 wreaths.
Randy’s focus is not on the number of wreaths, though. He says every veteran in the cemetery is honored and remembered. He says his focus is on Wreaths Across America’s mission, which is to, “Remember our fallen U.S. veterans, honor those who serve and teach your children the value of freedom.”
“That’s probably the biggest thing for me,” says Randy, “teaching our kids the values of freedom, respect and patriotism.”
He says the best time to do this is when there starts to be a “lack of thought,” as he calls it, when people start to forget about the sacrifices of our country’s veterans.
“Around Christmas you get so busy, sometimes the only people who think about our fallen veterans are the families who recently lost someone,” Randy says. “This is one way to get out there and look at a grave and say, ‘Thank you for your service.’”
One of Randy’s two “brothers” from the motorcycle club who originally started the wreath ceremony at Florida National Cemetery has moved on and no longer organizes the event. The other, Jack Sellers — known as “Breakdown” — passed away a few years ago after an illness associated with exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam.
“He used to emcee the ceremony,” says Randy. “When we buried him, I asked to have him buried in the section across the street from the ceremony area. They put him in the front row, so he’s always looking at the ceremony.”
Randy hopes the event is a reminder to everyone to remember what is important in an era of disagreement.
“The way this world’s gotten, things are so divisive,” says Randy. “It’s nice to have 10,000 people come together and not be divided. We can all be behind one thing – to remember, honor and teach.”
For additional information about Wreaths Across America, visit WreathsAcrossAmerica.org.
Patrolling the streets of Union Park (located just south of 56, off of Meadow Pointe Blvd. in Wesley Chapel) is the first “security robot” to be on duty in a residential neighborhood in the United States.
“Right now, we’re beta testing for six months at Union Park to see how a security robot would help us in a large community,” says Kartik Goyani, vice president of operations for Metro Development Group, developers of both Union Park and Epperson (see page 1), the latter of which is part of the “connected city” and which will be home to the first of two Crystal Lagoons coming soon to Wesley Chapel.
The robot has been named “Deputy Metro” and is a five-foot tall, 400-pound robot that drives itself throughout the community. It records data and provides 360-degree video.
“What we do at Metro in our heart and in our DNA is innovation,” Goyani says, so experimenting with brand new technology makes a lot of sense.
While Union Park is the first residential community to get a security robot, Goyani says it’s actually the 39th of more than 50 such robots throughout the country, created by a company called Knightscope. These robots patrol malls, hospitals, office parking lots, even the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta.
Goyani explains that it’s too early to tell exactly how Deputy Metro will be used in the long term, but it’s planned to be used at the soon-to-be-renamed connected city and at Metro’s developments with Crystal Lagoons. Goyani explains the current beta testing will help determine how it will be used in those larger communities. “The main goal is as a deterrent and seeing how this technology can fit into our lives,” Goyani says.
“For example, Union Park is not gated,” he says, so Metro tried stationing the robot at the entrance to the community to see how that worked. “We essentially made Deputy Metro like a virtual gate, monitoring the traffic going in and out.”
Meanwhile, he says video from the security robot has already been requested by the Pasco Sheriff’s Office (PSO).
In the future, Goyani hopes the PSO won’t have to request the footage. As part of its partnership, Metro Development expects to make streaming video available to the Sheriff, “so they don’t have to call us at all.”
Goyani says the reactions to Deputy Metro have been overwhelmingly positive, and many negative responses are due to concerns they have been able to alleviate, such as a concern that the robot could cause a resident to get a speeding ticket.
He says some of the positive response has been even more than what they expected.
“Deputy Metro is part of the community,” says Goyani. “One time when I was at Union Park, a couple of engineers from Knightscope were there, and a young girl who lives in the community came with her dad and brought her notebook and followed them around. She said (Deputy Metro) inspires her to learn more about STEM and robotics.”
For more information about Deputy Metro, visit DeputyMetro.com.
The New Tampa Regional Library, which opened in 1997, is getting some major renovations, including this glass-enclosed upgrade to the library’s children’s room.
The New Tampa Regional Library (NTRL) on Cross Creek Blvd. opened a little more than 20 years ago, in May 1997. The building has started to show its age, so it’s getting a few updates.
Nearing completion shortly is one big change immediately noticeable to anyone who brings kids to the library. The formerly wide-open building now has an enclosed children’s area. With a mostly glass wall, the space still feels open, but 3,382 square feet of the library is now behind a door and designated specifically for use by children and their families.
“Everyone assumes that the wall was built for noise, and that’s part of it,” says NTRL principal librarian Wendy Prasad, “but it’s also for a safe learning environment, and gives a space for kids to be kids a little more.”
Prasad emphasizes that the library still isn’t a playground for running and horseplay, but, she says, “Modern public libraries are community buildings, and there’s more of a feeling of a shared community space, so we encourage different uses of the library.”
Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library’s manager of library development Chely Cantrell says the newly partitioned space for the library’s youngest patrons makes sense.
“New Tampa has such an amazing community that really supports the library and attends its programs,” Cantrell says. “There’s a large crowd that comes in and attends children’s programming, so now we will have more of a dynamic, interactive area inside of the children’s room.”
The wall is already built, but Cantrell says the finishing touches — including family-friendly furniture and educational materials that enhance early learning — are still on their way.
“We will be bringing in Grandma Claire’s Early Learning Hive,” says Prasad, who explains the library’s system-wide Makerspace is called The Hive. For adults and teens, the focus is on technology.
“For early literacy, we’ll have a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) concept and early learning concepts, but it won’t be technology-based,” says Prasad. “We’ll have early learning blocks and LEGOs, word matching, letters, sensory toys and manipulatives.”
The room is being named “Grandma Claire’s” after a donation from Claire Unnasch, a New Tampa resident who passed away in 2016 and provided a gift of $25,000 towards enhancing the children’s area.
The total budget for the project, including the construction of the wall and also replacing the partition in the community room, is $205,368. The actual final cost will be determined at the project’s completion.
“It’s part of the cultural community shift and where libraries fit into that,” Prasad says.
Modern libraries — including the NTRL — are often adapting to the needs and desires of the people who use them, adding programs, inviting in groups and enhancing the “Maker” options available to the community.
For example, the New Tampa library has added a daily “Teen Zone” for students leaving Benito Middle School, which is located right next door to the library. As many students arrive at NTRL at the same time after school, Prasad and her staff have found ways to make them feel welcome and help them take advantage of the library’s many offerings.
“We open our community room for about an hour and a half every day with video games and other activities,” says Prasad. “We’re here for our community, and that includes everybody.”
Additional construction is planned for 2018. The building is scheduled to have a new roof put on starting in January, during which time it’s expected that the library will remain open during regular business hours, but it may be noisier than usual.
NTRL’s bathrooms also will be upgraded, although the schedule is still being worked out to determine the least possible impact on library patrons.
Metro Development Group announced on Dec. 26 that the much-anticipated Crystal Lagoon at Epperson is filled.
“Metro Development Group is excited to be the first to bring this amazing amenity to the U.S.,” said Metro president Greg Singleton in a press release. “We have celebrated many milestones with Crystal Lagoons over the past two years and we are proud to have earned the distinction of being the first developer to inaugurate a Crystal Lagoons’ amenity in the U.S.”
While filled with crystal clear water — maintained by ultra-sonic technology that uses sensors to monitor the quality of the crystal-clear water, and uses 100 times less chemicals than a traditional swimming pool and 50 times less energy than conventional pool filtration systems — work continues on the 7.5-acre lagoon at Epperson.
