Category: News

Here’s 5 Things We’re Excited About For 2017

Bye bye, 2016.

Hello, 2017.

For many, there are no sweeter words. We’ll let the historians debate about how bad 2016 really was, but they have plenty of material to study.

Those historians might want to start with an election season that was meaner and nastier than any other. Ever. Considering the New Tampa area seemed firmly in Hillary Clinton’s camp, based on voting results, President Donald Trump will only add to the misery for some in the years to come.

Our country also faced an Ebola outbreak and a Zika outbreak, neither of which seems so bad in a world seemingly bent on destroying itself with hateful attacks leaving scores dead in Brussels, Paris and Instanbul, as well as in Charleston and Orlando…and the list just keeps getting longer with each passing day.

We had a significant hurricane scare (thank you, Matthew) and while the storm season spared New Tampa, thousands in other places in Matthew’s wake weren’t nearly as fortunate.

Muhammad Ali, David Bowie and Prince all died during 2016. Now, we really know what it sounds like when doves cry.

So bye bye, 2016.

Hello, 2017.

We could use some cheering up, so here’s five things we’re looking forward to as the calendar turns, because, really, things have to get better, don’t they?

1. Florida Hospital Center Ice (FHCI) — Of all the things to look forward in the New Tampa-Wesley Chapel area in 2017, the $20-million FHCI (see ad on pg. 47), located along Cypress Ridge Blvd. on the northeast corner of the I-75/S.R. 56 interchange, has to be near the top of the list.

If you haven’t noticed, Tampa Bay has become something of a hockey town, thanks to the success of the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning. With so many northern transplants in the area, FCHI is sure to be a hit.

The five-rink complex will host corporate events, non-ice events like street and roller hockey, and with just a little configuring, even volleyball and basketball.

But even though the rink will feature the Top Shelf Sports Lounge, the bread and butter of FCHI will be served cold. The 150,500-sq.-ft. facility will have free skating, figure skating, high school hockey, adult hockey leagues, and everything in between. Gordie Zimmermann, who runs the place, has even teased curling leagues for locals. Raise your hand if you’ve watched curling during the Winter Olympics and said, ‘You know, I’d sure like to try that.’

Now you can.

Sometime in January, you’ll even be able to watch your first hockey game at the new FHCI when Wiregrass Ranch High plays. Spectrum Sports also will televise a live high school hockey game from FHCI sometime soon, too. Expect the Lightning to have some sort of a presence in the new joint, starting with clinics for kids.

And, Skate For Hope, which will benefit cancer research and feature many of the world’s top figure skaters, is scheduled for June 17.

2. The Taste of New Tampa & Wesley Chapel — Speaking of FCHI, that brings us to the second thing we are looking forward to in 2017— the Taste of New Tampa, which returns Saturday, March 18, after a four-year hiatus.

You might remember the last Taste, back in 2003, which was foiled by terrible weather.

Well, this year, that won’t be a problem, as FHCI is hosting virtually all of the event inside. So, no rain, no sweating, no sunburn, just cool sub-70-degree weather as you walk around sampling tastes from as many as 50 local restaurants.

The star of the Taste is always the food, but we don’t want to put any pressure on our happy editor Gary Nager, who has been personally involved in almost every Taste to date. But, since he is again responsible for bringing in the best restaurants this year, COME ON MAN! AFTER 2016 THE WHOLE AREA IS RELYING ON A VARIED SELECTION OF DELICIOUS SAMPLES FROM THE BEST RESTAURANTS AROUND OR 2017 WILL BE RUINED!

Okay, so maybe there’s a little pressure.

3. New Restaurants — Speaking of food, we love playing Follow the New Restaurants here in the office. In this regard, 2016 was pretty good to us, with Ginza, Cheddar’s, Culver’s, Chick-Fil-A, B.J.’s Brewhouse, Longhorn Steakhouse and Vuelo all opening their doors.

And, while you may never have eaten at a Ford’s Garage or a Pollo Tropical, both are expected to open in 2017 right across from the Tampa Premium Outlets (TPO). Our office will be among the first ones inside.

4. Costco — And, while we’re on the subject of TPO, if you look just a little west of it, the Costco looks ready to open.

We repeat: Costco looks ready to open!

We are now hearing the gas pumps will be open Jan. 9, and the wholesaler will be opening on Feb. 9.

The mega wholesaler already has a cult following, but the nearest one to New Tampa is in Brandon. The expected February opening in Wesley Chapel will attract many of us, not just for the 200 or so jobs, which pay around an average of $20 an hour, with nice benefits, but also for the food. The Costco warehouse is filled with goodies, and as any veteran member knows, sample time around lunchtime is the cheapest date around.

5. Crystal Lagoons — Speaking of cheap dates, a trip to the beach can’t be beat, but why make that drive if there’s a crystal-clear, hyper-clean lagoon outlined by sandy beaches in your own back yard? Yes, after a delay, the first-ever Crystal Lagoon to be built in the U.S., is actually happening. Day passes will be on our Christmas list next year, for sure.

We also look forward to seeing how New Tampa’s Luis Viera does as a Tampa City Council member, to the expansion of Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel, the possible start of construction of the Diverging Diamond Interchange at S.R. 56, the construction of Raymond James Financial, and more!

WCCC Honors WCNT-tv & Wesley Chapel Nissan’s Troy Stevenson!

I love a good surprise as much as the next guy, but I was absolutely stunned by the turn of events when I attended the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCCC) annual meeting, which was held Dec. 6 at Pasco Hernando State College (PHSC)’s Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch, and which was the program for the Chamber’s monthly business breakfast.

Outgoing Board chair Tracy Clouser of Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel thanked this year’s deserving “Volunteer of the Year” and Ambassador Troy Stevenson of Wesley Chapel Nissan, who not only actively participates in every Chamber and Wesley Chapel Rotary Club event, but also supports the community with his awesome Acme Outdoor Movies truck.

But then, between the introduction of the Chamber’s ambassadors (below) and new Board chair Jennifer Cofini of the Parks Auto Group and her Board of Directors for the 2017 Fiscal Year, Clouser made an announcement I truly was not expecting — that WCNT-tv, the five-month-old partnership between yours truly and outgoing WCCC Ambassador/new Board member Craig Miller of Full Throttle Intermedia, had won the 2016 Chairman’s Award.

Clouser, the marketing director at Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel (FHWC), has spent quite a bit of money on behalf of our in-the-process-of-being-expanded, state-of-the-art hospital in these pages, and she bought into the project created by myself, Craig and WCCC president and CEO Hope Allen by agreeing for FHWC to be the Studio Sponsor of WCNT-tv for the first 16 episodes of the show, 13 of which have already aired since our launch on June 23.

In other words, I should be giving Tracy and Hope an award, not the other way around. The cheers from the crowd of more than 100 people when the surprise announcement was made was proof positive that we’re doing something right with the show, but neither Craig nor I had any idea or we would’ve prepared speeches, instead of the dumfounded looks and silly muttering we mustered.

For more info about the WCCC, visit WesleyChapelChamber.com or call 994-8534. — GN

wesley chapel chamber of commerce

Wawa Opens On S.R. 56

As pieces of the building were put together on S.R. 56 just east of Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., the anticipation built.

The gas pumps went in, the convenience store took shape. The signs were put up, and turned on.

When it will open? How will it open?

Answer: Quietly.

Just like that, on Nov. 28, Wesley Chapel’s first-ever Wawa was open.

No pomp. No circumstance. Just cheap gas, free coffee and deals on the chain’s famous tasty sandwiches.

“Man, I just went to the bank this morning, and the teller asked me if I knew Wawa was open today,’’ said Juan De La Torres, a retired first responder who lives in Seven Oaks. “I was like, ‘What?’” I had just driven by, I didn’t even notice. So, I rushed right over here.”

Juan De La Torres holds up his free Wawa shirt that he snagged after hearing the store on S.R. 56 had finally opened on Nov. 28.

For many like De La Torres, the opening of the Wesley Chapel Wawa was a surprise, albeit a pleasant one. While certainly one of those places with a cultish following like Chick-Fil-A and Costco, this Wawa location eschewed the normal fan-friendly grand opening and chose instead to let local residents be surprised.

“I’m just glad they are finally open,’’ said De La Torres, who snagged himself a free blue Wawa tee-shirt, and then stuck around for the opening ceremonies and a few free samples of things like a ham sub sandwich, peppermint iced coffee and cinnamon oatmeal. “I feel like I’ve been waiting forever.”

Wawa was open for business at 8 a.m., but at 10 a.m., area manager Rich Morton and Wally Goose, the Wawa mascot, welcomed a quickly growing crowd to Wesley Chapel’s newest hot spot.

Two firefighters from Pasco Fire Station 13 in Meadow Pointe, Frank Torres and Bobby LaBella, took on some of the store’s staffers in a sandwich-making contest — when they weren’t throwing handfuls of shredded lettuce at each other and into the crowd. Torres and LaBella won the contest, earning a big trophy and a couple of $1,000 checks from Wawa to benefit the Firefighters Charities of Pasco.

Everyone posed for pictures. Then, they cut a ribbon. That made it official.

For Morton, it was a big moment. Though he manages a number of Wawas from northern Hillsborough County throughout all of Pasco and Hernando counties, the idea of a new store right across the street from where he lives was exciting.

Firefighters Frank Torres (left) & Bobby LaBella pose with checks for the Firefighters Charities of Pasco & Wally Goose.

“Very cool,” Morton said. “I’ve been waiting since I first moved down here four-and-a-half years ago. We bought a home right in (Seven Oaks) right away, and I’ve been waiting for a store close to home.”

Morton had nothing to do with the site selection, but he jokes that he hasn’t been shy about making suggestions as he’s been driving around Wesley Chapel.

“The real estate guys are real frustrated with me, because I’m like ‘Look at this site, look at this site, look at this site,’’’ he said, chuckling.

Morton thinks the current location is perfect, catching a lot of the eastbound traffic between the Tampa Premium Outlets and the Shops at Wiregrass malls. He says this won’t be the last Wawa we see here locally. “We’re definitely opening here again,’’ he said.

A Little History…

Formerly a dairy company, Wawa opened its first food market in Folsom, PA, in 1964. It has expanded to many areas in the mid-Atlantic region, but didn’t come to Florida until one opened in Orlando in 2012. The Wesley Chapel location is the 102nd Wawa store to open in the state since then.

Wawa has succeeded by taking the convenience store concept to another level with competitively-priced gas, fresh drinks and expertly-prepared sandwiches and other quality food items that can be ordered right off an in-store computer touch screen.

“Ninety percent of the time, I just come for the food,’’ said De La Torres.

Wawa’s employees start at $10 per hour, above the minimum wage, and because of the friendly benefits, often stick around for years, if not decades, which has helped the company develop. “You don’t see a lot of companies doing health benefits for part-time employees,’’ Morton said. Taking care of his employees, he adds, trickles down to the customer service, which is often lauded in surveys.

Denise Bee, who lives in Meadow Pointe III, said she was just driving by Monday morning on her way home from a doctor’s appointment when she noticed people walking in and out. Like everyone else, she was surprised that Wawa had finally opened.

And pleased, too.

“It’s about time,’’ said Bee. “I’ve been driving by and watching it go up little by little, wondering if it was close. Now I don’t have to drive all the way to Bearss Ave. to get gas…and hot chocolate.”

Wawa is located at 27866 S.R. 56, across from Sam’s Club, just west of BBD. For more information, visit Wawa.com, or call (302) 758-6873.

wawa

‘Diverging Diamond’ Exchange For S.R. 56 At I-75 Moved Up To 2018 Start

Above is a rendering of a Diverging Diamond Interchange, like the one planned for the S.R. 56 exit off I-75, which has been moved up to a Fiscal Year 2018 start date. Source: FDOT.

Relief is coming to the congested, frustrating and oftentimes maddening S.R. 56 interchange of I-75 sooner than expected, as the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) announced it was moving up its plans to build a diverging diamond interchange (DDI).

That project is now slated to begin in fiscal year 2018, the beginning of which is July 1 of 2017.

“That is great news,” says Mike Moore, the new Pasco County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) chair who represents District 2, which includes most of Wesley Chapel. “I thought the diverging diamond was a great idea from the start, and the other commissioners did too. I’m glad we can start it sooner.”

Moore and District 38 State Rep. Danny Burgess (R-San Antonio) played key roles in getting the project, which will cost around $18.5-million, fast-tracked. FDOT officials presented their new proposal to the Pasco Metropolitan Planning Organization Dec. 8 at the Dade City Courthouse.

Construction of the DDI was originally scheduled to begin in 2024, but last November was moved up to 2020. The additional shortening of the timeframe will be good news to many travelers, especially around the holiday season, who have seen the lines of traffic to get off or on I-75 or through the interchange at S.R. 56 increasing.

DDIs, according to the website DivergingDiamond.com, are designed to create fewer conflict points when traveling through them, have better sight distance at turns, shorter pedestrian crossings and wrong-way ramps that are extremely difficult to access.

Despite looking like a confusing, diamond-shaped jumble of roads in pictures, the diverging diamond is said to cause virtually no driver confusion. A Springfield, MO, study showed a 60-percent reduction in collisions in a five-month period compared to a traditional exchange, and the website claims that in a five-year span of a DDI in Versailles, France, only 11 crashes have been reported.

Florida is building its first DDI at the University Pkwy. exit (No. 213) off I-75 in Sarasota. The Wesley Chapel location would be the state’s second DDI interchange.

The I-75/S.R. 56 junction continues to be one to avoid if at all possible for those in the New Tampa and Wesley Chapel area, and the 2.3-mile-long northbound exit routinely experiences back-ups of a mile or longer, sometimes even reaching the I-275 apex at the Pasco County line. The opening of the Tampa Premium Outlets on S.R. 56 west of I-75 last year hasn’t helped.

The S.R. 56/75 interchange was opened over a decade ago, and in 2011 a new ramp was constructed to ease congestion, to the delight of many in the community.

Roughly 100,000 drivers (combined heading east or west) pass through the I-75/S.R. 56 interchange, according to FDOT.

Steve Domonkos, the specialty leasing manager for the Shops at Wiregrass mall and a member of a Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCCC) transportation task force, is happy to see the DDI construction moved up. But, Domonkos worries that even by 2018, with the rapid rate of development happening in both Wesley Chapel and Lutz, it still may be too late.

The sooner the better, he says, “but sooner than sooner would have been even better. It’s great to hear they are finally moving it up because traffic is already horrendous,’’ Domonkos says. “It’s a shame that the state and county didn’t get together before the Outlets opened, though. That intersection is already maxed.”

Moore, who drives through the intersection almost daily, says he has heard the same complaints from his constituents. But he thinks they will be happy to see progress considering the project was initially slated to begin in 2024.

“This shows what can happen when everyone works together to get something done,’’ he says.

Public hearings on the DDI project were scheduled around the region on Dec. 14, which was after we went to press with this issue. The Florida DOT will accept written comments until Tuesday, December 27, through D7wpph.com, by U.S. Mail (Attn: Ed McKinney, Florida Department of Transportation, 11201 N. McKinley Drive, MS 7-500, Tampa, FL 33612) or by email to D7wpph@dot.state.fl.us.

diverging diamond interchange

Election Season Ends — A Look At How New Tampa Voted

Florida’s State House District 63, which has typically swung to the Democrats in years a presidential election has been held, didn’t swing this time.

Republican incumbent and Hunter’s Green resident Shawn Harrison edged out Lisa Montelione on Nov. 8 to hang on to his seat in an hotly-contested race.

Harrison captured 50.9 percent of the 73,731 votes cast, picking up 37,547 votes to Montelione’s total of 36,168.

It is the third time Harrison has won the House District 63 seat, which represents parts of New Tampa, Lutz, Carrollwood and the University of South Florida area.

He won it in 2010, lost it to Democrat Mark Danish in 2012, and then regained the seat in 2014, when he took it back from Rep. Danish.

Harrison, who beat Montelione by 1,363 votes, held a big 7,195-4,130 advantage on the ballots cast in Lutz. He also can thank his neighbors in Hunter’s Green, who helped offset New Tampa’s preference for Montelione by voting 1,511 times for Harrison, compared to just 954 for the former councilwoman.

The loss was stinging for Montelione, considering she was running in a Democrat-leaning district, the wide advantage Hillary Clinton held over president-elect Donald Trump in Hillsborough County (58-38 percent), as well as Democrat Patrick Murphy’s local success at the ballot box against Republican incumbent Marco Rubio.

Another Republican, emergency room doctor Jim Davison, also fared well, finishing first in a six-person race to replace Montelione, who resigned her position on the Tampa City Council in District 7 to the run for Harrison’s seat. He did not, however, get more than 50 percent of the vote, leading to a runoff.

Luis Viera, who was second, turned the tables by narrowly defeating Davison 2,588 votes to 2,523 Tuesday in that runoff.

In a battle of Hunter’s Green residents, the 38-year-old lawyer’s 65-vote margin of victory sends him downtown.

New Tampa Picked Hillary

Of the 13 precincts in New Tampa’s 33647 zip code, Clinton, the former Secretary of State and First Lady, ran the table, winning every one, many by surprisingly decisive margins.

Hillary In New Tampa’s 13 precincts, Clinton grabbed 58 percent of the 32,843 votes cast for U.S. President, compared with 38 percent for Trump. Early voters and those who mailed in ballots accounted for 14,400 of Clinton’s votes, compared to only 8,989 for Trump. Clinton also held a 700-vote edge amongst Nov. 8 voters.

That wasn’t enough to help Clinton blunt Trump’s surprising win, however. Despite a nearly 1.5-million popular vote advantage nationwide (62,829,832-61,488,190 as of our deadline), the New York real estate developer and former reality-TV star pulled off what was supposed to be an unlikely trifecta by sweeping Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio to pick up enough electoral college votes for a 290-232 edge, with Michigan still counting votes until after our press time for this issue, but with Trump expected to grab Michigan’s 16 electoral college votes.

Clinton’s 20-point advantage in New Tampa was buoyed by big voting advantages in some of the precincts.

In precincts 362 and 363, where 6,934 presidential ballots were cast at the Cypress Point Community Church on Morris Bridge Rd., she won 60-36 percent. Of the 6,072 voters in Precinct 367 casting their ballots at St. Mark The Evangelist Catholic Church, it was Clinton over Trump, 59-38 percent. And at Lake Forest’s clubhouse, in precincts 583 and 584, Clinton held a 65-30 percent advantage among the 2,295 voters.

The New Tampa Regional Library hosted voting for two precincts that voted very differently. In Precinct 673, which encompasses the area north of Cross Creek Blvd. to the east and west of Kinnan St., 2,647 votes were cast, with 60 percent going for Clinton and 35 percent for Trump.

Meanwhile, in Precinct 361, which is mostly Hunter’s Green, Clinton was still the choice, but only by a 49-48 edge, or 26 votes (with 2,541 cast). It was the closest vote with the exception of Precinct 355, which votes at the New Tampa Family YMCA in Tampa Palms, which went for Clinton 142 votes-140.

Voter turnout in Hillsborough County was 71.56 percent compared with just 56.8 percent nationwide. However, turnout was down from both the 2012 (73 percent) and 2008 (73.5) presidential elections.

In New Tampa, voter turnout was 73.7 percent, with Precincts 361 and 358 (Compton Park in Tampa Palms) having better than 78 percent participation.

Many voters, according to various media reports, also may have just been plain disgusted by both candidates — or perhaps an election season filled with negative political ads, name-calling and scandals — and didn’t bother to cast a vote for either candidate, despite going through the trouble of finding a polling station, standing in line and filling out a ballot.

In Hillsborough County, there were 1,388 undervotes, or ballots cast where the voter elected not to make a choice for president, more than twice the 616 undervotes in 2012. The number of undervotes in many other places also was more than twice what it was in 2012. In Michigan alone, for example, more than 87,000 undervotes were tabulated.

In the U.S. Senate race between Rubio and Murphy, it was the incumbent winning comfortably overall with 4,822,182 votes, or 52 percent. Murphy received 44.3 percent, or 4,105,251 votes. In New Tampa, though, Murphy was the choice by 54-45 percent.

In other races, Lynn Gray captured the District 7 Hillsborough County School Board seat by defeating Cathy James 50.1-49.8 percent, or a mere 1,233 votes out of almost 475,000 cast.

CDD Results

A number of Community Development District (CDD) supervisor races were held as well, and winners were Paul Meier (Easton Park CDD, Seat 2), Joe Farrell (Grand Hampton CDD, Seat 4), Stephen Stark (Heritage Isles CDD Seat 1), Frank Morales (K-Bar Ranch CDD, Seat 3), Jessica Vaughn (Tampa Palms CDD, Seat 5), Brad van Rooyen (Tampa Palms Open Space & Transportation {OST} CDD, Seat 4) & Maria Lepage (Tampa Palms OST CDD, Seat 5).

election results New Tampa