AdventHealth Wesley Chapel (AHWC) marked its 10th anniversary late last year, but due to bad weather that canceled its big party, the hospitalโs administration and staff, and the Wesley Chapel community, never got to celebrate the big event.
On Sunday, February 5, the official ten-year celebration will finally be held. The hospital, Wesley Chapelโs first, promises a โfree, fun-filled day of family-friendly activities and health & wellness for every ageโ from 1 p.m.-4 p.m.
The celebration will be held in the parking lot behind the hospital, which is located at 2600 Bruce B. Downs Blvd.
AHWC has been a well-known and active fixture in Wesley Chapel, since opening in 2012 as Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel, coming along at a time when there was not nearly as much in the area.
โI think we were really the catalyst for the growth here in Wesley Chapel,โ Connie Bladon, the director of community outreach for AHWC, told us last October when the hospital turned 10. โYou always want a good hospital, (as well as) good schools, safety and security, things like that….Everything (else has) sprung up around us.โ
Since opening in 2013, the hospitalโs popular 100,000-sq.-ft. health & wellness center building, which is now called the AdventHealth Wellness Plaza Wesley Chapel, also opened, and a major expansion in 2016 saw the number of beds double (from 83 to 169) and the hospital went from having just four operating rooms to its current 12, and from 20 emergency room beds to 35.
There is still room for AHWC to expand to 300 total beds. Since it opened, the hospitalโs doctors have performed more than 56,000 surgeries and delivered more than 5,000 babies.
In 2021, AHWC teamed up with the Moffitt Cancer Center on a new three-story, 100,000-sq.-ft. medical office building, a new oncology unit with 24 in-patient rooms and two new operating rooms.
To register to attend, visit AHWesleyChapel.com/Events. โ JCC
BayCare Preview Feb. 18!
Meanwhile, BayCare Hospital Wesley Chapel, an 86-bed, state-of-the-art hospital that will open in March is hosting a Community Event preview of the new hospital on Saturday, February 18, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
BayCare Hospital Wesley Chapel will contain comprehensive medical services and health care resources including: Breast health, diabetes and endocrinology, diagnostic services (including imaging and lab), ear, nose and throat, emergency room, gastroenterology, heart and vascular, intensive care unit with virtual-monitoring beds, interventional radiology, orthopedics, primary care, pulmonology and respiratory, rehabilitation, surgery (including robotic surgery), urology, wound care and more.
The family-friendly event will include hospital tours, cuisine from local restaurants, wellness screenings, a local market, live music and entertainment and a kids village with games, activities, puppets and more.
For more information, and to register to attend, visit baycare.org/baycare-is-growing-in-wesley-chapel. โ GN
More than 18 months after The Grove teased a new grocery story in an online post, the mystery about which one would be moving into the development may be over.
It appears Super Target is, well, targeting the parcel of land on The Groveโs main property, right across Pink Flamingo Ln. from Cost Plus World Market (see map).
While nothing had been officially announced prior to our deadline (but probably will be shortly after we go to press and before you receive this issue), Target Wesley Chapel-The Grove has applied to the Southwest Florida Management District (aka Swiftmud) for an environmental resource permit (ERP), which is required before any construction can begin. Detailed plans for the construction also have been submitted.
Representatives from The Grove said nothing has been signed with Target, only. that it is one of a number of companies with which it has been negotiating with and it expects to make an announcement soon.
While it may be disappointing to those hoping for a Whole Foods or Trader Joeโs to open a store in the space, itโs not that surprising that Super Target, a popular retail-grocery hybrid, was the choice. A pre-application meeting was held with Pasco County planners on Oct. 18 where plans for a 147,000-sq.-ft. retail building, with nearly 500 parking spots, was presented by an unnamed party (most likely Target or The Grove).
Due to the size of the proposed building, it was clear it would not be any of the trendy grocery stores desired by locals, and likely would be a Super Target or Walmart.
There already is, of course, another Super Target in Wesley Chapel, located at the corner of County Line Rd. and Bruce B. Downs Blvd., although proximity to their other stores doesnโt stop big names like Publix, Walmart or Starbucks. And, considering the future growth planned in the S.R. 54 corridor, itโs not like the area canโt handle a second Target store.
Traffic on Oakley Blvd., however, should be interesting, considering that new apartments and townhomes will soon be completed in the area, and will be adding hundreds of more cars per day to the already-congested road.
The Super Target is the second new grocery store planned for Wesley Chapel. Just a few miles east on S.R. 54, plans have been filed with the county by Publix for a new 60,548-sq.-ft. center, which would be anchored by a 48,848-sq.-ft. grocery store that also will include a 2,100-sq.-ft. liquor store and 9,600 square feet of retail space.
As weโve previously reported, the new Publix will be located behind the Bank of America, Advance Auto Parts and Starbucks-anchored Pleasant Plaza on S.R. 54.
Most Saddlebrook residents are aware the once-prime development they live in is showing signs of age, and has been badly in need of a refresh for years.
However, what new owners Mast Capital have planned for the resort and surrounding community isnโt quite clear, residents argued on Jan. 5 at a Pasco County Planning Commission meeting in New Port Richey.
While Mast Capitalโs plans to redevelop Saddlebrook by changing the countyโs comprehensive plan and producing a new Master Planned Unit Development (MPUD) managed to pass the planning commission by a 5-2 vote and will eventually require approval by the Board of County Commissioners (BCC), most of the 100 or so opponents that showed up to the nearly four-and-a-half hour meeting left scratching their heads.
The issue for most of them was clarity.
What the plans were clear about was adding apartments, townhomes and more than 100,000 sq. ft. of retail and commercial space outside the gates of the resort, on the undeveloped land along S.R. 54. However, the details were murkier regarding what is actually going to happen inside the gates of Saddlebrook, particularly with the renowned golf courses, tennis courts and resort.
โWe were very disappointed,โ said JoAnn Barbetta, who along with husband Larry formed the Save Saddlebrook Coalition last month. โI was really surprised that they (the Planning Commission) could move forward to recommend something that seems so lacking in detail.โ
Eran Landry, the managing director of Mast Capital, told the Planning Commission members that the resort would receive a significant upgrade โand be much more upscale than what itโs been.โ
Plans include 5,000 sq. ft. of retail, a new 12,000-sq.-ft. clubhouse, renovated restaurants, new outdoor amenities, improved dorms and additional parking.
Landry mentioned ice cream shops, splash pads and a more family-friendly environment, upgrading the โunderwhelmingโ pool and improving resort rooms โthat just arenโt competitiveโ in todayโs market.
But, the plans for the two Arnold Palmer-designed golf courses and driving range (which is currently located near the entrance of the resort and serves as the training center for Saddlebrookโs golf academy) riled opponents.
โWe love nature and it hurts my heart when developers come in and mow down every tree to get every dollar out of every inch of land,โ resident Jacqueline May said. โThatโs why we bought in Saddlebrook.โ
While Mastโs original plans to add 60 single-family homes and 100 townhomes over one of the golf courses were scrapped, Landry said the 36 total golf holes would be reconfigured to 27 holes, and the driving range would be relocated.
He did not say who was going to redesign the newly configured golf course, saying Mast was in talks with the late Arnold Palmerโs design company and another golf course designer, and did not say where the driving range would be moved.
Also, there were questions over what would fill any space remaining in the aftermath of reducing the number of holes, and how that would affect home owners who bought their homes for the golf course views.
Jacqueline May, a teacher at Pasco-Hernando State College, held back tears as she told the Planning Commission members that her and her husbandโs home was their retirement nest egg, and that they purchased it because of the view and the natural beauty surrounding it.
โWe love nature and it hurts my heart when developers come in and mow down every tree to get every dollar out of every inch of land,โ she said. โThatโs why we bought in Saddlebrook.โ
There also was no mention by Landry about whether or not there were any plans for the tennis courts in the same area. Saddlebrook has notably been the training ground for professional tennis stars like Martina Hingis, John Isner, Jennifer Capriati, Jim Courier and many others.
Changes Along S.R. 54
Plans for the two outer parcels were clearer.
Mostly west of the main entrance at Saddlebrook Way on S.R. 54, a 35-acre parcel will include 75,000 sq. ft. of commercial, 465 apartments and 35 townhomes. An additional road, the long-rumored Vision Rd. which is eventually supposed to connect to both Wiregrass Ranch Blvd. and Bruce B. Downs Blvd., will be built to accommodate additional traffic in and out of the new development.
Justina Gale of Florida Design Consultants told the Planning Commission this area would become a true mixed-use integrated and multi-story project, with retail on the bottom and offices above it, with the apartments further back off S.R. 54. It will include trails, neighborhood parks, plazas and will โcreate a sense of place.โ
An additional 19-acre parcel further west will include another 25,000 sq. ft. of commercial as well as 120 townhomes.
Opponents cited traffic as a concern โ there is only one way in and out of Saddlebrook, which they say will create traffic jams. They also said replacing the green space along the resortโs entrance with apartments and restaurants was incompatible with the nature theme the resort has cultivated for more than 40 years.
โSaddlebrook is a gem and needs to be treated that way,โ JoAnn Barbetta said. โGrowth and development is a part of our life and I understand that. But, there comes a time when we need to take a pause, step back and ask whether we want to completely alter the character of a beloved, historic community like Saddlebrook.โ
The Planning Commission had concerns with the lack of detail in the plans, as well as a few errors and omissions. Chief assistant county attorney David Goldstein, who did not have a vote, questioned whether that lack of detail โwould put the Board in a bad spot.โ
Planning commission member Jon Moody was the most outspoken against approving the plans. He had originally flagged them when they hadnโt been seen by residents and somehow ended up on a consent agenda, which recommends approval without debate, leading to the Jan. 5 meeting where residents could hear about and finally see the plans and voice their concerns.
โI will tell you I would not feel comfortable today denying this application,โ Moody said. โBut I would feel more comfortable if it were brought back to us with more detail at a later date.โ
Planning Commission chair Charles Grey sympathized with the concerned residents, especially those who fear losing the golf course views they paid a premium for decades ago, but also told them they needed to understand that, โif you donโt do something, your beautiful development is going to die.โ
He voted against forwarding the plans to the BCC, but urged the residents to work with Mast.
After some consternation, the Planning Commission moved the plans forward, with a hopeful request that more details are provided will be by Mast Capital in the proposed MPUD before the BCC has its say next month.
Itโs been nearly 20 years in the making, but the long-anticipated interchange at I-75 and Overpass Rd. is officially opened.
The Florida Department of Transportation announced Wednesday morning that the project, which began in October 2020, was now open to traffic
The interchange, at the new Exit #282 off I-75, is located halfway between S.R. 54 (Exit 279) and S.R. 52 (Exit 285) and provided drivers in and around Wesley Chapel another option to enter and exit S.R. 75.
The Overpass Rd. Interchange (Photo: FDOT)
According to FDOT, the new interchange will address the projected increase in traffic in the area and โsignificantlyโ reduce the volume of traffic on S.R.s 52 and 54.
The diamond-shaped interchange includes a flyover ramp for those traveling west on Overpass Rd. and seeking access onto southbound I-75. It is expected to be a boon for the area, which is growing quickly and already includes Cypress Creek High School on the west side and to the east the Connected City and neighboring Villages of Pasadena Hills projects, which upon completion could add roughly 40,000 homes and hundreds of thousands of square feet of commercial projects to the area.
The Overpass Interchange project, first studied in 2005, cost $64.6 million. It first received federal approval in 2014 and overcame a roadblock in 2017, when then-Governor and current Senator Rick Scott vetoed $15 million for the project. However, the request was re-inserted into the budget in 2018 and spared another veto, pushing the project forward.
The interchange is only part of the project, which includes the widening of Overpass Rd. from two lanes to four lanes between the interstate and Old Pasco Rd. to the west and six lanes (including two auxiliary lanes) between the interstate and Boyette Rd. to the east.
Also, Blair Dr. has been realigned to connect with Old Pasco Rd., and McKendree Rd. has been realigned to connect with Boyette Rd.
A 10-foot wide sidewalk has been constructed on the north side of Overpass Rd (next to the westbound traffic lanes), and a 6-foot wide sidewalk is open on the south side (next to the eastbound traffic lanes).
Taxes. Death. Stonewood being chosen by our readers as New Tampaโs Favorite Restaurant.
(L.-r.) Tampa Palms location Executive Chef Greg Gonzalez, operating partner Denny Diaz and Corporate Chef Danny Manzur of Stonewood Grill & Tavern invite you to check out what has once again been voted as our readersโ Favorite Restaurant in New Tampa. When new dishes like the amazing Manhattan Strip Steak (below) keep being added to the menu, itโs easy to understand who Stonewood keeps winning. (Photos by Charmaine George)
Despite some changes in operating partners over the years, little else has changed at Stonewood. Since opening in 2002, it has consistently been voted the areaโs favorite, even in the face of some tough new challengers like Via Italia and the Grill at Morris Bridge.
This is the sixth straight year Stonewood has topped our survey results, and it has had many other top finishes in the years before that.
Manhattan Strip Steak
It still has a great bar, a superb wine selection and a menu featuring tasty items like cedar plank roasted salmon, sweet tea-brined pork chops, Tuscan chicken and other items you wonโt find anywhere else in New Tampa โ including the new Manhattan Strip Steak, created by Corporate Chef Danny Manzur, which we got to preview before this thick, tender and juicy strip was added to the regular menu on Jan. 4.
There also are burgers, sandwiches, salads and pastas, as well as crafted bowls featuring pokรฉ, Southwest chicken and salmon.
Its steaks are popular โ in fact, Stonewood was the only restaurant in our survey to top two categories, thanks to it also winning Favorite Steak in New Tampa or Wesley Chapel.
With an upscale atmosphere that suits a family or that is perfect for date night, the Stonewood experience continues to be one enjoyed by many. โ JC
2. The Grill at Morris Bridge 3. Via Italiaย 4. Liangโs Bistro 5. The Fat Rabbit Pub 6. The Brunchery 7. Sushi Cafรฉ 8. Frammi 9. Fresh Kitchen 10. Lima Peruvian
