Tesla Dealership & Verve Wesley Chapel Are Coming To Seven Oaks By I-75 

Photos of the construction of the new Tesla dealership (above) & Verve Wesley Chapel apartments (below right) by Joel Provenzano.

Local Tesla owners, both current and future, will soon have reason to celebrate. There are two new developments taking shape alongside I-75 in Seven Oaks, just south of the S.R. 54 exit, across Eagleston Blvd. from the existing Blue Heron Senior Living facility (see map below). 

Tesla, the electric vehicle (EV) powerhouse, recently poured the future dealership’s concrete foundation (photo, above) for a new one story building, which should be a little over 50,000 sq. ft. total on about eight acres. According to the description in Tesla’s permit, the new dealership will include a service center for electric automobiles, a showroom area, a customer lounge, a break room and office space.” 

The service area is slated to be about 41,000 sq. ft., which is downright huge for any dealership (with more than 50 service bays), leaving just 9,000 sq. ft. for all of the other functions. There will be 20 charging station parking spaces behind the building (of which half appear to be super chargers), and close to another 530 parking spaces onsite for inventory and customers’ vehicles. 

From what we’ve been told, Tesla might still get an offsite lot for additional inventory, depending upon how busy the dealership will be. Based on the number of Teslas already cruising around our area, the dealership could be one of the busiest in Wesley Chapel. 

According to a local Tesla sales representative, the dealership is slated to open by the end of this year. For those unfamiliar, these relatively new dealerships and the whole Tesla sales experience are very different from most other vehicle brands. 

How It Used To Work 

I still remember the very first time I rode in a new Tesla. Many years ago, a Tesla sales person came to my office at the time, in a silver ‘Model S’ P100D sedan. What a great-looking car it was, super clean and very modern. It also was the first time I had ever seen an almost all-white interior. 

Me and three of my coworkers piled in, with the sales person at the wheel, pulling out of our parking lot and onto the local street. He pulled slightly over to the side of the road, went to the drive settings on the touch screen, and went for a button labeled “ludicrous.” 

In my head I was thinking, “Why would anyone label a drive mode that way?” He hit the accelerator and we all found out really quickly how appropriate that name actually was! 

The map is from Collier Companies, modified by Neighborhood News.

The instant torque from the electric motor was nothing like I’d experienced before, as both my stomach and my brain were being relentlessly pushed into the seat back until he let off at 80 miles per hour, all of us finally able to take a deep breath after what seemed like an eternity, but in reality was less than 4 seconds. 

I had raced motorcycles when I was younger at the local drag strip, but this sedan was faster than that! “What a great way to sell cars!,” I thought. The point of these early demos was to give potential customers more than just a glimpse of these EVs. The idea was to allow you to experience the difference between Tesla and vehicles by any other automaker. 

Back in those days, and for a few years after, the demos were the only way to appreciate a Tesla first hand, unless you knew someone who drove one. You could either book an appointment and drive to a small sales office (if you could even call it that) in some back lot of a corporate park, or if it was being demoed to enough people, the sales people would bring it to your group’s location, as they did in my case. 

But, you couldn’t buy the demo vehicle you tested, as the sales were online only, with a set, no-haggle price. And, in many cases, a deposit was required to secure your place in line to even begin to ‘order’ more popular or upcoming models. 

Even with the new dealerships, however, not much of that sales philosophy has changed, and the Tesla brand takes great pride in its unique way of selling its vehicles. 

How It Works Now 

Tesla sales are still technically online, which means you still can’t test drive the exact vehicle you want to buy. The vehicles are still sold at a set price, with no haggling, and a $250 ordering deposit is required to secure the specific vehicle you want to buy, although the deposit may be less depending upon the model. 

We were told that the vehicle you choose gets removed from the “available inventory” when the deposit is received, or if the deposit is for an upcoming or brand new model, it secures your place in the ordering queue. 

While this may be counterintuitive to the traditional dealership models people are used to, most customers have raved about the simplicity of the process in their Google reviews. 

From what we read in the reviews, and speaking with two different Tesla sales associates, one in the national online/call-in sales office and the other a local (Westshore) sales person we spoke with by text, we got some further clarity. 

The in-person sales associates at the dealership are there to help answer questions (they were good at answering all of mine), review vehicle inventory that may be available locally, help customers place their online order to get an inventory vehicle or a custom-ordered vehicle from the factory, provide and schedule test drives in their demo vehicles, and help customers take delivery of their vehicles when they arrive at the dealership (or if they’re already present in inventory), including providing any remaining paperwork that needs to be signed. 

The sales associates clarified that if a vehicle is in local inventory, that vehicle is assigned to one of the physical Tesla sales offices (or dealerships), and you would have to pick up the vehicle from that specific office when purchased, explaining that inventory vehicles cannot be transferred or shipped to other dealerships or offices for pickup — which can occur within three days for inventory vehicles. 

If purchasing a custom-ordered vehicle from the factory, you can specify exactly which Tesla location you want your vehicle delivered to in the app. 

One thing I’ve always heard is that Tesla can deliver to your door like Amazon, but there’s a caveat to that. The company does deliver to homes through a service called “Carrier Direct” but the Tesla website states, “This fee-based option is available for customers who prefer to have their vehicle delivered, and who live more than 220 miles from the nearest Tesla delivery location.” So basically, this service isn’t available anywhere near Tampa Bay, as the national sales rep confirmed. 

That rep also said that Tesla does take trade-ins. It’s all done over the app at the time of purchase and there’s never an in-person inspection required. They’ll give you a “take it or leave it” price quote for the trade (again, no haggling), and the rep stated that their prices are very competitive with other similar services like Carmax or Carvana. They even encouraged getting quotes from one or both of those services in advance to know whose would be the best. 

Do People Like The Tesla Dealerships? 

This is not the first full-size Tesla dealership to be built in the Tampa Bay area. The first is in North Tampa, on N. Florida Ave., near the intersection with W. Fowler Ave. The location was the former Bob Wilson, Jeep-Chrysler-Dodge that had sat vacant for years. The site already had a parking garage, so Tesla just built a new dealership building on the site in 2018, opening its doors shortly after. 

Currently, there are mixed reviews of the existing Tampa dealership; the positives were mostly those absolutely praising the super simple Tesla purchasing and delivery process, along with staff’s ability to answer questions. 

But, the negatives were mostly about how others have found that the service department was severely lacking, in both the availability of needed parts and installing them, communication with/and scheduling of customers, the exorbitant cost of non-warrantied issues and the overall quality of the services performed. 

We’ll see soon enough how this new Wesley Chapel location will stack up. 

Urbon Apartments Now Have Verve 

The Verve Wesley Chapel luxury apartment complex, formerly known as Urbon at Seven Oaks, is quickly taking shape (right photo) adjacent to I-75, just south of the under-construction Tesla Dealership, directly across the street from Blue Heron Senior Living. 

Verve is a little further ahead of Tesla, with the buildings now going vertical, and with the bare concrete elevator shafts looming like ancient monoliths next to I-75. 

The apartments are being developed by The Collier Companies, which on its website describes itself as, “a multifamily housing management and real estate development company based in Gainesville, FL, [with] 12,000 apartment homes & growing.” 

Collier’s Tampa Bay-area portfolio is situated around USF and includes traditional apartment housing called Lakeview Oaks Apartments on N. 37th St, and two student-specific apartment complexes called Reflections Apartments on E. Bearss Ave. and IQ Luxury Apartments (built in 2016), which are on Bruce B. Downs Blvd., immediately south of the Haley Veterans Administration Hospital. 

The website for Verve Wesley Chapel doesn’t have much information, but it does currently state, “We don’t just rent apartments. From the moment you walk through the front door, you’ll feel the comfort that makes our residents happy to call us home. Cutting-edge amenities, meticulously-groomed grounds and a dedicated staff contribute to a higher standard of living. Convenient shopping, award-winning schools, local museums and parks are all close at hand, with sponsored activities to develop new hobbies while getting to know your neighbors.” 

The complex will be a fairly large one, situated on 16.8 acres and consisting of six 4-story buildings with 360 apartments total — including 144 1-bedroom, 168 2-bedroom, and 48 3-bedroom units. The center of the complex will be situated around a large swimming pool, with an unobstructed pond view towards the sunsets. Other amenities and features, like elevators, a gym, meeting spaces, large common areas, and 30 rentable 1-car garages will be similar to other newer, high-end apartments in the Wesley Chapel area. Verve is expected to open sometime later this year; we did not have information at our press time about what the rents might be. 

Do You Know Any Of These Newly Married Couples?

On a beautiful Valentine’s Day, February 14, 23 couples were joined in holy matrimony by Pasco Clerk of the Court & Comptroller Nikki Alvarez-Sowles (photo), in front of the historic courthouse building in Dade City. This is the 17th year Pasco has held a Valentine’s Day Wedding Ceremony, which has previously helped more than 300 couples tie the knot. 

There were two couples listed with Wesley Chapel addresses:

Edwin Rodriguez & Loretta Hernandez

Renande Valcine & Michelle L. Santiago

Best of luck to all of the happy couples!

Please Be Aware Of The Crossing Guards & Signals On Mansfield Blvd. 

In our Sept. 3 issue, we told you about the new traffic signal that was installed along Mansfield Blvd., directly in front of Wiregrass Elementary, and that the signal was activated only a few days before the start of the school year. 

Only a few months later, that signal has already gotten a safety upgrade, thanks in part to some ongoing inattentive motorists, although the upgrade actually had been planned from the beginning. 

In Nov., a crew from Traffic Control Products of Florida was seen removing the overhead metal sign panels that said “No Right Turn On Red” and replacing them with electronic “No Right Turn” graphic signs that illuminate in all directions when pedestrians get the walk symbol (called an “exclusive pedestrian phase”), so that right-turning motorists stop and do not conflict with pedestrians in the crosswalk. 

These electronic signs had already been installed facing the two heaviest right turn movements but now, all four approaches to the location have them. When the signal was first installed, loops of wire were coiled on the span so that crews could easily come back and replace the signs with electronic ones when needed. 

It’s important that motorists pay attention to these overhead signs, as their primary purpose is to protect school children (and anyone else) using the crosswalks. 

Even more important is that motorists MUST pay attention to and obey the commands of the crossing guards/traffic control officers (TCOs), as they are trained by the Pasco Sheriff’s Office and frequently control traffic independently of what the overhead signal shows. 

Tasked With Keeping Your Kids Safe 

For the newer signal location, this traffic control responsibility falls to TCO Bob Terracciano (top photo) — the guy with the green gloves and whistle, who’s normally directing traffic from the middle of the signalized intersection. “Some days it runs smoothly, other days are a mess,” Bob told the Neighborhood News while keeping a constant eye on the approaching traffic. 

Bob has lived in the area for more than nine years, having moved from New York to Florida in January of 2016. He previously worked at a telephone company for 34 years, and found his current TCO job online, shortly after arriving here. 

He says that in all of the years he’s been directing traffic at that intersection (he also says that he hopes to be there for at least nine more years), he’s never had an incident with any of the pedestrians, but not without a lot of effort sometimes by him and the other crossing guards. 

Even though the signal has been in operation for months, Bob says there have been quite a few close calls and delayed starts caused by drivers who are staring up at the signal — or (more likely) down at their phones — even though Bob is waving them forward or telling them to stop using hand commands. If no commands are being given, then motorists must obey the traffic signal. 

Back in November, a local resident reported that the driver of an SUV was either not paying attention, or intentionally drove straight through the intersection when they weren’t supposed to, which caught Bob by surprise, leading him to waive his arms and yell to get the driver’s attention, causing the motorist to stop in the middle of the intersection not knowing what to do. Bob ultimately waived the driver through, but says close calls like these are completely avoidable. 

In general, Bob says he really likes the signal and that it’s been a huge improvement from the old 4-way stop: “Before the signal, I had to move and direct every single car from the stop signs.” 

However, Bob said he’s not really a big fan of the new electronic signs and prefers the metal ones, because he believes that when the electronic signs turn off and on, it may distract or confuse motorists from what he is directing them to do. 

Bob says the number one thing he asks of every driver is to “stay off your phone,” while driving through any school zone, which starts on Mansfield just south of the gate for the Wrencrest subdivision of Meadow Pointe. “When they get a big traffic ticket [over $400] they tend to not do it again.” He just wishes the Pasco Sheriff’s Office was able to patrol the school zone more often, as he feels that’s the biggest deterrent to poor driver behavior but, he says, Pasco doesn’t alway have the resources to do so. 

This sentiment is shared by the TCO down at the Wrencrest gate, who the students refer to as Mr. Thomas, who has been at that intersection for seven years and has never missed a single day, “or even a single second,” he says. 

Mr. Thomas also says that before he was a crossing guard, he worked for the California Highway Patrol for 30 years. He says that, at first, he was a little apprehensive about the signal down the street, but feels it has worked out well. The number one thing he asks of drivers is to please slow down whenever you are driving through any school zone. Mr. Thomas also says that he’s also never seen an accident with any pedestrians at his intersection, but you can tell that both Bob and Mr. Thomas fully intend to keep it that way. 

Both crossing guards also say they help cross the students from the adjacent John Long Middle School, even though they are not required to (as they are there for the elementary school students), but they do it as a joint effort, since the bell times for Long and Wiregrass Elementary are so close together. Bob notes that if the bell times change next school year, middle school kids may not have him or Mr. Thomas available to help them cross. 

But please, pay extra attention anytime the school zones are active. 

Sean Bartell Foundation Charity Bingo Event Raises Thousands For Local Scholarships! 

(l.-r.) Simone & James Bartell, Paul & Jamie Bartell & Phyllis Yoder (Jamie’s Sister) at the Sean Bartell Memorial Foundation’s Charity Bingo event held in the cafeteria at Cypress Creek High on Jan. 24, which raised nearly $4,000 for the Foundation. (Photos by Charmaine George) 

Congratulations to my friends Jamie, Paul and James Bartell for hosting another successful Charity Bingo event for the Sean Bartell Memorial Foundation — which was named in honor and memory of Paul and Jamie’s younger son Sean, who passed away in 2014 from Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, or SJS. 

This year’s Charity Bingo event, which was postponed and had to find a new location because of Hurricane Milton, was held on Jan. 25 in the cafeteria at Cypress Creek High, and that Paul says was attended by about 150 people and raised just shy of $4,000. 

That money will be used to fund scholarships for seniors graduating from Wiregrass Ranch, Wesley Chapel, Cypress Creek and Zephyrhills high schools, as well as Kirkland Ranch Academy of Innovation off Curley Rd. for the first time. From 2015, when Jamie and Paul founded the Foundation, to last year, $74,000 already has been awarded in $1,000 scholarships and $10,000 provided to teachers at our local high schools. 

“We exceeded our expectations this year,” Paul says, “and hope to do even better next year!” 

Among the prizes won at this year’s Bingo event were (photo below) a 50” TV, Kate Spade and Michael Kors purses, dining gift cards, a set of top-quality steak knives and more. Congrats again! — GN 

JD Porter Getting Ready To Build His Legacy At Wiregrass Ranch! 

Wiregrass Ranch Developer Is Still Waiting To Finalize The Agreement With Pasco County Before Proceeding With His ‘Downtown’ 

The planned 1,500-seat concert hall and five-story parking structure (far left) planned in Phase One of The Legacy at Wiregrass Ranch, which developer JD Porter says will be the true downtown for not just his development, but all of Pasco County. (All maps & renderings provided by Wiregrass Ranch)

 When it was announced back in December that Pasco County had reached an agreement in principle with Wiregrass Ranch developer JD Porter and his Locust Branch LLC development company on Phase 1 of Legacy at Wiregrass Ranch — the 30-acre area set aside by Porter to serve as his uniquely urban downtown — Porter and his chief operating officer Scott Sheridan thought that it would only be a matter of weeks before they would be able to begin moving dirt. 

But now, more than six weeks (at our press time) after that agreement in principle was reached, Porter and Sheridan — in an exclusive sit-down with yours truly — said they are still waiting. 

“We need to get Phase 1 of Legacy at Wiregrass going now,” Porter said. “We’re trying to time the opening of the downtown area — with all of its office and retail — with the opening of the Orlando Health hospital (the largest in Wesley Chapel, which is expected to be done in early 2026). We estimate that if we get started right away, Phase 1 of Legacy could be completed within a few months after the hospital’s opening.” 

Sheridan added, “The good news is that we already have most of the infrastructure needed for Legacy in place. We’re ready.” 

For anyone who hasn’t heard, Pasco’s Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved the “term sheet” for Legacy at Wiregrass Ranch — where the financial plan for what Commission chair (and Dist. 3 commissioner) Kathryn Starkey called “Pasco County’s downtown” on Dec. 10. 


The map above shows the location of Legacy at Wiregrass Ranch between S.R. 56 and Chancey Rd. The two maps below are turned on their sides (north is actually to the left instead of up in both) to show Legacy’s proximity to the under-construction Orlando Health Hospital complex, which is actually located south and to the east of Legacy.

Part of the agreement announced in December are ad valorem tax incentives for the developer of $50 million total, spread over 30 years, to offset the $85 million in Wiregrass Ranch’s investment in public infrastructure for Phase One alone. Sheridan and Porter estimate that the construction costs for the entire Legacy project are between $400-$500 million. 

Sheridan said that Wiregrass Ranch, the 5,100-acre cattle ranch owned by Porter and his family, which is less than 40% developed at present, already provides a tax base of $1.5 billion, with nearly $11 million annually in county operating revenue. At buildout, he says, that tax base is projected to be as much as $6 billion, with about $50 million in annual revenues for the county. 

Among the elements planned for Legacy’s first phase (of 130 acres total set aside for the two phases of Legacy) are 150,000 sq. ft. (in two 75,000-sq.-ft. buildings) of office space, adjacent to the 150,000 sq. ft. of office space (in one 90,000-sq.-ft. and one 60,000-sq.-ft. building) now under construction on Orlando Health’s campus, next to the hospital. “Quite honestly,” Sheridan said. “That 300,000 square feet of office will look like one large master development.” 

Sheridan also noted that Wiregrass Ranch and an unnamed partner also is developing an additional 100,000 sq. ft. of office space in two buildings to the west of Wiregrass Ranch Blvd. 

One of the most important parts of the first phase of Legacy is a $37-million, five-story parking structure with about 1,500 spaces to serve the office buildings, retail and 150,000-sq.-ft. “eatertainment” complex, all within walking distance of each other, as well as of a planned 150-room hotel and 820 multi-family apartments. If you’ve ever been to the new Midtown Tampa, Legacy at Wiregrass is about 30% larger. The hotel and apartment buildings also are expected to be four and five stories tall. 

“This type of density is definitely urban,” Sheridan said. “It’s not suburban sprawl, because we’re doing on 30 acres what Pasco usually puts on 100 acres.” 

‘Eatertainment’ Galore! 

The part of the agreement for Legacy announced in December that yours truly is most excited about is the 150,000-sq. ft.. “Eatertainment” complex. Sheridan says that this area will include an Armature Works-style food hall, upscale retail stores, some “jewel box” standalone restaurants, a concert hall with about 1,500 seats immediately adjacent to the parking structure, plus a hotel, conference center and public art. 

And, although neither Sheridan nor Porter were willing to name any of the potential tenants or operators they’ve spoken with to put restaurants in Legacy, both mentioned having conversations with operators of restaurants on Water St. in downtown Tampa, Beach Dr. in downtown St. Pete and other upscale dining areas. 

The above rendering and those below show the urban look and feel of Legacy.

“Legacy has been designed by Torti Gallas + Partners,” Sheridan said, “the same firm that designed GasWorx in Ybor City, the Silversaw apartments (next to the Hyatt Place Tampa-Wesley Chapel hotel) and many of the most beautiful mixed-use projects across the country. And, they told us that Legacy at Wiregrass is unique in its location, planning and design.” 

Porter added, “Most of the time, when projects like these are approved, the developer first has to put in the infrastructure, but most of that is already in place in Legacy. We’re ready to begin building as soon as we get the final word from the county that we can begin.” 

To which Sheridan added, “We don’t need another County Commission vote. All we need is for the Planning & Economic Development department to finalize the agreement.” 

He also noted that until the agreement with the county has been finalized, “We can’t finalize deals with the tenants we’ve been talking with for the retail and restaurant spaces. But, as soon as we’re able to close those deals, we know the community is going to be excited about them.” 

To which Porter added, “These are not going to be the same retail strip centers with the same type of tenants that you see everywhere else in Pasco.” 

Sheridan also says that residents in the multi-family apartments will not be parking in the main garage structure. Instead, they will have their own parking structure. At the Dec. BOC meeting, Dist. 5 commissioner Jack Mariano requested that some of those rental units be converted to townhomes for “workforce housing,” but still voted to approve the Legacy agreement in principle without any such conversion being promised by Sheridan or Porter. 

“And, even though they’d have to cross S.R. 56 to do so, Porter said, “students and staff from the Porter Campus at Pasco Hernando State College can even walk to Legacy.” 

He added, “We’re not just doing the same thing everyone else in Pasco does. We want this to be the kind of place people are drawn to for years to come.” 

Wiregrass Ranch Update 

The Orlando Health construction is moving along nicely, and the $300-million hospital complex, which sits on 47 acres at the corner of S.R. 56 and Wiregrass Ranch Blvd., just south and east of Legacy, will include 102 beds when it opens and 300 when it is built out. 

Porter and Sheridan also mentioned that although Pasco had yet to finalize its deal with Sports Facilities Companies of Clearwater to take over the management of the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus, “The county picked the best possible operator to take over.,” Porter said. “It would just be nice to hear that the deal is finalized, because, in our agreement for the land we donated for it, the county (which has been managing the Sports Campus since buying out the management contract of RADDSports in 2023) was never supposed to be managing that facility.” 

Porter also said that with the success of Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant on the north side of S.R. 56 (at Lajuana Blvd.), “we’ve been having some pretty serious negotiations with a number of restaurant operators — some successful Tampa Bay-area operators and some top-level chains” — for the restaurant pads adjacent to Cooper’s Hawk. 

For more information about Wiregrass Ranch, visit TheWiregrassRanch.com.Â