Although we understand how many local residents feel about additional apartments coming to Wesley Chapel, here is news about yet another new rental community now under construction in our area. Located on the south side of S.R. 56, just east of the entrance for the new Wesley Chapel community of Woodcreek (see map), is a 19.81-acre site, with an appraised land value of more than $11 million, that currently is being filled with dirt and graded by an army of bulldozers (photo). The site is being prepared for the Bainbridge Wesley Chapel apartment project, which will be bordered on the west side by the Wyndfields Blvd. extension that also is currently under construction.
Bainbridge โ which is being developed by PCCP, LLC, and the Bainbridge Companies, LLC โ will be one of the largest apartment complexes in Wesley Chapel, as it is planned to be a โClass Aโ community comprised of six four-story buildings (with elevators) and a total of 411 units, consisting of 145 one-bedroom units (with 820 sq. ft. of living area), 202 two-bedroom units (1,237 sq. ft. each) and 64 three-bedroom units (1,470 sq. ft.).ย
Unique to this particular apartment complex are the number of garages, many more than what most apartment communities offer. Bainbridge will feature both attached and detached garage spaces, 160 total, in addition to 536 regular parking spaces. Of those garage spaces, 32 actually will be tandem (2-car) garage spaces, something not normally seen even in townhome communities, much less apartments.
The projectโs website states that, โThe units will offer residents high-end interior finishes, including stone countertops in the kitchen areas, stainless steel appliances, in-unit washers & dryers, shaker cabinets, nine-foot ceilings, oversized walk-in-closets, smart thermostats, keyless entry and vinyl plank flooring. On-site amenities will include an expansive clubhouse with indoor/outdoor club rooms with social areas, TVs and fire pits, as well as a resort-style pool with a sun deck and grilling areas, a fitness center, on-site storage spaces and a dog park.โ
According to the plans, a new right-in/ right-out driveway with a right turn lane will be provided off S.R. 56 as the communityโs primary entrance. A secondary entrance to Wyndfields Blvd. also will be constructed so vehicles will have an option to exit there, directly to the future traffic signal for Wyndfields Blvd. at S.R. 56.
Bainbridge Companies has developed more than 60 apartment communities in five states, including 50 in Florida, with Bainbridge at Sunlake being the closest to us.
The current state of construction at Daybreak Market Wiregrass. (Photo by Joel Provenzano)ย
On the SE corner of S.R. 56 at Heuland Pond Blvd., something is coming that many of us havenโt seen in this area or may not be familiar with at all โ Daybreak Market at Wiregrass which will sell โ76ยฎโ branded gasoline.
Daybreak Market (see map) is a new convenience store concept where some of the things the company touts include $0.99 any-sized coffee or fountain drinks (with even lower Grand Opening prices), a beer cave called โThe Ice Boxโ and indoor/ outdoor seating and tables for food time, plus fully digital touch screen fuel pumps.
According to the companyโs social media page, Daybreak Market opened three new locations in Florida just last year and there are nine locations in Florida, including three in Port Charlotte. The closest one to our area was just opened this year at the corner of S.R. 54 at South Branch Blvd. (near the Suncoast Pkwy.) in Odessa, where oddly, the pumps and store face away from the main road.ย
The map shows the locations of Daybreak, FCS and 7-11 (Google map modified by NN)ย
The 1.73-acre corner parcel in Wesley Chapel has most of its major vertical construction already completed, as the reinforced concrete fuel pad area, canopy supports and convenience store building have all taken shape. The store will be just under 5,000 sq. ft. but there will be a lot more pumps/fueling positions than at any other gas station in our area, which according to the plans we reviewed and our visit to the site, appears to be up to 24 regular fueling positions (gas nozzles).
If that number is correct, Daybreak Market & Fuel will easily be the biggest gas station in Wesley Chapel, as even the RaceTrac down the street and Costco near the Tampa Premium Outlets each only have 18 fueling positions total, and it would be double Samโs Clubโs 12.
Originally, there was a Circle K that was going to be on the other side of Heuland Pond Blvd. (between S.R. 56 and Sand Dune Rd.) years ago, but the permits for that project expired at the end of 2017.
Instead, Daybreak Market Wiregrass will be just the second gas station in the Wiregrass Ranch development, as the 7-Eleven at the intersection of Mansfield Blvd. and Wiregrass School Rd., which opened last year, was the first.
And now, thereโs a new medical office building under construction in the previously planned Circle K location by Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute (labeled as FCS on map). See page 16 for that story.
What the vote means for two Wesley Chapel properties & what Pasco Countyโs affordable housing plans are moving forwardย
The Tapestry at Cypress Creek apartments, located at the intersection of Wesley Chapel Blvd. and S.R.s 54 & 56, is one of two existing apartment communities that have applied to greatly reduce their property taxes under Floridaโs โLive Localโ law. (Source: TapestryCypressCreekApartments.com)ย
When the Pasco County Board of Commissioners (BOC) voted unanimously on May 21 to opt out of a portion of the stateโs recently revised โLive Localโ law that was originally passed last year, it didnโt stop the BOC from continuing to look to find other ways to bring affordable or โworkforceโ housing to the county.
โWe all agreed that although those in the workforce need more affordable housing,โ says District 2 Commissioner Seth Weightman, โLive Local just did not seem to accomplish that goal.โ
To that end, Pascoโs senior assistant county attorney David Goldstein made a presentation to the commissioners at their May 21 BOC meeting which summarized the reasons why the county was choosing to opt out of the provision of the Live Local law (pushed by Senate President Kathleen Passidomo during the 2023 State Legislative session) that was modified towards the end of the 2024 session to allow local jurisdictions the opportunity to โopt out.โ
Pasco, led by Comm. Weightman, was at the forefront of the fight to get the law changed during this yearโs session, as one of the two properties that applied for the Live Local tax break โ the Tapestry at Cypress Creek apartments (where Jannah and I have lived the past five years, since the complex first opened), where Wesley Chapel Blvd., S.R. 54 and S.R. 56 meet โ is located in his district. I can personally vouch for what Comm. Weightman said at the May 21 meeting:
โThat complex has been around for a number of years and was never intended to be an affordable housing project. Itโs Class A multifamily living with amenities, right next to Wesley Chapel and the Outlet Mall.โ
Goldstein outlined the conditions that will allow the county to opt out of the 80%-120% of Average Monthly Income (AMI) provision of Live Local for 2025, although both Tapestry and a complex in the Trinity area both already have applied โ but neither one had yet been granted that exemption by county property appraiser Mike Wells at our press time โ for 2024.
The 80%-120% provision allows rental communities to receive the Live Local tax exemption if their units rent for 80-120% of the AMI for an individual in Pasco County, which Goldstein said worked out to rents averaging about $2,000 per month. โThese $2,000-per-month rents are not what our school teachers, county employees, firefighters and law enforcement officers can afford,โ Goldstein told the commissioners. โIt doesnโt make sense to give large tax exemptions essentially to complexes that are charging market rate rents with no charitable purpose.โ
He added that Pasco also has a large surplus of apartments in that 80-120% range.
โOur deficit is only in rental units charging less than 80% of AMI, which is truly affordable or workforce housing,โ he said. โBut, we donโt have any communities offering rents under that 80% AMI range coming before you for approval.โย
Goldstein also noted that even with the changes to the Live Local law, Pasco is still grouped with Hillsborough, Pinellas and Hernando counties in the Tampa Bay Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which is what is being used to determine if a community already has a surplus or a deficit in the number of rental units in the 80-120% AMI range, โSo although our MSA has a surplus of 3,994 units at present, even if Pasco has a surplus in the future, but Hillsborough or Pinellas has a large enough deficit to more than offset our surplus, we might not be allowed to opt-out of Live Local in the future. Iโm hoping the law will be refined again in the next legislative session.โ
He also said he hoped that other counties in MSAs with surpluses of the 80-120% AMI units will follow Pascoโs lead and opt out of the law.ย
Pasco Countyโs senior assistant county attorney David Goldstein provides information about the changes to the stateโs Live Local law to the countyโs Board of Commissioners prior to the BOCโs vote to opt out of a portion of the state law regarding affordable housing. (Photo: Screenshot from Pasco BOC meeting)ย
Goldstein also told the commissioners that counties that still qualify under the provisionsย of the law will have to opt out every year, and that the apartment complexes trying to receive the tax breaks also will have to apply for those breaks every year.ย
โFortunately, we only have the two complexes who may be able to receive the tax break this year,โ he said, โbut even just for this year, the county would lose 75% of the $1.7 million the two complexes paid in taxes last year (or more than $1.275 million combined)โ if Wells does allow them to receive the Live Local tax break for 2024. โBut, we can only opt out of Live Local for county taxes,โ he added. โI have drafted a letter to the Pasco School Board, Mosquito Control District and the cities in the county instructing them to also opt out of the 80-120% AMI provision of Live Local for 2025.โ
Goldstein also mentioned that there are flaws in the way the data that would allow Pasco and other jurisdictions to opt out of Live Local is being used.
โWe can only opt out if the latest University of Florida Shimberg (Center for Housing Studies) Report, which uses American Community Survey data (based on the Census) shows that our Tampa Bay MSA has a surplus of rental units in the 80-120% AMI range,โ he said. โBut, that does not include recent construction โ itโs always two years behind. If we have a recent apartment complex โ and we have a lot of recent apartment complexes being built โ itโs not counting those in the surplus inventory. We did raise that as a concern and weโre hoping itโs something else that can be refined during the next Legislative Session. The problem is that the Shimberg Report could show we have a deficit when we actually have a surplus on the ground.โ
He also noted that of all of the large counties in the state, only Broward and Miami-Dade counties have large deficits of units in the 80- 120% AMI range, โSo it seems like this state law was enacted only to help southeast Florida. The law really should only be applied to those areas.โ
Goldstein also noted that the change in the law for 2025 only applies to tax breaks for existing communities, โSo weโre hoping to get the land use part of the law changed during next yearโs session. If we donโt have a deficit of those units, why should we have to give up job-creating commercial and industrial properties in the future to have more of them?โ
Pascoโs five commissioners โ including new Dist. 4 Comm. Lisa Yeager in her first BOC meeting since being appointed to fill the seat of the late Comm. Gary Bradford by Gov. Ron DeSantis โ voted unanimously to approve opting out of the tax portion of Live Local.
Even so, at the insistence of Dist. 5 Comm. Jack Mariano โ despite the fact Goldstein said it wasnโt necessary to do so โ the BOC also voted 5-0 to draft a letter to the property appraiser asking him to not grant the exemption to the two rental communities that applied for it for 2024. โIโve been in constant contact with Mr. Wellsโ attorneyโs office,โ Goldstein said. โTheyโre well aware of how we feel about this.โ
Talking Affordable Housing
Following their regular BOC meeting, the commissioners held a workshop on what Pasco can do to provide more affordable housing options for those in the workforce โ county employees and others โ especially after Goldstein noted during the regular BOC meeting that Pasco does indeed have a shortage of affordable units for those whose monthly incomes are below the 80% of the countyโs AMI.
The workshop was led by Cathy Pearson, Pascoโs assistant county administrator for public services, who said she was discussing affordable housing with David Lambert, the chairman of the Pasco Housing Authority and the Executive VP and general manager of the Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative, โAnd we both said we have never had an affordable housing plan for Pasco County. David took me to his Pasco Housing Authority Board and convinced the Board to pay for this study for us,โ Pearson said. โHow wonderful.โ
She also said that for the year-long study, โaffordable housing was defined as housing that costs less than 30% of a householdโs income.โ For someone earning Pascoโs average median income of $63,187 per year, an affordable rent would be $1,579 per month, although starting teachers and many other workers only earn about 80% of that median income, so those workers could only afford rents of $1,263 per month or less.
Among the options put forth by the study to help increase affordable housing options in Pasco include legalizing โaccessory dwelling units,โ sometimes called backyard homes or โgranny flats,โ adding duplexes or even quadraplex units in existing single-family communities, the possibility of requiring developers to include or pay for affordable housing in their unit totals to receive approval for those developments, as well as expanding some kinds of public rental or home-buying assistance. Goldstein also noted that the county already has reduced mobility and impact fees for developments that include affordable housing.
Pasco Planning & Economic Growth director David Engel says the county is expected to add more than 101,000 workers to fill the jobs in the projects that are already under design or that the Board has already approved.
โSo weโre going to have a tremendous need for housing in the future for that workforce.โ
Pasco MPO principal transportation planner Scott Ferry (front) and Joe Crozier of Kimley-Horn, discuss the โInnovate Pasco 2050โ Long-Range Transportation Plan with members of the North Tampa Bay Chamber.
Even with all of the transportation improvements completed over the past few years, thereโs no doubt that the roads in Pasco County in general โ and the Wesley Chapel area in particular โ are a lot more crowded today than they were before those improvements were finalized. Without a long-term transportation plan in place 20, 30, or even 50 years ago, however, our traffic situation would unquestionably be far worse.
To that end, representatives from (and the private firm working with) the Pasco Metropolitan Planning Organization, or MPO (the countyโs federally-funded primary transportation planning entity), have been making the rounds throughout the county to ask people what planned road improvements should be prioritized between 2025 and 2045.
The MPOโs long-term transportation plan, dubbed โInnovate Pasco 2050,โ was presented to about 25-30 North Tampa Bay Chamber (NTBC) members at the Chamberโs monthly Economic Development Briefing on May 14 at its Suncoast Office off S.R. 54 in the Bexley community of Land OโLakes.
โThe MPOโs mission is to find out what the transportation needs are for the county and develop solutions for those needs,โ said Scott Ferry, the Pasco MPOโs principal transportation planner. โOne of the ways that we accomplish this mission is by meeting with the public throughout the county, which is what we are doing here today.โ
Ferry also explained that the MPO is governed by a nine-member Board which is โcomprised of the five Pasco County commissioners and four municipal representatives (from the cities of Dade City, New Port Richey, Port Richey and Zephyrhills). โThis MPO Board meets on a regular basis to discuss and make decisions about transportation policies and issues in the county.โ
He said that when the plan is adopted, โitโs going to serve as a guide and a blueprint for county transportation planning for the next five years (2025-29). Weโre here to engage with you and see what you believe the transportation priorities should be for the county.โ
Jonathan Whitehurst of Kimley-Horn explains what a long-range transportation plan is and why itโs important.
He then introduced Jonathan Whitehurst and Joe Crozier of private transportation planning consulting firm Kimley-Horn & Associates, which has been retained by the MPO to assist with the โInnovate Pasco 2050โ planning process.
Whitehurst, a North Carolina resident whom Ferry said has 18 years of experience helping develop transportation plans throughout the country, and Crozier โ a life-long Pasco County resident โ then explained the process by which MPOs create not only their long-rang plans but also the short-term (five-year) Transportation Improvement Plan (also known as the โwork planโ) so planned improvements can be funded by the various government entities, whether state/ federal, local (county and city), or a combination of funding sources.
โWeโre starting with the 2045 plan to see whatโs different and whatโs changed,โ Whitehurst said, โand the short answer is that in the last five years, a lot has changed in Pasco County, which makes our job a little bit harder because we first have to find that baseline condition as to where things are now so we can start to predict where things are going to be in the future.โ
Whitehurst also mentioned that although the primary discussion in MPO plans is usually about roadways, traffic, safety and congestion, โWe look at all modes of transportation, including bike facilities, pedestrian facilities, transit, freight and even a little bit of air travel, so it truly is a multimodal transportation plan.โ
He also noted that the MPO and Kimley- Horn started working on the plan in Oct. 2023 and hope to have it finished sometime this month, โso weโve got quite a bit of work to do to get it done. The plan itself will be adopted later this year. As soon as the MPO adopts the plan, that five-year cycle starts over.โ
He said that where the planners are now is โat the very end of the โNeedsโ plan, which identifies the universe of possible projects. We took a look at how we think Pasco is going to grow between now and 2050, where our facilities are now, where we have already-funded projects in the future and we said, โOK, where are the problem areas?โ And, we found that there are a lot of problem areas. So, the needs plan is trying to address as many of those problem areas as possible, trying to say that if these are the potential problem areas, these are the projects and solutions we are going to need to solve them.โ
Whitehurst noted, however, that there is always, โa big list of projects, but we only have a small amount of money. So then, we have to figure out what are the priorities among the projects that weโve identified, so thatโs where the project prioritization process comes in. We put all of the needed projects on a spreadsheet and see which ones rise to the top.โ
And, speaking of money, Whitehurst said that, โConcurrent with that, we have to see how much money we have to spend on transportation projects, so we take that prioritization list, compare it with the money and see how far down the list we can make it. Thatโs what we call the cost-feasible plan.โ
Crozier then explained that for the purposes of the study, the county was divided into three sections โ west of the Suncoast Pkwy., between the Suncoast and I-75, and east of I-75. And, although the growth in Pasco previously has been on the west coast, the central and eastern areas are now growing faster, โbut all of Pasco is growing and all of that growth requires infrastructure.โ
Crozier and Whitehurst also noted that because Pasco continues to add homes and businesses, part of the study looked at the different types of jobs that are coming โ especially in the greatly expanding medical field in our area and how those different types of jobs also impact the transportation needs differently.
And, Crozier admitted that despite the best-laid plans of previous planners, because the county has grown so quickly, โweโre actually hitting now many of the previous projections for 30 years from now. A lot of the growth models, especially after Covid, are just not accurate anymoreโ and all of that has made the prioritization process a lot more complicated.
The Pasco MPOโs โInnovate Pasco 2050โ long-range transportation plan includes 27 roadway projects for the years 2045-50 that are either in Wesley Chapel or directly adjacent to Wesley Chapel. The โMap #sโ shown above correspond to locations on the map at the top of the next page. (Source: Pasco County MPO)
Although Whitehurst and Crozier presented a countywide list of more than 120 transportation projects that are planned to be funded, we have only shown the 27 planned improvements that either are located in Wesley Chapel, or at least border directly on Wesley Chapel, in the chart on this page. The problem, Whitehurst said, is that โWhile we would love to have enough money to pay for all of these projects, at the end of the day, we still donโt have enough money.โ
He said that if you want to learn more and provide input on the plan, go to InnovatePasco.com, which has both the complete list of planned projects and the map on the next page in an interactive format that will allow you to zoom in on the areas of the map that might be most important to you and drop โpinsโ on the map and provide us with comments about those needs and the plan itself.
โPlease spread the word, too, because the more people we can get involved in the website, the more info we can collect.โ He noted that earlier this year, there were more than 1,100 people who already had left comments on the website.
Meeting attendees were given the opportunity to ask questions and make comments following the presentation, and there was agreementย that the Diverging Diamond Interchange at S.R. 56 and I-75 has been the most impactful recent transportation improvement and that Wesley Chapel Blvd. is the most-needed improvement inย our area. Other complaints expressed at the meeting are the length and lack of synchronization of traffic signals and that it seems like road improvements are always behind development.
Although the graduation events for both Freedom and Wharton high schools will already have been held by the time this issue reaches your mailbox, we wish all of our graduating seniors success in their future endeavors at the Summer of 2024 officially begins. In the meantime, there are some fun and some informative events on the upcoming docket.ย
Monday, June 10, 6 p.m.- 8 p.m. โ Town Hall Meeting with Dist. 2 Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan. At the New Tampa Performing Arts Center (8550 Hunterโs Village Rd.). Join Commissioner Hagan for an informative evening of information and an opportunity to ask the Commissioner your questions.
Wednesday, June 19, 9 a.m.-10:30 a.m. โ Coffee Social at the Sara Vande Berg (SVB) Tennis & Wellness Center (6585 Simons Rd., Zephyrhills), hosted by SVBโs Che Sara restaurant. Free coffee, networking & light bites.ย
Friday, June 28, 4 p.m.-6 p.m. โ NTBCโs โFinal Fridayโ at Main Event (2839 Creek Grass Way, Lutz). Free networking event open to the public. Complimentary appetizers will be served.ย
Saturday, June 29, 7 p.m.-11 p.m. โ Jazz Night at The KRATE at The Grove Container Park. See story below.
Avalon Park Wesley Chapel off S.R. 54 will again host the only professional 4th of July fireworks show in Wesley Chapel. (File photo: Captured by Arlene)ย
Saturday, June 29, 5 p.m.-??? โ One-Year Anniversary Party for Azteca DโOro. Our readersโ 2023 Favorite Mexican Restaurant in New Tampa & Wesley Chapel celebrates its one-year anniversary with a music performance by DJ RicoSmooth at Aztecaโs outside bar. This free event also will feature drink specials & giveaways.ย
Thursday, July 4, 5 p.m.-9 p.m. โ 4th of July Celebration. At Avalon Park Wesley Chapel (4424 Friendly Way., off S.R. 54). Featuring a patriotic bake-off, bike parade (the deadline to register your child and their bike for the parade is July 3), bounce houses, food trucks, community performances & vendors,Wesley Chapelโs only professional fireworks show for the 4th is open to the public and is free to attend. For registration & more info, visit AvalonParkWesleyChapel.com.ย
