If you were thinking there couldn’t possibly be more “stuff ” coming to Wesley Chapel this year (or at least by early 2027), think again.
Among the projects that are well underway but that we don’t have any kind of timelines for include:
• The completion of Mast Capital’s $92 million improvements to Saddlebrook Resort (above). We showed you the improvements that have already been completed in our last couple of issues, but there is still plenty more to come.
Since the Brew coffee shop and Rare 1981 restaurant opened, the Palm House Grill out by the resort’s revamped Superpool also recently opened. We’ll show you pictures of the Palm House’s food and beverages next issue. We also were told that all 27 holes of Saddlebrook’s golf courses also are open.
Still to come this year? The Sports Tavern off the resort’s lobby and the Saddlebrook National private club for members only. We’ll update you about all of these improvements in future issues.
Pinecrest Academy High School
Here & There, This & That…
Avalon Park — In addition to Phase 2 of Avalon Park’s downtown expected to begin building, Avalon Park Blvd., connecting the community’s single-family subdivisions with the downtown area, could be completed any day now and may even be open as you’re receiving this issue.
Pasco Fire Rescue Station No. 2
In addition, although the existing buildings at the Pinecrest Academy charter school are already serving kids in grades K-11, the separate, new Pinecrest Academy High School will open to grades 9-12 for the 2026-27 year, which will allow kids in Pinecrest Academy’s middle school (Grades 6-8) to have their own building.
Pasco Fire Rescue Station No. 2 — The much-needed new fire station on S.R. 54, less than a mile east of the new AdventHealth Meadow Pointe Emergency Room, should be ready to open before the end of this year.
New Walmart (Morris Bridge Rd @ S.R. 56)
New Walmart — Located southwest of the intersection of Morris Bridge Rd. and S.R. 56, Wesley Chapel’s second Walmart store hasn’t broken ground yet, so it’s possible that it may not be completed by the end of 2026, but it should at least begin building this year.
Two Rivers Updates — Even though Two Rivers is all technically located in Zephyrhills (with a portion in Thonotosassa south of the Pasco-Hillsborough county line), the private club to be called The Landing at Two Rivers is well under way and could be completed before the end of 2026. We have no further updates on the planned Peak Surf Park in Two Rivers, but will try to update that story in an upcoming issue. — GN
The Jan. 9 ribbon-cutting event and Grand Opening of the Moffitt Speros Outpatient Center in Land O’Lakes. (Photos by Charmaine George)
Even though it’s located at least 20 miles from any part of New Tampa, perhaps the biggest news story in Pasco County for 2026 is the opening of the sprawling new 775-acre Speros FL campus of the Moffitt Cancer Center — the only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center based in Florida — located on Wilton Way in Land O’Lakes.
Moffitt Pres. & CEO Dr. Patrick Hwu
The first building to open in this amazing innovation hub, where science, technology and patient care will converge in the fight against cancer, is the 120,000-sq.-ft. Moffitt Speros Outpatient Center, which was introduced to an invited crowd on Jan. 9 with a huge event attended by an estimated 500 people, including Florida Secretary of Agriculture Wilton Simpson, State Senator Danny Burgess, State Rep. Kevin Steele, all five Pasco County Commissioners and 84-year-old former Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives H. Lee Moffitt, the man who founded the nonprofit cancer center named for him.
The event included the following speakers:
Speros Pres. Dr. Josh Carpenter
• Dr. Patrick Hwu, the president & CEO of Moffitt, who noted that 2026 is the cancer center’s 40th anniversary year. Dr. Hwu also played the keyboards in the Speros band following the ribbon-cutting ceremony. He also noted that the next building to open in the Speros campus will be the Richard M. Schulze Proton Center, which will open in just a few months and will be home to one of only three proton radiation machines in Florida. That opening will be followed by the opening of the 100,000-sq.-ft. research center. Dr. Hwu also noted that the first patients will begin being treated at the outpatient center, “within a few weeks.”
Speros & Moffitt Board members Tim Adams and Marty Lanahan
• Dr. Josh Carpenter, the president of Speros who also is the VP & chief integration officer of Moffitt and who noted that Speros means “hope.” Dr. Carpenter thanked everyone who played a part — and those still playing a part — in the construction and opening of the many buildings coming to the Speros campus.
• Speros Board chair Marty Lanahan, the executive VP of First Horizon Bank, who introduced Moffitt Cancer Center’s Institute Board chair Tim Adams. Adams said that Lee Moffitt charged him with the task to cure cancer and sent him to Tallahassee in 2005 to talk to Simpson, who was then a State Senator who was going to be the president of the Florida Senate within three years. “Wilton told me that he’s had his eye on Moffitt for a long time,” Adams said, “but if we really want to cure cancer, you’re going to have to start thinking a lot bigger than a 20-acre campus in Tampa.”
Wilton Simpson H. Lee Moffitt
• Commissioner Simpson, who said he knew Pasco had the land to “do something like this and that people could fly into Tampa International from all over the world and be here in 30 minutes to get treatment. I’m very proud of the tens of thousands of lives, starting now, that we’re going to be saving on an annual basis. How many grandparents will now get to see their grandchildren get older? How many children are going to be cured? How many moms and dads will see their kids get married because of the work that Moffitt will be doing on this site?”
Debra Schulze
• H. Lee Moffitt himself, who said, “What a day! The reason we’re here is because of the hard work of every single person in this audience and I can not thank you enough for your dedication, zeal and vision to help us get to where we are today. I would like to thank and applaud the efforts of all of our friends that have worked for us since I started the cancer center 40 years ago and embraced our mission and contributed to the prevention and cure of cancer. By golly, we are making a difference and I appreciate all of your efforts in this quest!”
• The final speaker was Debra Schulze, speaking on behalf of her father Richard M. “Dick” Schulze, the founder of Best Buy Co., the largest electronics store in the U.S. Dick Schulze was unable to attend the event himself, but his family’s foundation supported the Speros Center with a $15-million investment in the campus’ Proton Therapy Center, “which is more than just advanced technology,” Debra Schulze said. “It is a place where skilled clinicians, dedicated researchers and hope-filled patients will come together in the pursuit of healing and progress. On behalf of my father, our family, and our foundation, thank you to the Moffitt leadership and staff. We are proud to stand alongside you and share in the excitement and the impact that this Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation Proton Therapy System Center will have on the future of cancer care.”
For more information about Moffitt’s Speros Outpatient Clinic and the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation Proton Center (16370 Wilton Way, Land O’Lakes), visit Moffitt.org.
The Speros FL nurses The packed Speros FL lobby during the Jan. 9 Grand Opening event Aerial drone shot of the Speros FL campus
The area near The Grove at Wesley Chapel has been busy, with both the new Target store, Woody’s Wash Shack and now, the Belk Market all opening recently. And yes, there have still been many changes in the KRATE at The Grove container park, too.
But, while it’s possible that neither of these projects — both of which are located across Oakley Blvd. from the entrance to The Grove (both also are in front of the Avasa West apartments) — will be completed before the end of 2026 (since only one of them has broken ground), we also wanted to tell you about them.
Oakley Place Skilled Nursing Facility
We’ve already mentioned the planned 202-bed Oakley Place Skilled Nursing Facility at the northwest corner of Oakley Blvd. and Grove Isle Dr., but we recently heard that the facility may be getting ready to break ground soon. Of course, we’ll keep you updated, but a large additional skilled nursing facility would be a welcome addition to the area.
We also recently saw that The Goddard School-Oakley — which will be the second Goddard School private pre-school in Wesley Chapel (the other is off Bruce B. Downs Blvd., across from AdventHealth Wesley Chapel — has cleared the land in preparation of getting ready to build on the southwest corner of the same intersection, across from the Goddard School.
New Clubhouse At Valencia Ridge
The upscale Valencia Ridge community being developed by GL Homes (next to the builder’s successful Winding Ridge community) is getting an equally upscale 29,000-sq.-ft. clubhouse on a 7-acre recreational complex. The facility will include on-site dining, a poolside bar, sports lounge, racquet club & pro shop, resort-style pools, a shaded yoga garden, fitness center, exercise studio, massage room and more.
Swig #2 Coming To Epperson
The day before we went to press with this issue, correspondent Joel Provenzano found that Swig Drinks had received its site development placard from the county in December, which means that construction of the area’s second Swig (the other, of course, is between Academy Sports & PopStroke on the north side of S.R. 56) could begin any day now off Curley Rd. Joel said that plans for the new Swig were not downloadable at our press time, but we’ll keep you posted.
Whole Foods & Lifetime Fitness
And of course, we also had to show a drone shot of the progress on the new plaza on Bruce B. Downs Blvd. north of Aronwood Blvd. in Meadow Pointe that will be home to both Whole Foods and Lifetime Fitness. We just provided a big update on this plaza — which also will have a Pop-Up Bagels, CAVA Mediterranean, Naked Farmer, Petfolk, Tox wellness spa & a nail salon in our Dec. issue or this would have been one of this issue’s biggest stories!
Feel free to let me know anything we’ve left out of this issue and we’ll try to cover it in our next edition! — GN
In 2025, the premiere residential ‘talk of the town’ in eastern Pasco County was Two Rivers — a community we covered numerous times in this publication, given its massive scale, located just outside the southeastern edge of Wesley Chapel.
Now that we’re in 2026, however, the excitement has shifted just outside of Wesley Chapel’s northeastern edge, to an even bigger development, the Villages of Pasadena Hills (VOPH) — and one new community inside VOPH has positioned itself to literally be at the top of housing market.
If you think our area is fully flat, think again. What if we told you that this new community, known as Pasadena Ridge, delivers not only the views one might expect — water and conservation — but also adds stunning (for Florida) high-elevation ridgeline views, all visible from the same lots!
Previously, some of the best new development views you could get were from the limited number of lots inside Epperson overlooking King Lake — truly million-dollar views. Those are all occupied now, but in our opinion, the views from Pasadena Ridge are on another level — and are coming available on a first-come, first-served” basis.
On Dec. 4, we attended an event for real estate agents at the adjacent Handcart Garden Center, which is providing all of the landscaping for the community. We were taken on a tour of Pasadena Ridge in buses that looked just like trolleys.
Located on the east side of Handcart Rd., north of the rear entrance to the Watergrass community, Pasadena Ridge is shaping up to be something very unique. Honestly, we were so impressed with the brief views from the tour, that we drove back on Dec. 12 to get proper photos to share.
Not What We Expected
The Villages of Pasadena Hills (VOPH) area is building fast, REALLY FAST, with multiple communities currently under construction.
Back in our September 2025 article, “Where Are The Villages Of Pasadena Hills & Why Should You Care?,” we first talked about Pasadena Ridge as an upcoming community in Pasadena Hills (Villages G & H), that was proposed to have 579 single family homes.
The ‘Ridge’ name has become very popular around Wesley Chapel; however, this “Ridge” community is not being done by GL Homes like the “The Ridge at Wiregrass,” “Winding Ridge,” and “Valencia Ridge” (all off S.R. 56), but is instead a new WestBay Community — with the creative tag line “Elevated Living.”
Very fitting, as Pasadena Ridge is located on top of a large (and somewhat steep) sprawling hill, which reaches a maximum height of 250’ above sea level. That might not seem like much to some from “up north,” but with the adjacent land to the north, east and west dropping away by 100’, new houses at the top of the hill’s ‘ridge’ will have the equivalent view of a 10-story building at sea level.
This means you can literally have a view that is unobstructed for miles — and those views are a breath of fresh air in what can seem like a monotony of perfectly flat new developments.
The community’s 250’ maximum height is actually pretty impressive, considering that the highest elevation in the entire region is only 305’ above sea level — a point on Clay Hill Rd, nearly 10 miles north of this Pasadena Ridge — and only 95’ shy of the state’s highest point, Britton Hill, located in the panhandle just south of the Alabama line.
The expansive ridge view photo (top photo) was taken at ground level, so you can imagine how much more impressive the view will be from a second story balcony, which is being offered by WestBay on some of their models (above photo).
The builder representatives at the event stated that these premium views will never change, as most of the land nearly a mile north of the development is protected wetland conservation (for the adjacent Buddy Lake).
If you’re interested in a house in Pasadena Ridge, you’ll definitely want to see the actual lots in person (not just on a map), as the elevations, grading and views from each lot vary wildly, but the best view we identified was looking north from the backyards of the lots along Peak Willow Trace — it honestly didn’t even feel like Florida.
The builder knows what they have, so their representative told us, “Expect to pay a substantial lot premium for the absolute best ones,” but unfortunately, pricing on those premiums have not been released yet.
What We Do Know
Pasadena Ridge offers homes by three builders — Homes by WestBay ($600k-$1M), Casa Fresca Homes ($300k-$500k) & Mattamy Homes ($300k+). Since this community is part of a VOPH model, parcels leading into the community off Handcart Rd. will be future commercial, and there is a future school site set aside within the development. The plan also shows a future Pasco County park site immediately to the west.
The development also promises to provide an amenities “club” and, while it does advertise a large resort-style pool, dog park, fitness center, pickleball courts, playground and event space, the cost of this club is not being absorbed by the CDD fee, as a separate club membership fee ($44.94/month) and club expenses fee ($115/month) will be charged once the club opens in 2027.
Add that to a $90.67 monthly HOA fee (which DOES include high-speed, 2-gigabit internet and trash) and up to a $217.66 monthly CDD fee for Casa Fresca, the only one we could currently find (Note-those fees could be higher for the WestBay homes, based on lot width), and monthly association fees could stack up quickly to $467/month ($5,610 annually), which is a little on the high side considering there’s no lagoon, restaurants or other standout amenities.
The only ones we’ve seen higher in a similar category, are the total association fees for Two Rivers West, due to the required “Landing Private Club” membership. But, when comparing, Two Rivers offers substantially more in a true club sense, including personal/poolside food & beverage service and a full restaurant, along with tennis clubs, spin instructors and other things not mentioned for Pasadena Ridge.
Former Pro Cricketer Says He Is Training The U.S. National Team’s Stars Of The Future!
(Above) Coach Vishal Jain (in back, with sunglasses) poses with the younger group of cricketers in his Excel Cricket Academy, which has been based at the Wesley Chapel District Park on Boyette Rd. since 2024. (Photos by Charmaine George)
I’ll be honest — I don’t understand the sport known as cricket. I know it is similar to baseball, in that it has pitchers, called “bowlers,” catchers called “wicket-keepers” and hitters, called “batsmen,” and that the object of the game is to score more runs than the other team.
But, how the teams score runs, how they record outs (there are three different ways) and why the batsmen run while still holding their bats after hitting the ball are all mysteries to yours truly. Even so, it is still a super-exciting game to watch, whether live or on TV.
One of Jain’s young players drives the ball while another (below right) shows how to execute a defensive shot. (Below left) Jain explains some of the basics of the sport to his young cricketers.
Fortunately for anyone in New Tampa, Wesley Chapel and the entire Tampa Bay area whose child is interested in learning how to play cricket like the pros, Vishal Jain, a former pro cricketer, from the Indian capital of Mumbai, is now available to teach kids ages 8 and older all of the fundamental techniques and rules of this hugely popular sport. Jain’s Excel Cricket Academy meets every Saturday and Sunday on Field #2 at the Wesley Chapel District Park, which also hosted a cricket tournament the day I visited. And, Jain says, he hopes to be able to one day teach kids how to play cricket at the City of Tampa park now being designed that will one day open in K-Bar Ranch.
(Note-Although the city budgeted the money to design the park in K-Bar [which also will include other facilities, in addition to a cricket pitch], the necessary funds to build it are not yet in the city’s budget.)
Jain has all the credentials anyone who wants their child to learn how to play cricket could possibly want. He played for both Mumbai and Goa and won India’s premier first-class cricket tournament, known as the Ranji Trophy, which was named for K.S. Ranjitsinhji, the first Indian to play Test cricket. The Ranji Trophy is India’s oldest and most prestigious domestic red-ball competition, with Mumbai being the most successful team historically, having won the prestigious trophy more than 40 times.
Jain was trained by the esteemed Ramakant Achrekar, the legendary coach of Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar, widely regarded as the biggest icon in the history of the sport — which will be played for the first time since 1900 as a medal sport at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. And, in addition to playing cricket at the highest level, Jain (who also owns Excel Cricket Academies in Mumbai) also has been the head coach of the Mumbai Central Zone U19 and U23 teams.
His bio on the “Excel Cricket Academy Tampa Florida USA” Facebook page says, “Known for his expertise in diverse coaching methodologies, Coach Vishal is dedicated to helping players unlock their full potential. His approach emphasizes mindset, discipline and continuous learning, incorporating personalized training, workshops and motivational sessions.”
He also has battle scars on his hands and arms, from fielding the balls hit with the heavy cricket bats bare-handed. Only the batsmen and wicket-keepers usually wear gloves in cricket.
All I can tell you, after watching one practice with his younger Excel Academy group, he definitely has the attention and admiration of not only his young athletes, but also of their parents, many of whom travel from Brandon and as far away as St. Petersburg to have their children trained by Jain.
And, it was immediately obvious why. While “bowling” the harder-than-baseball balls to each Academy student, he not only told but also showed each one how to execute a defensive “shot” one moment, how to drive the ball the next and which foot to focus their weight on for each batting maneuver.
And, the kids and parents all really seemed to love him, and he certainly seemed to be in complete control of them, without ever raising his voice. When he tried to get his younger players all to pose for the picture above and some of them were acting up, all he had to do was point at them and say “Discipline” and they all got the message. Super impressive.
“And, if they ever still don’t listen, I will pack up their stuff, bring it over to their parents and tell them to take them home and come back next week. They get so embarrassed I’ve never had to do that to the same player twice.”
Training Future U.S. National Stars
It’s clear that virtually all of the young players Jain coaches are of Indian descent, but the Excel Cricket Academy is open to anyone who wants to learn the proper way to play this sport that continues to grow in popularity here.
“The U.S. National Team is one of eight teams (India, Australia, England, Afghanistan, South Africa, Bangladesh and the West Indies are the others) that qualified for the 2026 [ICC Men’s T20] World Cup,” Jain says. “In other words, cricket is growing in this country and I want to train the future stars of the sport here.”
And, best of all, he says, there are no set fees to train with Coach Vishal — who also offers individual coaching sessions for those who want them. “The parents usually agree to an amount to each pay me (for the team sessions),” he says. “I’ve already made money playing cricket. All I want now is to find and train the best players I can and help each one reach his or her potential.”
For more info about Excel Cricket Academy, call (813) 523-5871, email Coach Vishal at excelcricketacademytampa@gmail.com or stop by the Wesley Chapel District Park, Field #2 (7727 Boyette Rd.) any Sat., 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m. (Small Kids 10-11:30; Leather Ball Kids 11:30- 1:30) or Sun., 8 a.m.-11:30 a.m. (Small Kids 8-9:30; Leather Ball Kids 9:30-11:30).
The older group of Excel Cricket Academy players and their families are excited to pose for pictures with Coach Vishal. (Photo provided by Vishal Jain)
