The idea behind the 2017 East Pasco Economic Development Summit — the brainchild of Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCCC) CEO Hope Allen and District 2 Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore — was to get some of the county’s heaviest business hitters into one room to update local business leaders on what the future has in store for Wesley Chapel.
The outlook presented was more than just rosy, to say the least.
“I thought it was a big success,’’ said Allen, who was backed up by positive survey results indicating that the audience of roughly 75 would like to see more summits of this nature.
And, Allen said that is the plan — she is trying to organize something for next year on local innovation — after two panels of local business experts, sandwiched around a keynote address from Dr. Jerry Parrish, the chief economist and director of research for the Florida Chamber Foundation, provided three hours of local business news for those in attendance.
The event, held at Pasco Hernando State College (PHSC)’s Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch, was moderated by Moore, who represents much of Wesley Chapel on the Board of County Commissioners (BCC).
The first panel had some of the biggest names in Wesley Chapel development today – J.D. Porter of Wiregrass Ranch, ComPark 75 owner Larry Morgan and Metro Development Group vice president Kartik Goyani. Also on the first panel, although not located in Wesley Chapel, was Viggo Nielsen of Metler Toledo, which manufactures scales and analytical instruments and is relocating from Hillsborough County to a 250,000-sq.-ft. facility to be built near the Suncoast Parkway in Central Pasco (and bringing 500 jobs with it).
Not surprisingly, each business leader agreed that business in Wesley Chapel these days is pretty good, thanks to a combination of land still being available for expansion, a local county commission that is very business-friendly and incentive programs that have attracted companies like Raymond James Financial to the area.
Morgan, whose ComPark 75 is located off Wesley Chapel Blvd. (aka S.R. 54), just south of the S.R. 54 exit off I-75, said that was not always the case. He said much of Wesley Chapel’s development has hinged on patience.
‘When I bought my land in 2007, Pasco was becoming a boom town and then, of course, the recession hit,” Morgan said. “I just had faith and confidence that when the day turned, Pasco County was going to be the spot. I’m not always real good at foresight, but in this case think I got it right.”
Porter echoed Morgan’s sentiments. His family has owned the 5,100-acre Wiregrass Ranch for 75 years, weathering the Great Depression, as well as the local (and national) economic rollercoaster since then.
But now, things couldn’t be more ripe for success. “It’s all about being patient and doing things at the right time,’’ Porter said. “Anybody out there can crush it right now.”
Porter cited infrastructure that is already in place, a higher median household income and lower median age as attractive benchmarks for major businesses interested in setting up in Wesley Chapel. He said the addition of more homes and schools, as well as the continuing business-friendly voting of the county commission and the streamlining of the permitting process, portend a bright future for the area.
“Everyone recognizes Wesley Chapel as a whole right now,’’ Porter said. “Our (old)slogan was, “We’re Open for Business,” but nobody saw Pasco County as being open for business. They saw a bunch of headaches that actually changing (those headaches) has set the stage for moving forward.”
Morgan and Goyani agreed that Wesley Chapel is part of a hot region at the moment when it comes to business and development.
Goyani said that when Metro Development approached Pasco officials four years ago about building its “connected city” project — which is being built from the internet up with giga-fast internet service, the first two Crystal Lagoons in North America (see story on pg. 6) and a high-tech infrastructure that will one day showcase autonomous vehicles — it received a positive response from the county immediately.
“We got a yes quickly,’’ Goyani said. “I don’t think we would have gotten that response from any of our other counties. It really made the choice easy for us. Time will prove it was the right decision.”
Porter agreed.
“Pasco County now has a seat at the ‘big boys’ table,’’ he said. “They have more land and more resources and better infrastructure than what you will find in Pinellas, Hillsborough, Sarasota or Manatee (counties). That’s my opinion.”
About the only things the panel did complain about were the state legislature’s battle with Governor Rick Scott over reducing incentives — Porter called it “pretty sad, pretty disgusting” — and the recent decision by the Pasco BCC to raise impact fees to help build more schools, a decision that has been lauded by the Pasco School District and Moore’s fellow commissioners on the BCC.
As for the future, the panel predicted more good things. Porter, continuing his diligent pursuit of “just the right fit” for Wiregrass Ranch, hinted at another big deal just around the corner. He said in the past month, he has talked to two companies with even more name recognition than Raymond James Financial about coming to Wesley Chapel.
Porter didn’t provide any details, other than to say Wiregrass Ranch is in the running for both, but he predicts he will at least land one of the two.
“I think everybody is going to be very excited with what’s coming in the next 12-18 months,’’ Porter said.
After Parrish gave his keynote address about the positive jobs outlook in Florida, a second panel featuring Florida Trend publisher Andy Corty, Pasco County administrator Dan Biles, Pasco Economic Development Council president Bill Cronin and PHSC provost Dr. Stanley Gianett continued the conversation, looking at the government’s role in luring businesses to the county, and the positive effect regionalism could have down the road.
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