TOP STORIES OF 2017: Approvals For Hunter’s Lake & The Cultural Center & More Assisted Living
While things continue to explode in nearby Wesley Chapel — with new homes, restaurants, hotels and even a Crystal Lagoon — New Tampa also had some notable development news in 2017.
After some quiet years, a few new local businesses opened. Among them were the Discovery Village at Tampa Palms Assisted Living & Memory Care facility on Commerce Park Blvd. and a RaceTrac gas station and convenience store on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd.
Discovery Village joins The Legacy at Highwoods Preserve and the Memory Lane Cottages in Tampa Palms for New Tampa residents who want to keep their elderly family members close to home. Another new assisted living facility, Promise Pointe at Tampa Oaks, which is being developed by the same company that is building The Beach House in Wesley Chapel, will open in 2018 at the Fletcher Ave. exit off I-75.
A new community, Stafford Place (off Tampa Palms Blvd., behind BJ’s Wholesale Club), has been building homes and taking in residents. And, the University of South Florida Federal Credit Union opened a New Tampa branch— its first standalone branch — at the northwest corner of BBD and Imperial Oak Blvd., in the Trout Creek area in front of Winn-Dixie.
The biggest development news in 2017, however, involved The Villages at Hunter’s Lake, which will be constructed right across BBD from Hunter’s Green.
Developers of the Hunter’s Lake project were approved by the Tampa City Council in June to add a second and third access point off BBD, paving — pardon the pun — the way for Hunter’s Lake to move forward.
Plans for the construction of those access points have already been submitted, and the project, still awaiting some permitting, could break ground next year. The stretch along southbound BBD already is being prepped for construction work (see our 2017 Roads Recap on page 10).
The multi-use project will be built on the parcel’s 14 acres of developable land (the entire parcel is 80 acres) and will include a 30,000-sq.-ft. Cultural Center, a four-story, 241-unit multi-family project called The Haven at Hunter’s Lake and even a green grocer, such as gourmet supermarket Fresh Market or Sprouts.
Hunter’s Lake also will include a retail shopping strip center, a restaurant (with a drive-through window) and a community park with a dog park.
The project has been described by developers and local leaders as a hub of sorts for New Tampa, comparable to Hyde Park in South Tampa.
North of the county line, development continued practically unabated, and we’re pretty sure New Tampa residents have seen or heard about most of these (thanks to us):
*Florida Hospital Center Ice opened as the largest skating facility south of New York state. The Taste of New Tampa’s return was held at FHCI.
* The ballyhooed Crystal Lagoon in Wesley Chapel now has water. It was topped off last week, and the water looks like everything it was advertised to be. Epperson, the community where it is located, finally has residents. Expect it to become one of the area’s trendiest places to live.
* A new sports complex, expected to be a mecca for state and national tournaments for youth basketball and volleyball teams, was approved for the Wiregrass Ranch area. If you have a youth team of any sort in New Tampa, expect the facility to be a regular stop.
* Costco opened on the south side of S.R. 56. ‘Nuff said.
* The Sierra family property on the north side of S.R. 56 in the Cypress Creek Town Center is in full development mode, as at least 10 businesses began to take shape in 2017, from restaurants like Chuy’s Tex-Mex and Bahama Breeze Island Grille to businesses like hair and nail salons, and the area’s first Five Below discount store.
Also included are plans for a green grocer – Earth Fare has been mentioned – on the north side of S.R. 56., and an Aldi grocery store right across the street on the south side of S.R. 56.
Count on 2018 being just as busy.
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