The Hub at Lexington, in front of the Lexington Oaks community (and Sentosa Lexington Apts.) on Wesley Chapel Blvd. has started to go vertical, but likely won’t open until Oct. 2025.
If you’ve recently driven by the Sentosa Lexington Oaks Apartments on Wesley Chapel Blvd. (in front of the Lexington Oaks community), you may have noticed that The Hub at Lexington — the 40,000-sq.-ft. dining and shopping center we first told you about back in Oct. of last year, has started to go vertical.
But, don’t get too excited just yet. Co-developer Courtney Bissett-Hayes of Center Connect Development, says that although the walls are now up on Building One and all six foundations for this six-building project are now in place, she still doesn’t expect The Hub at Lexington to open until October of 2025.
“The project will open as a whole, not in pieces,” she says. The build-out will take about 13 months and then the tenants will have six months to build out their spaces.”
Sadly, Courtney, who operates Center Connect with her brother Paul Bissett, also says that no announcements will be made regrading tenants until the end of the first quarter or the beginning of the second quarter of 2025.
Even so, she says The Hub at Lexington, like its predecessor, The Hub at Bexley off S.R. 54 near the Suncoast Pkwy., will provide, “Experiential dining & entertainment,” including 15-20 local and regional restaurants and retail shops. And, as we previously reported, there will be twelve artificial trees (photo from Bexley above) providing shade for the complex, twice as many as at The Hub at Bexley.
Courtney also says that even though Shanks Indoor Golf & Bar’s website still says the indoor golf experience is coming to the complex, she can neither confirm nor deny that at this time.
“What I can confirm,” she says, “is that our 6.5-acre, $24-million project has been designed as a neighborhood amenity, like the Lexington Oaks community’s clubhouse, so we are serious about providing something special for the area.”
She also says that Center Connect plans to build 10 “Hubs” in and around the tri-county area (Pasco, Pinellas, Hillsborough), with Bexley and Lexington being just the first two. “We will probably announce the third location fairly soon. All of the Hubs will be in front of well-established master-planned communities.”
For leasing info at The Hub at Lexington, call Courtney Bissett-Hayes at (813) 340-7936.
Is The Two Rivers Development Expanding Both Wesley Chapel & New Tampa To East Of Morris Bridge Rd.?
Research by Joel Provenzano
This map of Two Rivers shows the portions that are currently under development, as well as the future plans in both Hillsborough & Pasco counties. (Two Rivers map modified by NN)
If you haven’t taken a ride on S.R. 56 eastbound past Morris Bridge Rd. recently, I believe you probably should do so.
While Wesley Chapel and New Tampa residents online complain about how every remaining shred of land in our communities is being developed, adding to our ever-increasing traffic at the expense of open space and a more pastoral way of life, it seems that others outside of any known boundary of Wesley Chapel (as I presented in our Oct. 3 issue) are now creating new communities that may ultimately finally move what even I call Wesley Chapel (and, to a lesser extent, New Tampa) well to the east, too.
Before the creation of the huge 6,000-acre Two Rivers Master-Planned Unit Development (MPUD), the only community in Zephyrhills that pretty much anyone would confuse with being Wesley Chapel-like was Lake Bernadette, which has fewer than 1,000 total households with entrances on both Eiland Blvd. and S.R. 54, all in zip code 33541.
But, it seems that you could fit all of Lake Bernadette inside Two Rivers, which is being developed by Eisenhower Property Group, due east of Morris Bridge Rd. in both Pasco and Hillsborough counties. In fact, Two Rivers is actually larger than the 5,000-acre Wiregrass Ranch development to its west.
And, like Lake Bernadette, the zip code for the Pasco portions of Two Rivers that began being developed in December of 2023 is 33541. That means that if I decide to start mailing the Neighborhood News there, I will be expanding our all-direct-mail distribution east of Wesley Chapel for the first time.
More About Two Rivers
Although I had heard of Two Rivers before now, I didn’t really take notice of it until I saw a billboard on S.R. 54 near mine and Jannah’s apartment (which has a Land O’Lakes address) that proclaimed Two Rivers as a “New Community — Wesley Chapel.” What? Did I somehow miss that Two Rivers was actually west of Morris Bridge Rd.?
The answer is a resounding “No,” but the community is being marketed as basically an extension of Wesley Chapel — and who could blame the developer or the home builders?
According to its promotional materials, Two Rivers is “near Wesley Chapel” and will “give residents a best-of-both-worlds living experience.” Two Rivers will feature more than 7,500 planned residential homes, townhomes, apartments and villas: “Those who make their home here will enjoy access to clubhouses, pools, parks, trails, sports courts and shared green spaces…and plans include K-12 schools, as well as retail space, future options for dining, cafés, groceries and beauty services, fitness and more.”
One of the first two villages already selling homes in Two Rivers is Childers by Lennar Homes, with “447 total homesites, about 100 sold and 65 closed or moved into,” according to new home consultant Brooke Politano. Homes in Childers start in the mid-$300,000s.
The other village now selling is Northwater by D.R. Horton, with 360 total homes, also starting in the mid $300s, with about 30 homes already with residents. Both subdivisions are north of S.R. 56.
When Wayne Thomas purchased the first portion of the Two Rivers Ranch in the 1930s, he couldn’t possibly have known that his cattle ranch would expand to more that 17,000 acres stretching from northeast Hillsborough through Pasco and even reaching to Hernando counties.
A little more than 500 acres of that property was located in Crystal Springs, sort of between Thonotosassa and Zephyrhills and which today is home to Poland Springs waters, the large company now bottling and selling Zephyrhills Natural Spring Water.
But, the Thomas family has been good stewards of their land since before World War II, so much so that in 2014, Two Rivers Ranch was honored as one of seven regional Environmental Stewardship Award Program (ESAP) winners. The award, which is sponsored by Dow AgroSciences, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and the National Cattlemen’s Foundation, is presented to farmers and ranchers “who work hard to protect America’s natural resources.”
Two Rivers Ranch began as a cow/ calf operation that has now been owned and managed by Robert Thomas’ family for more than 90 years.
“The Hillsborough River supplies approximately 90 percent of the city of Tampa’s drinking water, so it’s very important for the city,” said Wayne Thomas, Executive Vice President, Two Rivers Ranch, and himself a fourth-generation cattle rancher.
“We have a very high profile here as a result of the importance of our natural resource,” added his father Robert Thomas, who is the CEO of Two Rivers Ranch.
The ranch was honored with the ESAP award for its proven land management techniques to enhance their operation. “The Thomas family keeps their herd size limited so as not to negatively impact wetlands, water quality of the adjacent river bodies, native vegetation or wildlife populations,” was part of the reason the family received the award.
Today, as explained on this issue’s front page, the Thomas family is no allowing Two Rivers to be developed as another huge Master Planned Unit Development, but which promises to have more than 3,000 acres of wooded landscapes, with lots of open space, parks, walking trails, dog parks, passive parks, court and lawn space and more.
Two Rivers Today & Tomorrow
The largest homes currently available in Two Rivers are the Trenton model from Lennar Homes (left) in the Childers community and (right) the Hayden model from D.R. Homes in the Northwater village. (Photos taken from Lennar.com & from DRHorton.com)
Also expected to be part of the Pasco portion of Two Rivers is a central health, wellness and dining club for residents. This facility will include tennis, pickleball, pools, playgrounds, various interior and exterior gathering spaces and a bar and restaurant. There also is a planned regional district park as well as shopping, dining and office spaces planned.
At Northwater village, D.R. Horton’s smallest home is the 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom Allex II model, with 1,560 sq. ft. of living area, starting at around $344K. The largest is the 5-bedroom, 3-bath Hayden model with 2,605 sq. ft. of living area, starting in the $424s.
Meanwhile, in the Childers village, Lennar’s smallest home is the 3-bedroom, 2-bath Annapolis model, with 1,448 sq. ft. of living space starting at around $329K. The largest is the Trenton model, with 6 bedrooms, 3 baths and 3,326 sq. ft. of living area, starting at around $489K.
Now that the first two villages are well under way, here are the plans for additional villages and home builders that are planned to arrive this year:
• Tamarack Village (early 2024) – This gated village will include homes by Park Square Homes and William Ryan Homes.
• Ryals Field Village (mid-2024) – Gated village featuring Homes by WestBay.
• Delyle Village (mid-2024) – Offering Pulte homes.
• Shortgrass Village (late 2024) – Offering M/I Homes.
• Additional villages and phases will feature Casa Fresca, Meritage Homes and Taylor Morrison Homes.
But Wait, There’s More!
As we also mentioned on pg. 1, Two Rivers also is planned to expand into Hillsborough County by sometime next year.
The first new section to be built across Morris Bridge Rd. from New Tampa is Flatwoods, described in Two Rivers’ marketing materials as, “Our luxury section (that) will be home to Flatwoods Golf & Country Club. This community will feature a private country club with a spa, recreational amenities and an 18-hole golf course. The course, designed by renowned Scottish golf course architect David McLay-Kidd of DMK Golf Design, is estimated to be completed in 2025. DMK Golf has designed several very prestigious resort and private golf courses in the world, including The Castle Course at St. Andrews Links in Scotland, and Nanea Golf Club in Kailua Kona, HI.
Some Transportation Info
Although Two Rivers’ Flatwoods village will be set back quite a bit from both Morris Bridge Rd. in New Tampa and U.S. Hwy. 301 in Thonotosassa, according to plans filed with Hillsborough County, there will be another future connection from Two Rivers to Morris Bridge Rd, which will be located basically on the county line, adjacent to a TECO-owned power substation and aligned with Camerton Rd. on the west side.
There currently are plans for three future traffic signals along S.R. 56, all of which the developer will pay for and construct (under permit) when warrants are met. The locations will be for the intersections with Two Rivers Blvd., Widewater Way, and Lodge Grass Blvd., all where the existing full median openings are currently located. A fourth signal along S.R. 56 might be considered between Lodge Grass Blvd. and U.S. 301 (also a full median opening), depending upon the amount of traffic that portion of the development, which will be commercial, might generate.
In addition, there also will be a connection to U.S. 301 in Hillsborough, which also will be signalized by full build-out. Two more signals for U.S. 301, at Lodge Grass Blvd., and Morris Bridge Rd. at Colston Ave., also are planned. The right-of-way along Morris Bridge Rd. is now 80’ but the MPUD conditions for Two Rivers requires the family to convey a 44’ wide strip of its property over to the county.
The River Landing development on S.R. 56 west of Morris Bridge Rd. also was required to provide a similar strip, which will allow for the potential widening of Morris Bridge Rd. to four lanes in the future.
In addition to the signals, the county also will require Two Rivers to construct left and right turn lanes along Morris Bridge Rd. at Colston Ave. The only other entrance/exit along Morris Bridge Rd. for Two Rivers will be a gated emergency-only access near the southern part of the development.
This will bring the grand total of traffic signals for Two Rivers to potentially eight: four on S.R. 56, two on Morris Bridge Rd. and two on U.S. 301, subject to meeting warrants and final approval by the transportation departments of the local and state governments.
(Above left) The tan-colored building on the left is a “cottage twin” with two three-bedroom apartments, and the greener building directly to its right is a three-bedroom, single family cottage at the Cottages at Cypress Cay off BBD Blvd. in Lutz.
In our July 25 issue, we told you about two new rental apartment complexes (called Lantana and Sage) on Cypress Cay Blvd., a new road which connects to 42nd St. off Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. a little south of Tampa Palms.
At that time, we also mentioned a third community, to be called The Cottages at Cypress Cay, which is located at the northwest end of Cypress Cay Blvd., but we didn’t know too much about it.
The rental units at the Cottages are spacious and are available in a variety of 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom floor plans.
Well, the first residents have begun moving into The Cottages and I was excited to tour this unique, new community.
Unlike most apartment complexes, The community offers not just multiple 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom apartment unit floor plans, but also a large variety of different building types and elevations those units call home.
For example, there are two rustic-looking (but very modern) 3-bedroom single-family cottages and eight 3-bedroom cottage twins that look nothing like your average apartment building, plus two-story townhomes, as well as four 12-unit multiplexes that look more like traditional apartment buildings than the rest of the community among its 198 total units on 21.93 acres.
According to leasing agent Nicholas Fernandez, who took me on the tour, the concept of The Cottages is “rental living that feels more like single-family-home living with much more access to outdoor activities.”
The clubhouse at the Cottages at Cypress Cay includes a TV lounge, two PC and two Apple computers, a bumper pool and poker table, 24/7 fitness center, pool, golf chipping area and many other amenities.
He added that every unit offers a Google-based Ring doorbell system and that the clubhouse at the entrance to the community includes two PC and two Apple computers, a printer, a coffee area, a bumper pool table that doubles as a poker table and a 24/7 fitness room. Outside the clubhouse is a large pond that has a golf chipping green and floating golf balls, a large pool with an electric BBQ grill on its deck and more.
“The Cottages at Cypress Cay combines the feel of having a single-family home with a resort-style rental apartment lifestyle,” Fernandez said.
He also said that there is not only ample parking throughout the well-spread-out complex, but also 50 covered garage spaces.
In other words, the Cottages at Cypress Cay lives up to its claim of being a different rental complex, especially if you like a tranquil community, units with tall ceilings and large fenced-in patios with turf, instead of grass.
For leasing and more information about The Cottages at Cypress Cay (15081 Cypress Cay Blvd.), call (813) 771-8006 or visit TheCottagesatCypressCay.com.
Drone photo of Cypress Cay Blvd. (road at far right). In front are the Lantana apartments. The bluer buildings behind them are the Sage apartments & the orange roofs near the top are the Cottages at Cypress Cay. To the south, Cypress Cay Blvd. attaches to where 42nd St. meets Bruce B. Downs Blvd. (Photos by Charmaine George)
For years, whenever anyone headed southwest from Tampa Palms on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. towards the Lake Forest subdivision, there really wasn’t much between the two on the west side of BBD other than a gas station, a flower shop (A Special Rose Florist, now located in Tampa Palms), a do-it-yourself car wash, an Ob/Gyn office and the North Oaks condominiums.
(Top) For about 50 years, the for-lease Palma Verde apartments at the corner of Bruce B. Downs Blvd. & 42nd St. were the only buildings on 42nd St. But, eight years ago, the Angels Senior Living Assisted Living & Memory Care residence (middle and bottom photos) opened, and the beautiful lobby area has been welcoming residents to its 102 studio, 1- and 2-bedroom and 24 memory care apartments ever since.
Just north of North Oaks, a street labeled as 42nd St. already was home to the Palma Verde apartments, a small rental apartment development built in 1965 made up of ten one-bedroom units in five buildings.
Then, roughly eight years ago, Angels Senior Living at New Tampa Assisted Living & Memory Care, which has a sign at the corner of 42nd and BBD, near the Palma Verde apartments (which are managed by Martino Chillura Management), became the second establishment to open on 42nd St., and both Angels and Palma Verde have Tampa addresses in zip code 33613.
The 42nd St. location, which offers 102 beds and 89 total units (including 24 secured memory care apartments), is one of eleven senior living facilities the Angels Senior Living parent company operates throughout the Tampa Bay area. Photographer Charmaine George and I toured Angels and I will say that it is quaint, super-clean and provides its seniors with home health care, therapy, pharmaceutical services, adult day care, respite care and a lovely place to live.
What prompted me to write this story, however, was the fact that until more of the property on BBD began being cleared a couple of years ago, to add more than 750 total additional rental units (see below), I honestly didn’t even know Angels was there. Yes, we had published stories about the new apartment units that had begun construction at that time, but now, as you head north on 42nd St. from Angels, you realize that not only are there sparkling, new apartments for rent, but also that the street seems to change names to what is now called Cypress Cay Blvd.
This mile-or-so-long stretch of Cypress Cay Blvd. actually does have a separate curb cut on BBD just north of 42nd St. In addition, even though Palma Verde and Angels are located in zip code 33613, the new apartment communities — the separate Lantana and Sage at Cypress Cay rental communities located north of Angels — actually have Lutz addresses in zip code 33559.
Cypress Cay Blvd. continues past the 252-unit Lantana (which just welcomed its first residents a couple of weeks ago and is not yet 100% completed) and 304-unit Sage (which has been open for about a year) communities and winds its way towards a new multi-family development known as the Cottages at Cypress Cay, which will include 198 total additional rental units in 71 buildings.
Although we don’t yet have much information about the Cottages at Cypress Cay, based on the photo of its sign (below), it appears that, like Lantana and Sage, it also will be seeking to reach upscale apartment renters. Lantana and Sage feature 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom apartments ranging from $1,800 to more than $3,000 per month. And, while they are located near USF, these are not your usual student apartments, with their beautiful lobby areas, upscale amenities and gated security.
Both Lantana and Sage are being developed by RangeWater Real Estate, which has developed dozens of apartment communities in 11 states, including Ascend Grove West and Beacon Epperson in Wesley Chapel. We were told that Sage, which is nearing its capacity, is now under contract to be sold.
Meanwhile, The Cottages are being developed by Capstone Communities, which also has developed thousands of units in over half the U.S. (including 8 projects in Florida), but is making its debut in the Tampa Bay area.
And, just northeast of where Cypress Cay Blvd. meets BBD (see map on next page), there is an undeveloped commercial lot. We don’t yet know what is planned for that site, but will update that for you in a future issue.
This is a recent construction photos showing the progress of Downtown Avalon Park Wesley Chapel. (All photos and graphics on these pages provided by Nye Commercial Advisors, LLC)
Although The Grove has a big head start staking its claim as Wesley Chapel’s “official” downtown — with the expansion of “The Village,” the addition of the KRATE Container Park and the addition of new apartments and Grove Mini Golf, plus a new SuperTarget store, a new competitor has finally joined the discussion:
The Avalon Park Group has announced today that it is partnering with Nye Commercial Advisors, LLC, to lease 23,720 square feet of commercial/retail space in the 73,067 mixed-use Building, “DT1,” located in Downtown Avalon Park Wesley Chapel.
DT1 is the first of three buildings planned for the first phase of the long-awaited downtown section of this master planned community. The three-story building now under construction is comprised of the 23,720 sq. ft. of commercial/retail space that will be located below 40-unit multi-family, for- rent apartment homes.
The additional components planned for Phase 1 include a 97,000-sq.-ft. mixed-use building with 21,000 sq. ft. of commercial/retail space below 60-unit multi-family, for-rent apartment homes, a 103-unit multi-family building and a two-acre town park, which is expected to break ground later this year.
“Our relationship with the Nye team goes back more than 30 years, when we initially purchased the property,” says Beat Kahli, the president and CEO of Avalon Park Group. “Nye’s deep roots in the Wesley Chapel community, and their commercial expertise, make them the perfect partner to bring needed commercial uses to Downtown Avalon Park and eastern Pasco County.”
This is a recent construction photos showing the progress of Downtown Avalon Park Wesley Chapel.
Upon completion, Avalon Park Wesley Chapel will encompass more than 1,600 acres and will be home to approximately 400,000 sq. ft. of retail and 100,000 sq. ft. of office space in its unique downtown. The initial construction in Downtown Avalon Park Wesley Chapel began in 2018, with the addition of the Pinecrest Academy K-7 Charter School. Pinecrest Academy also is now building its second phase, which includes the addition of approximately 600 6th-8th grade student stations.
“Wesley Chapel continues to grow each day,” says Brent Nye, the executive director of Nye Commercial Advisors. “We welcome the opportunity to bring the businesses and services needed to Downtown Avalon Park Wesley Chapel, which will serve as a downtown for the entire region.”
Nye also says that although they are primarily seeking 3-5-year leases on these first available retail spaces, “We are open to different lease terms.” He adds that no outparcels have been included in the current plan, but, “some land is available and we are open to discussion about that but since we have higher-than-typical suburban densities on our land, one-story uses may be a challenge.”
He adds that although Avalon Park Group is handling the leasing of the 40 residential apartment units separately itself, those units are being built concurrently with the retail spaces below them and are expected to open around the same time, which should be by sometime during the first quarter of 2024, “if everything goes according to plan.”
Please note that certain types of retail uses may not be allowed, including “adult entertainment” uses, and bars and some other retail uses may first have to be approved by Avalon Park Group.
As stated in the official Avalon Park Wesley Chapel website — AvalonParkWesleyChapel.com:
“Do you dream of living where you work and working where you play? Then bring your business home to Downtown Avalon Park Wesley Chapel.
The rendering above depicts what life will be like in Downtown Avalon Park Wesley Chapel when it is completed.
The distinctive small-town flavor and the convenience of downtown living merge in downtown Avalon Park Wesley Chapel to create the perfect place to spend an hour or the entire day. Downtown Avalon Park Wesley Chapel will bring conveniences like dining, shopping, schools, grocery stores, and your neighborhood doctor within a short walk or bike ride of your home.
In this town, there’s room for every entrepreneur — storefronts, shops, and office bays downtown, as well as rent-by-the-day workspaces for home-based businesses. There will be schools and medical centers where neighbors work. There’s a local Marketplace where chefs serve and musicians play; a commissary kitchen where makers create; and a General Store where artisans will share their wares. And, all of it will lie along the sidewalks of this picturesque town.
Best of all, Avalon Park Wesley Chapel also will offer complimentary advertising and marketing services for our neighborhood businesses, helping you build relationships with the residents in our neighborhood and beyond.
Whatever you need, make your business the talk of the town in one of Central Florida’s fastest-growing areas.”
For more info about Downtown Avalon Park Wesley Chapel, visit AvalonParkWesleyChapel.com or call (813) 783-1515. For Phase 1 commercial leasing info, call Nye Commercial Advisors at (813) 973-0214.
