From left to right: Sam Becker, a USF graduate student in the School of Urban and Regional Planning, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor and City Councilmember Luis Viera.
A standing-room-only crowd packed Compton Park in Tampa Palms on Feb. 3 for the unveiling of the initial results of a New Tampa business study, and while the presentation did seem to assuage some of the concerns of those in attendance, the results of that survey are far from conclusive.
In fact, because many of the area businesses along Bruce B. Downs Blvd. south of I-75 — meaning Tampa Palms — have not reported data, like earnings and number of employees, to the City of Tampa, the study was only based on businesses along BBD from the I-75 interchange north to County Line Rd.
University of South Florida School of Public Affairs director Ron Sanders said the data the study did find south of I-75 “looked funny.”
That meant that the closings of Staples, HH Gregg, Bed Bath & Beyond and Casa Ramos, which played a central role in triggering the study, were not included in any conclusions by the USF study, which included input from New Tampa (morning) Rotary Club and North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce members, as well as other local business leaders.
“You have to take some of the quantitative analysis (from the study) with a grain of salt,” Sanders told the crowd, which included Tampa Mayor Jane Castor and Tampa City Council member Luis Viera. “It’s limited by the data, and it is what it is. It had to be balanced by some of the real-life observations and anecdotal (evidence).”
While the study was spurred by community concerns about business closings in Tampa Palms that were pointed out to Viera (as well as to Mayor Castor while she was running for office), at least north of I-75, seems to paint a rosier picture.
According to Sam Becker, a USF graduate student in the School of Urban and Regional Planning, a total of 57 businesses closed in New Tampa north of I-75 between 2015-18, losing an annual sales volume of roughly $122 million.
However, in that same period, 94 new businesses opened, generating nearly $181 million in sales.
That produced a net gain of 37 new businesses, $59 million total sales volume and 1,651 employees.
But without data from south of I-75, Sanders says “it is hard to draw any conclusions” about the New Tampa area as a whole.
And, since the study began, the once-vacant HH Gregg and Staples spaces in the Market Square at Tampa Palms plaza have new tenants, and a handful of new restaurants have opened or will be open by the summer, including more than a dozen new businesses in the Village at Hunter’s Lake development.
The study made a host of recommendations, including creating a chamber of commerce-esque Business Retention & Expansion committee, attracting non-chains and marketing and branding New Tampa.
A community slogan — “Something For Everyone” was floated as an example — as well as signage would let people passing through know they are in New Tampa.
“I still think it comes down to having a community identity that is amenable to everybody here in New Tampa,” Viera said. “It’s something we should work on, as the study pointed to.”
The study’s results, while inconclusive, seemed to be met with enthusiasm by most of the 100 or more people in the crowd at Compton Park.
“I still miss my Bed Bath & Beyond, but I do feel better about the business climate,” said longtime Arbor Greene resident Noreen Luetteke. “I think it’s improving. I just hope it stays that way.”
When we received the first installment of our funding from the Google News Initiative on January 14, we made a number of promises to our benefactors regarding the number of videos we’d put online, the number of people we’d hire to shoot, edit and be on-air talent for those videos and the equipment we would need to fulfill our commitments.
As this issue is reaching you, it has now been six months since we received that funding and I’d have to say that we are right on track.
To me, the most important milestone for us to reach was the increase in the number of videos we would be releasing. Before our Google funding, we averaged one video every other week. But, we have now put out 41 videos in 21 weeks (with several videos in the can getting ready for release at out press time) since Jan. 14, or an average of at least two each week.
And, more and more of you are watching those videos. In the nearly three years since we first started Wesley Chapel & New Tampa Television (WCNT-tv) — which we now call NeighborhoNewsOnline.net (search “Neighborhood News” on Facebook or “WCNT-tv” on YouTube) — we have flown past one million total views and nearly two million people reached on Facebook.
The 41 videos we have put online since January alone have been viewed more than 210,000 times and have reached more than 354,000 people. Perhaps even more important is that those 41 videos have received a total of more than 36,000 “engagements” (Likes, Shares & Comments), or an average of more than 900 per video! How many local videos/posts do you know of that have had 1,000 engagements?
We continue to reach our biggest audience whenever we put out videos about food, as our two videos about the opening of the new Chick-fil-A on S.R. 54 in Wesley Chapel each garnered more than 12,000 views and combined reached more than 35,000 people. Our biggest reach this year has been achieved by our video about the new Smallcakes Cupcakery in Tampa Palms, which also had more than 12,000 views, and a reach of more than 22,000 people!
Even more recently, my “Neighborhood Dining News” segment about Hummingbird Jerk House and Full Circle Pizza released on May 29 already has been viewed more than 7,000 times and reached more than 11,000 people.
En Español, Tambien?
Although I also have several more lined up to start as this issue is reaching your mailbox, we currently have four print advertisers who have begun sponsoring our videos and online content, as part of their Video & Online “Subscription” program, where each of them will receive a Video Business Feature.
Those advertisers are Total Air Solutions, Creative Permanent Makeup by Pam Edmonson, Omari’s Grill at Lexington Oaks Golf Club and KAP Medical Group. We have not yet released the Video Business Features for Total Air or Omari’s, but only the video for Omari’s had not yet been produced at our press time.
However, Total Air, which was our first “subscriber,” has already been shown as a sponsor of eight videos in seven weeks, and those videos have been viewed more than 50,000 times, with a Facebook reach of nearly 89,000 people and nearly 7,000 engagements. Creative Permanent Makeup by Pam has sponsored seven videos in six weeks, and those videos have been viewed more than 40,000 times, with a FB reach of more than 68,000 and more than 6,000 engagements. Omari’s had only sponsored two videos at our press time, but they had been viewed more than 7,000 times, with a FB reach of nearly 15,000, with nearly 700 engagements.
And, thanks to Omari’s co-owner Susana Herrera, who spent 20 years as a reporter and anchor in her native Colombia, including eight years on the Colombian CBN Network, our KAP Medical video was shot in English (with yours truly asking the questions) and in Spanish (with Susana interviewing fellow Latina Dr. Karina Parilo en Español). We plan to do a lot more with Spanish language videos in the future, so stay tuned! For advertising information, call (813) 910-2575!
In campaign meetings with New Tampa community leaders and residents, former City of Tampa Police (TPD) Chief and mayoral candidate Jane Castor said the usual concerns were raised by those groups. But, along with traffic congestion, the conditions of roads and the affordability of homes, the topic of New Tampa businesses came up often.
“One of the main issues was concern over a lack of sustained retail along Bruce B. Downs,” Castor says.
Castor’s thought was that while no single reason was given for what might be causing what some see as an exodus of restaurants and retailers — although congested local roads, access and the growth of Wesley Chapel were mentioned — she also says New Tampa’s business climate was worth looking at. “I’m excited about the study,” Castor says.
In a chance meeting shortly thereafter with Karen Kress, the director of Transportation and Planning for the Tampa Downtown Partnership, wheels were put in motion for a study that is now being organized by the University of South Florida’s School of Public Affairs and director Ron Sanders, says Sam Becker, an intern for Kress, who attended one of Castor’s meetings with local groups. Afterwards, Becker had a discussion with Castor and Kress, and brought up the idea of a study to Sanders, who conducted a poll of graduate students working towards their Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning.
Four students volunteered to conduct the study, which also will include input from local business leaders, District 7 Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera and the North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce.
According to Sanders, the study, which is still being defined, will take place this summer and in two phases — one will be a “listening tour” that will be conducted through meetings held with focus groups of citizens and business owners, and two, there also will be a field study.
“We’re still trying to find the parameters of the study, but the basic premise is to try to look at what is happening in New Tampa, the outmigration of some of the stores, and see if there’s anything that can be done about it,” Sanders says.
District 7 Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera has been pushing for some kind of study, and he says he was pleased to learn USF would be involved.
Too Much Ado About It?
While there are some who feel the issue is overblown and that the current outmigration is simply part of a national trend that’s the result of the cyclical nature of business combined with the ever-changing effect of e-commerce, Viera hopes the study will root out any potential underlying issues.
As we’ve reported in previous issues, the Market Square at Tampa Palms plaza has seen HH Gregg, Staples and Bed Bath & Beyond close; restaurants like Casa Ramos in Tampa Palms and Ruby Tuesday on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd just north of I-75, also have been shuttered.
The old Romano’s Macaroni Grill site has twice been reborn as a Mexican restaurant that failed both times, and even non-chain restaurants like the once-super-popular Spanish restaurant Café Olé have shut down.
There are signs of life, however. The old Dairy Queen on BBD is now a Jamaican restaurant (see ad on page 43), the Beef O’Brady’s on Cross Creek Blvd. is expected to reopen soon as an Italian eatery, and Las Palmas has re-opened in a different New Tampa location after the original location closed in 2018.
Also, The Village at Hunter’s Lake project will bring more than a dozen new businesses to New Tampa when it is completed.
“I think it is not clear how much (of the business closings) are consistent with national trends, or if it’s cyclical, or part of it is technology,” Sanders says. “If it’s part of a macro trend, or national, it’s not clear how much can be done about it. But, we’ll also look for local circumstances and conditions that may be driving it. Those are more addressable.”
Sanders also says the study will be ideal for his students, and that USF wants to be a good neighbor and lend a hand. If the study does produce something concrete, it could lead to the city conducting something “more extensive and sophisticated.”
The study is still being developed, so how long it will take and when results will be published are unclear.
For the last few years, when people have talked about the growth in Wesley Chapel, they mainly have focused on the S.R. 56 corridor, from west of I-75 all the way east to the Wiregrass Ranch Development of Regional Impact (DRI).
Now, however, it appears that the portion of S.R. 54 from near I-75, east to Morris Bridge Rd./Eiland Blvd., also is heating up, as a flood of new meetings, permits and construction are ready to transform the one-time sleepy road that cuts through the middle of the county from Zephyrhills to New Port Richey.
In Wesley Chapel, the aforementioned segment of the S.R. 54 corridor has been sparsely populated with businesses and restaurants. But, with the widening of the road all the way to Zephyrhills, as well as a house-building boom taking place on the north side of 54 (in addition to the growth of the northern portion of Wiregrass Ranch), Wesley Chapel’s portion of S.R. 54 is taking its turn as a fast-growing area.
“I think it will be the next area where you see some things happening,” said Hope Allen of the North Tampa Chamber of Commerce. “There are a lot of things coming to that corridor.”
And, it’s not just businesses.
On the north side of S.R. 54, Avalon Park West and WaterGrass (on Curley Rd.) are still building hundreds of homes and even smaller communities like Saddleridge Estates are still adding new homes.
In between those soon-to-be larger developments, the massive high-tech Connected City project, which is starting in Epperson, features the first Crystal Lagoons® amenity in the U.S. (which is finally open), and soon in Mirada, which also will be home to a lagoon.
The nearly 8,000 acres of the Connected City are bordered by S.R. 52 to the north and Overpass Rd. to the south, and from I-75 to the west and Curley Rd. to the east.
Combined, Epperson and Mirada will have nearly 6,000 new homes and 1,500 apartments.
“First come the homes, then the commercial,” says Bill Nye, founder of Century 21 Bill Nye Realty, Inc.
Nye has been in real estate in the area since 1974, long before there was anything on S.R. 54 and when Pasco’s C.R. 581 (now called Bruce B. Downs Blvd., or BBD) was nothing but a dirt road. Over the years, Nye has watched the Porter family ease along the development of Wiregrass Ranch, and seen the Sierra family’s vision for the western portion of S.R. 56 come to fruition.
He says that most of the property on S.R. 54 isn’t owned by a Porter or a Sierra. Instead, a hodgepodge of owners are now cashing in. Nye says the “For Sale” signs along S.R. 54 are snowflakes — “You don’t see any two signs that are from the same owner,” he says.
A majority of the traffic emanating from all those new homes is likely to pass right through the intersection of BBD and S.R. 54, and local drivers will soon have new places to stop for gas, coffee, lunch, dinner, groceries and more.
And there is still a wealth of options coming along S.R. 56 from the Lutz area past the Shops at Wiregrass mall.
“I think everyone is growing together,” says District 2 commissioner Mike Moore, who along with District 1 commissioner Ron Oakley, represents the Wesley Chapel area on the Pasco County Board of Commissioners. “One thing comes, and then more things come.”
Here’s what is under construction, in permitting or proposed for the area along S.R. 54:
1. Nye Commons:
This little strip center recently hosted a ribbon cutting for its six businesses, including the popular O.T.B. (“Only the Best”) Café, which has moved right up the road from its previous location across BBD from Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel.
For more about the tenants at Nye Commons, see “Nibbles & Bytes” on pg. 42 our our current issue.
2. Twistee Treat
3. This will be Wesley Chapel’s third Wawa, joining two locations on S.R. 56. After a seemingly endless stay in permitting, the new store is going up quickly.
4. Chick-fil-A gained final approval in July. Ground should be breaking soon.
5. Dunkin’ Donuts is still under construction, and Dental Care at Quail Hollow is all but complete, and there may be additional retail coming to what is called the Scherer Center.
6. The Publix at Hollybrook Plaza (on the corner of BBD and S.R. 54) is escaping the traffic and moving closer to the new Wal-Mart. Publix closed on the land for its new location in October.
7.Parks Ford of Wesley Chapel is in the middle of a major expansion that is expected to be completed by early spring 2019.
8. As part of the development of the northernmost portion of Wiregrass Ranch, a new strip center is going up that could be home to two new restaurants. They’re not named in the county filings, but the 5,610- and 6,995-sq.-ft. spaces are both labeled for retail/restaurant.
9. Already under construction, the RaceTrac will give local travelers four options for gas and snacks. Also under construction immediately to the west of RaceTrac is Bay Breeze Car Wash’s 10th location in Tampa Bay, and first in Wesley Chapel.
10. The Pasco C-Center: According to a conceptual plan filed with the county, this center is proposing a fast food restaurant with a drive-through, a 14,698-sq.-ft. pharmacy with a 4,000-sq-ft. retail building divided for three businesses, and a 5,500-sq.-ft. retail building divided for four occupants.
Helping maintain optimal health on the inside and providing services to help you look better on the outside are the ways that Peggy Demetriou, ARNP, FNP-BC, takes care of her patients at Qvita Health & Wellness, located across Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. from Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel (FHWC), in the Windfair Professional Center.
Peggy Demetriou, ARNP, FNP-BC (far right), leads the staff (Katherine Sneesby, Ashley Rae Negron, Doris Chavez) at QVita Health & Wellness off Bruce B. Downs Blvd. in Wesley Chapel, where primary care medicine and specialized skin care services are offered in one convenient location.
As a Board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) and Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner (ARNP), Demetriou offers primary care medical services for patients ages five-years and older, including diagnosis and treatment of acute illnesses like the flu and injuries, as well as referrals to specialists and follow-up management of chronic conditions such as diabetes. According to Demetriou, if one of her patients is ailing, she and her team (photo) are committed to seeing them as soon as
possible to ensure a speedy recovery.
“We’ll see our current patients the same day if they’re sick,” says Demetriou, who earned her Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Nursing (BSN) degree in 1998, from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. “If they’re sick today, they’re going to be seen today.”
Avoiding illness in the first place is ideal, and Qvita offers preventive care through wellness checkups (including school and Department of Transportation physicals) and health counseling focused on the individual needs of patients, such as enlightening a teenager about the nutritional benefits of a balanced diet or assisting adults with managing their use of prescription drugs. Demetriou says having a candid conversation
is a key element of the relationship she has with her patients.
“We’re going over the lifestyle of that patient,” she says, adding that medical services like genetic testing are available to facilitate diagnoses and determine treatment options for every patient.
Maintaining a body weight that’s appropriate and comfortable for an active lifestyle can be an elusive goal, but managing weight loss through non-surgical medical weight loss treatment options is one way that Qvita helps patients get more out of their lives. Demetriou says that these options range from prescription medications and/or herbal supplements to procedures like lipotropic (fat burning) injections of nutrients such as choline, that release a body’s stored fat by stimulating the metabolic processing of it.
Cosmetic Services Too!
Qvita Health & Wellness extends its services beyond supporting daily health needs by providing non-surgical cosmetic options, including wrinkle-reducing injectables such as Botox and Xeomin, as well as a complete line of Juvederm filler products.
Demetriou says that tne advantage of receiving cosmetic treatments and services at a nurse practitioner-owned clinic is the access to medical grade products such as Latisse, an FDA-approved prescription treatment that grows eyelashes for patients who are unhappy with the length or volume of their lashes. Skin-care products from companies such as Obagi Medical, SkinMedica and NeoCutis also are available. Patients looking for a non-surgical “face lift” can consider the Ultherapy approach, which is an FDA-approved method of lifting skin on areas such as the neck and chin using non-invasive ultrasound technology.
According to Demetriou, providing quality medical and cosmetic services is about providing a complete spectrum of options for people who are interested in feeling and looking their best.
“They complement each other,” she says. “As patients’ health and conditions improve on the inside, they want to look good on the outside, too.” Demetriou adds that cosmetic clients often bring to light their medical concerns while visiting Qvita, as well.
Demetriou also says that some of the treatments and services available at Qvita have both medical and cosmetic benefits. Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) therapy involves separating platelets and plasma from a patient’s blood sample to create a solution that can be used to help heal joint and ligament problems, as well as rejuvenate skin.
Also available are aesthetic services, such as dermaplaning, where a surgical blade is very gently scraped across the skin’s surface to remove debris such as dead cells, leaving a refreshed look.
At Qvita, this work is handled by Ashley Negron, who has a clinical skincare diploma from the American Institute of Beauty and is licensed by the State of Florida Board of Cosmetology as a registered facial specialist. Negron says Qvita’s cosmetic services use products not widely available at places like chain beauty supply stores.
“All of the products we use are medical grade,” says Negron.
A Holistic Approach
Committed to promoting good health and fitness from a holistic perspective, Demetriou also teams up with her physician husband Nektarios Demetriou, D.O. (Doctor of Osteopathy), to offer patients their own line of physician-formulated nutritional supplements, such as Qvita Premium Activated B-Complex, Premier Multi-Vitamin and Ultimate Joint Support. According to the Qvita website, the once-a-day supplements “are designed to be natural, convenient to use, and are completely free from artificial fillers, flavors, or colors.”
Peggy also spreads the word about good health to the general public through her guest appearances on Tampa Bay-area radio and television programs. Viewers of the WFTS-TV program, “Tampa Bay’s Morning Blend” (10 a.m. weekdays), often see her hosting topical health segments. Demetriou says her next segment will air sometime in September and will be announced on Qvita’s social media platforms for people who want to watch or record it.
Social media also is where you can keep up with specials on cosmetic services and big events, like the practice’s two-year anniversary in December. Office manager Katherine Sneesby, who helped open Qvita Health & Wellness, says the practice’s growth stems from a commitment to both medical and cosmetic clients.
“We’ve watched it (Qvita) grow because we’re trying to make sure everybody gets the best treatment possible,” Sneesby says.
That approach to delivering treatments and services has led to a 5-Star Google rating (as of our deadline) from 18 reviews. Among the reviewers is Samantha Kanyer, who writes of her experience with Qvita:
“Unbelievably clean, best customer service I’ve ever had and Peggy could not be more amazing!! Would recommend for anyone!!”
According to Demetriou, what patients and clients experience when they visit Qvita Health & Wellness begins from within — the people who work there.
“I think there’s a passion driving us to do what we’re doing,” she says, proudly.
Qvita Health & Wellness is located at 2734 Windguard Cir., Suite 101, in Wesley Chapel. You can learn more, such as insurance acceptance (including Medicare) by visiting online at QvitaHealthandWellness.com or by calling (813) 501-4130. Or, see the ad on page 10 of this issue.
