‘Connected City’ Developer Responds To Critics 

Metro Development Group Principal Kartik Goyani Says The Unique Community’s 50-Year Plan Is Right On Track In Year 8 

 With Wesley Chapel already growing by leaps and bounds, the area known as the Connected City (CC) — conceived by Metro Development Group as a partnership with Pasco County and approved by the State Legislature as a “special planning area” pilot program for the State of Florida — is something completely unique. 

Rather than just another collection of developers building nothing but more of the same subdivisions that Pasco seemingly will continue to approve until there is no more vacant land within the county’s nearly 750 total square miles, Metro Development principal Kartik Goyani says that, when it comes to CC, there is a 50-year plan in place to be more than just another series of individual developments of single-family homes, apartments and retail strip centers. 

Despite what some critics are claiming, Goyani says that CC, — aka the “First Smart Gigabit Community in the U.S.,” which was approved in 2015 and began development with Metro’s Epperson community in 2017 — is only in year eight of that 50-year plan and, in his estimation, the 7,800- acre CC development is indeed proceeding according to plan. 

Before we get into the discussion of what is or isn’t happening in CC, here are some geographical facts, many of which may not be 100% clear from the map (above), which was provided to us by Metro. 

The orange lines on the map indicate the boundaries of what is called CC, of which only the western boundary follows a specific roadway — I-75. 

The northern boundary extends to a little north of S.R. 52 in San Antonio, with several important commercial developments and yet another (as yet unnanounced) AdventHealth hospital to be located in this northernmost section. Goyani says AdventHealth has owned that property since 2019 or 2020. 

Curley Rd. forms most of the CC’s eastern border, although a portion of it extends east of Curley — between Elam Rd. to the north and just north of the eastern portion of Overpass Rd. to the south. It is worth noting that the Watergrass community, which includes property both north and south of that eastern extension of Overpass Rd., is not part of CC. 

And, speaking of Overpass Rd., everything north of it from I-75 to the entrance of Epperson is within the CC boundary, but that boundary also extends south of Overpass to include all of the Epperson development, but not the pre-existing Palm Cove or Bridgewater communities. 

How It All Got Started 

Of course, knowing the boundaries of CC doesn’t really give you any insight into why Metro Development decided to create a massive employment center where people could live, work and play in a portion of Pasco County that was super-rural, not even suburban, when Metro first proposed the idea of the CC to the county and the state in 2014. 

According to Goyani, it all started with internet speed. He says that before the Covid- 19 pandemic hit in 2020, the last economic slowdown was in 2008, but as business started to pick back up in 2009-10, Pasco County’s goal was to transform the county from a sleepy bedroom community, with thousands of residents leaving the county to work in Tampa, into a thriving self-sustaining economic center of its own. 

And, even though other developers may not have been thinking about how to plan for a better future, Goyani says, “We knew from our own experience during the 2008-09 downturn, that before the next downturn hits, we wanted to offer something that it seemed no one else was even interested in — faster internet. So, in 2014, we launched Ultrafi (Metro’s own bundled internet and cable service with ultra-fast internet speeds, up to 10 Gigabits per second) in our Park Creek community in Riverview and planned to include it in Epperson (the first development in CC).” 

He says that “everyone asked us ‘Why are you focusing on something that technology companies should do? No one’s asking us for faster internet, because they only have one connected device at home.” 

Goyani’s response is that, “We knew that to retrofit a community for faster internet would be very expensive. So, we laid fiber lines everywhere that could get insanely fast speeds at prices we all can afford. We talked to Google fiber (which wasn’t interested in Pasco County), AT&T, Verizon…and they all said no one wants faster speeds, so we did it ourselves.” 

He adds, “Could we use technology for the greater good? Could we create a new community from the internet up?” 

In other words, although Metro’s intent, when the CC pilot program was approved by the state in 2015, was to also have the CC connected by walkways and multimodal transportation opportunities, the developer’s primary focus was the internet. “From a fundamental standpoint,” he says, “counties and developers usually focus on the physical infrastructure — roads, water lines, waste water, electrical — because you can’t have a community without those, but no one else was working on the digital infrastructure. That’s how this story ended up evolving.” 

But, speaking of physical infrastructure, Goyani says that when CC began development, no other developers were interested in improving S.R. 52 or creating an Overpass Rd. interchange off I-75. 

“But, by bringing the CC to Pasco, S.R. 52 is now vastly improved and the Overpass Rd. intersection is open, meaning that the physical infrastructure for the CC is now in place. That is a big reason why we have been able to attract so many employment centers to this development.” 

He also notes that while most large-scale developments at that time were offering huge 10,000-20,000-sq.-ft. clubhouses or “amenity centers” that were intended to provide the community’s “social infrastructure,” Metro saw that during the last economic downturn, “people had to decide between being able to afford their mortgage or paying for the maintenance of a 20,000-sq.-ft. clubhouse for the use of the residents only. That just didn’t make sense to me.” 

Goyani says he wanted to create something that could benefit the entire region, “that’s why we put the first Metro Lagoon® in the U.S. in our Epperson community. Nobody was putting these lagoons in a community. We felt that connecting the digital, physical and social aspects — and the ‘Wow’ factor of the lagoons — would help put Pasco County on the map.” 

He also says that Metro didn’t even own all of Epperson. “We only own the southern half,” he says. “But we did own Mirada, where we put the second CC lagoon amenity (that is roughly twice the size of the lagoon in Epperson, and the largest such lagoon in the U.S.; photo above right).” He also said that the two lagoons in CC have attracted 1.2 million people combined since they opened. 

One of the problems for Goyani and Metro is that the 900-acre Epperson community, with roughly 3,000 residences at buildout, and the 2,000-acre Mirada development with 4,5000 residences, represent less than 40% of the 7,800 acres and only about 20% of the planned residences in the CC, so a lot of the CC plan approved by the state and county is not under Metro’s control. 

Commercial/Health Care 

Putting the number of residences aside, among the things Goyani is most proud of with the CC is the amount of new non-residential square footage that is planned, especially when it comes to health care. 

“Back when we started planning the CC,” Goyani says, “we looked at the amount of new commercial construction for all of Pasco County and I believe the total amount from east to west at that time was only 3000,000 sq. ft. So, as we started planning for the future, the county administrator told us that he wanted to see at least 3 million sq. ft. of commercial over the 50-year plan for the Connected City. Back then, I thought that was unreasonable, with only 300,000 sq. ft. under construction for the whole county, but I agreed that if we’re going to create an economic engine for Pasco, we have to look forward.” 

He adds, “We started talking to the stakeholders in the area and said, ‘This is a 50-year plan and we need to set up large areas where we can get people both living and working and over time, that 50-year goal went from 3 million sq. ft. to 12 million. And, if we could get that done by 2065, everyone would probably be happy, right? But, do you know how many sq. ft. of non-residential is already under development in CC? How does 8 million sq. ft. sound? And, it’s all already approved, having groundbreakings…with real dollars being spent, in 2025.” 

I’ll admit that number shocked me. It includes not only the Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital that just broke ground in the Wildcat-Bailes property in CC’s southwest corner, but also the aforementioned, not-yet-announced AdventHealth hospital just north of S.R. 52, as well as a large BayCare medical office complex that will not only help staff the expandable BayCare Wesley Chapel Hospital a few miles south of CC, but also focus on wellness to help people live healthier and longer. 

Another major commercial project within the CC is the Double Branch/Pasco Town Center, a 965-acre mixed-use project just east of I-75 at S.R. 52 that is already under development that will include up to 4.5 million sq. ft. of industrial space at its build-out. Phase 1 of the project, which is expected to begin delivering finished buildings later this year, includes three industrial buildings totalling nearly 500,000 sq. ft. There also are plans for 1 million sq. ft. of office space, a 1.6.-million-sq.-ft. distribution center and a 400,000-sq.-ft. “cross-dock facility,” which is a logistics hub designed for the rapid transfer of goods to minimize storage time. Double Branch is being developed by Columnar Investments, which also is planning to have 500,000 sq. ft. of retail uses, 3,500 residential units and 200 acres of parks and trails. 

Some of the other privately owned portions of CC also have commercial entitlements (or are asking for them from the county), such as the Abbey Crossings/Park 52 Logistics piece that will bring 500,000 sq. ft. of light industrial uses to north of S.R. 52 and neighborhood commercial and a hotel to south of 52. 

Goyani says that, “Other smart people have seen what we’re doing within the CC boundary, so why not buy land outside of CC for less money and bet on the success of that project in the future? And people quickly gobbled up pieces of that land,” including Target, which bought a large chunk for a distribution center just north of CC. 

The Education Piece 

Also located on the outskirts of CC is the Kirkland Ranch Academy of Innovation (photo), which started in 2022 with a high school and now has grades K-8. Two years earlier, Innovation Preparatory Academy (aka InPrep), a charter school, opened for the 2020-21 school year and Prodigy at Epperson Early Learning Center is now open south of the CC border just south of InPrep. 

“None of the CC land owners were at the table telling the Pasco School District, ‘take my land for a school,’ or ‘take my land for a park,’ Goyani said. “In fact, I was told that those property owners all said ‘No’ and we had no control over that.” 

And, Goyani, who said he comes from a very poor family in India, is a big believer in education. His parents shipped him off to the U.S. with a $500 one-way ticket at age 21 to find a way to pay to get a Master’s degree, which he did, in Construction Management, in the School of Engineering, from prestigious Purdue University, even though, he claims, “I wasn’t really a smart kid. But, I am very passionate about education and my goal is to have one of the best universities in the country, either in CC or in [Metro’s other Pasco development in Land O’Lakes] Angeline (more on Angeline below).” 

Goyani also said that last year, Metro commissioned a study by PFM Financial Advisors LLC out of Orlando, which showed that Pasco County is now “the fastest growing commercial corridor in Florida. There is now 30-plus million sq. ft. of non-residential uses in different stages, which is more than any other county in the state of Florida, and I’m like, ‘Wow, that is exciting. Maybe we’re onto something here. If I were to bet, I’d say we’re going to run out of commercial entitlements throughout the Connected City because I think more is still going to happen, based on the plans.” 

A big part of that 30 million sq. ft. is Angeline, which Goyani says was created as our round two of turning Pasco into an economic engine, with the Moffitt Cancer Center owning 775 acres (to be called Speros FL), with plans to build 16 million sq. ft. of lab, medical offices manufacturing and clinical space that will be twice the size of downtown Tampa. “We also ave a working farm in Angeline that is open to the public, and plans for a 150-acre regional park,” Goyani says. “Instead of only developing for people living in a community, we open important elements of our projects to the public, to create a more regional impact. I don’t know any other developers who do that.” 

But, What About… 

Goyani also is aware that CC as a whole has its detractors, especially the Facebook group known as “Pasco Connected City Residents Group (PCCRG),” which was started by Realtor® and CC resident Michael Pultorak, whom we have featured in these pages before. Pultorak’s group quickly built up to 1,600 members, as he and the group members have consistently appeared at Pasco Board of County Commissioners (BCC) and Planning Commission meetings to ask questions and/or complain about the way CC is being developed, even though many of the concerns expressed have been about the development plans of some of the land owners other than Metro in CC. Pultorak has already met with four of the five Pasco commissioners to discuss his concerns, the first three of which below do also revolve around Metro’s portions of the development: 

• The open space & recreational areas detailed in the CC Master Plan have been moved to east of Handcart Rd. (outside of the CC boundaries) 

• The walking/jogging trails promised to Mirada and Epperson residents were not delivered and the trails were not placed in the engineering plans nor created in the execution of the development 

• The innovative lagoons are private and for-profit amenities 

But, Goyani says that between 2015, when the CC was approved by the state, through 2017, when Metro began building Epperson, there were more than a dozen public meetings held with stakeholders and local residents to discuss the CC plan — “Some had upwards of 300 people attending,” Goyani says — and any concerns about the CC plan was taken into account “to plan for a better future.” 

Other concerns of the PCCRG include: 

• There are no promised cultural facilities or libraries of any kind planned in CC 

• Stormwater concerns at the head of the Cypress Creek watershed with upcoming CC development applications 

• King Lake (a 263-acre lake and the largest body of water in CC) flooding issues for current CC residents. (Note – Pultorak says that King Lake has been beyond flood stage since Metro began digging the nearby Epperson lagoon) 

• Planned roadways within CC that topographical maps show will be under water 

• No schools actually located within the CC boundaries (Goyani says that InPrep and Prodigy actually are within the CC boundaries) 

• The large park planned to be within CC has been moved to the adjacent Villages of Pasadena Hills special planning area 

• Multi-family apartments and townhomes being approved by the Pasco BCC that are in portions of CC that, according to the Master Plan approved by the state, should not be allowed 

• The approved plan for the five Special Planning Area (SPA) Zones within CC has not been adhered to by Pasco, especially with regards to approvals for multi-family apartments 

“We are not against responsible growth & development,” Pultorak says. “However, developers need to be held accountable to the residents of Pasco County to fulfill the promises they make before they take profits and move on or, unexpectedly cause flooding of existing residents and communities. That’s why we formed this group.” 

Where We Are Now 

Many of the concerns outlined above were presented in our recent story (in our Jan. 21 edition) about CC, when the Planning Commission first voted to send the Tall Timbers MPUD on to the BOC for final approval. After giving the nod to Tall Timbers 4-3 on Jan. 9, however, the Planning Commission then voted 6-1 at the same meeting to put a one-year moratorium on all future CC development agreements, site approvals, building permits and zoning changes. 

But, since the Planning Commission is only an advisory panel, the final say on both Tall Timbers and any possible CC moratorium still lies with the BCC. Those votes were originally supposed to be held at the BOC meeting on Feb. 11, but the discussions and votes have now been continued twice — first to Mar. 11 and now until the BCC meeting on Tuesday, May 6. On Apr. 9, however, the county staff was set to provide the CC presentation requested since 2023 by Commissioners Seth Weightman and Board chair Kathryn Starkey. Unfortunately, that workshop took place after we went to press and was not open to public comment. We will update this story with any new information after we attend that meeting. 

Even if the BCC does vote for a CC moratorium, however, it would have pretty much nothing to do with Metro’s ongoing development of Epperson and Mirada, since those communities are both already fully approved with hundreds of residents already living in each and the two lagoons themselves already in place. 

And, while Goyani can’t speak to what the other CC land owners are doing, his primary response to most of the complaints is that, “We are only still in year eight of a 50-year plan. We knew before we started that it would be hard to make everyone happy with this unique development but we believe — and we are proud — that we are helping to put Pasco County on the map with CC.” 

New Phase Of Persimmon Park At Wiregrass Ranch Taking Shape! 

Anyone driving on Wiregrass Ranch Blvd. recently has likely noticed the huge amount of new construction occurring right next to the Wiregrass Ranch community in Wesley Chapel’s northernmost roundabout. This long, 50-acre parcel, that stretches north to south along the west side of Wiregrass Ranch Blvd. (from the first roundabout down to the third roundabout) will serve two future Wiregrass Ranch developments. 

The southernmost seven acres (bottom of map, right) is currently slated for future professional medical offices — a 46,000-sq.-ft., two-story building, followed by a 72,000-sq.- ft., three-story building at a later date. Plans were submitted to the county in February and construction may begin later this year. 

The northernmost twelve acres (at the top of the map) will be for Persimmon Park Phase 3, which will consist of 37 two-story, single family homes and 75 two-story townhomes (or 112 total units). Construction of the land and infrastructure already has been under way for a few months. 

This will leave roughly 31 acres of the 50-acre parcel for drainage ponds and undisturbed conservation wetlands. 

The first two phases of Persimmon Park have had a few home builders, but Phase 3 will be exclusively David Weekley Homes, which also is currently finishing the part of Phase 2 closest to Phase 3 by the roundabout, along Orange Berry Dr. (again see the map). 

The 37 single-family homes will be similar to that part of Phase 2, with the garages in the front of the house, or what the builder calls its “Garden Series.” The lots will be 40’ x 105’ and the salespeople have told us that they expect that the new homes will be at a slightly lower price point when compared with Phase 2, by not offering as many upgrades. Current prices for the Garden Series range from $595,000-$695,000, so Phase 3 buyers should expect slightly lower prices than that. 

However, the townhomes (photo below), which will be located across from the single-family units, will have their garages at the rear of the house, which will open onto an alleyway, similar to how more than half the homes in Phases 1 and 2 of Persimmon Park are laid out, and part of what gives the community its unique look and feel. 

In Persimmon Park, most of these existing “Cottage” series homes’ front doors face a street with parallel parking (which makes sense), and for only one row (14 units) of the new proposed townhomes, the front doors also will face a similar road. 

For all of the other proposed townhomes (61 units), the front doors will face common grass areas or the perimeter of the community, which is something of an odd design choice, because those residents may likely never enter their homes through their front doors, which will be located where one might expect a rear patio to be, only offering a tiny (almost unusable) front porch instead. 

One benefit of this layout, however, is that it allows for an oversized two-car garage, on a townhome lot that might otherwise only be able to accommodate a single-car garage, as these townhomes don’t need room next to the garage for an entry. 

It’s also a good thing that all of these townhomes will have two-car garages, because none of them will have usable driveways! The driveways will only be a couple of feet from the garage doors to the edge of the rear alleyway, which means future owners will either have to park in their garages, or in one of the 32 parallel parking spaces being shared by all 112 units. 

While it’s not 100% confirmed yet, we were told by David Weekley Homes’ sales staff that one of (or perhaps even the) only townhome floor plan that will be offered will be the 3-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom, 1,751-sq.-ft. “Seawater” floor plan. 

This plan features something unique, where the first floor half-bath is partially (literally two steps) up the stairs, off to the side of the stairwell directional landing (yes you heard that correctly) — not under the stairs like most are used to seeing in newer townhomes. The bathroom actually protrudes into the oversized garage to achieve this set-up, while the space under the stairs is reserved for storage. Pricing for these townhomes has not yet been determined. 

There was some unexpected good news, however, for the future residents of this upcoming new phase. According to a permit submitted last month, Persimmon Park Phase 3 will now be getting its own swimming pool, so residents of the new phase won’t have to share the existing pool serving the first two phases of Persimmon Park. 

For more info about David Weekley Homes in Persimmon Park at Wiregrass Ranch, visit DavidWeekleyHomes.com. 

What Is Being Done About Morris Bridge Rd.? 

Will The ‘Rural’ Road’s Flooding Following Hurricane Milton & Clear Need For Widening Ever Be Addressed? 

This is Morris Bridge Rd. looking south from the entrance to Cory Lake Isles on a usual weekday morning. For those who live along this formerly rural roadway, the daily commute to Tampa can be an absolute nightmare. So, what, if anything, is being done about it? (Photo by Joel Provenzano) 

 What are some of the things New Tampa and Wesley Chapel have in common? 

In addition to car washes, nail salons and self-storage facilities, both rely heavily on two “major” north-south roadways — the eight- (in New Tampa) or six-lane (in Wesley Chapel) Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. and the mostly two-lane Morris Bridge (MB) Rd — as important daily travel routes. 

Due to the explosive growth in both K-Bar Ranch/Easton Park in New Tampa and, especially, in the plethora of new developments in and near Wesley Chapel, dependence upon MB Rd. has continued to grow year after year. 

However, traveling on the winding, two-lane MB Rd. from the Fletcher Ave. exit off I-75 in Hillsborough up into Pasco County can be a white-knuckle experience for any motorist, bicyclist or pedestrian — and for more than just one reason. 

Development has caused this formerly rural roadway to be plagued by flooding (resulting in closures), as well as by heavy traffic, safety concerns, poor road conditions and some other silly stuff that commuters in both New Tampa and Wesley Chapel have to deal with every day. 

With three mattresses tied to a roof, even a single Nissan Altima going 25 mph at rush hour can create havoc on MB Rd., generating a quarter-mile-long backup of angry drivers, all inching over the centerline to see if they can pass. Yes, we observed this while standing outside our vehicle and taking photos from the entrance to Cory Lake Isles! 

We reached out to both Hillsborough County and City of Tampa governmental officials to find out their thoughts, and if there are any “real” projects actually moving forward to improve MB Rd. We provided them with a list of questions that did generate some responses. 

We specifically asked if there were any planned capacity or safety improvement projects in the works, especially any widening plans to handle future volumes, or how the county (since MB Rd. is a county road that serves both city and county residents, as does BBD) plans to handle those traffic volumes that are expected to significantly increase over next few years, due to development on the north end — primarily the continuing expansion of K-Bar Ranch and the massive Two Rivers development, which is really just getting started building near MB Rd. both north and south of the Hillsborough-Pasco county line. 

In short, much-needed flooding countermeasures have been installed (following the multi-week shutdown of MB Rd. north of Cross Creek [CC] Blvd. following Hurricane Milton last October) and both a safety project and resurfacing project are coming, but any real vehicle capacity/ modernization projects are still up in the air. District 7 Tampa City Council member Luis Viera, in his final term in his seat, at least has an idea about how to address the everyday traffic on MB Rd. 

Councilman Viera’s Perspective 

Although MB Rd. is entirely a county roadway, roughly 1/3 of the people living along the roadway live within Tampa’s city limits, with all of those residents (at least until the Hillsborough portion of Two Rivers begins building) living in the city-based New Tampa developments of Cory Lake Isles, Easton Park and K-Bar Ranch. 

As such, we were grateful to interview Viera to get his opinion about some of the county’s responses, and what he’d like to see done as a proven champion of innovative intergovernmental (meaning city and county) collaboration. 

He specifically notes that there’s a, “Need to modernize Morris Bridge. The City has to work with the county on long- term solutions,” indicating that county officials can’t, and shouldn’t have to, try to fix MB Rd. all by themselves. 

Viera believes that one of the biggest issues in the past (in regards to capacity improvements) has been the obvious environmental concerns, since MB Rd. winds past thousands of acres of multiple county parks (Flatwoods, Morris Bridge Park, etc.). He explains that, “We need to be respectful of the environment, but the environmental issues have been the biggest roadblock (to improving MB Rd.).” 

Viera clearly believes that NOW is the time for a change. “You know what?,” he says. “Next week [the week of March 24, or after we went to press with this issue], I’m going to make a motion to City Council,” in regards to creating a shared vision for MB Rd. by having the city reach out to the county. 

Since the road actually winds through two counties, Viera says he also plans to reach out to District 2 Pasco County Commissioner Seth Weightman (who represents the portion of Wesley Chapel directly to the west and north of the county line at MB Rd.) to also try to get Pasco’s buy-in and help with that shared vision. 

Since several places of worship, and multiple new businesses and communities are quickly popping up along the route, he feels the “rural nature” of the road isn’t keeping up with the times or its now more modern suburban context. 

A Little History 

While the original Morris “Bridge” is long gone, a bridge that was originally located just north of the Pasco County line (near where an underwhelming box culvert now sits), MB Rd. still exists as an “old” rural road abutted by suburban communities. 

How old? Apparently, more than 100 years old! In fact, MB Rd. may be one of the oldest surviving (and continually used) county arterial roads in Tampa, coming from a time when maps of the county and state were more likely to show railroads than roads, because that was the primary form of transportation for those traveling long distances. 

Without these primitive roads being shown on maps, their existence, location, and purpose had to be shared by word of mouth and/or in newspaper articles, especially for newer routes. What was written over a hundred years ago about Morris Bridge as a fledgling route was absolutely fascinating. 

In its June 1, 1923, edition, The Dade City Banner (photo, left) had the following article: 

GOOD ROUTE OPEN TO TAMPA 

BY WAY OF MORRIS BRIDGE 

“The recent heavy rains having made the route [where S.R. 39 sits today] to Tampa by way of Crystal Springs and Plant City impassable, there has been considerable inquiry as to another route that could be used by parties who found it necessary to visit the South Florida metropolis and did not care to avail themselves of the convenient train schedules. A number of people have been making the trip lately by way of the Morris Bridge and pronounce that route not only perfectly passable but a surprisingly good one. It is about 12 miles shorter than by way of Plant City. 

To follow this route one turns west at the railroad crossing at Zephyrhills, goes to Will Ryals farm, about a mile from town, from there to Jim Hills’ place. Here take a plain road running southwest and at all forks take the one running in that direction. This road is said to be graded the entire distance and, from the Morris Bridge at the county line to Harney has been clayen [sand-clay]. From Harney a brick road leads to Tampa.” 

This is funny, because to this day, Morris Bridge Rd. still becomes Harney Rd. at its very southern terminus in Temple Terrace. 

Flooding Concerns 

Speaking of flooding and impassable roads, our field review showed where repairs had been done when the road was flooded (and closed) multiple times last year. We asked Hillsborough County staffers if these repairs were permanent fixes that will reduce flooding and road closures in the future, or just temporary fixes to repair the damage? 

Todd Pratt, who is with the Hillsborough County Media Relations Department, says that, “The repairs done after Milton were permanent fixes that consisted of replacing culverts that convey water under and across Morris Bridge Rd. These culverts had collapsed/washed out during the hurricane.” 

Time, and the next major rainy season, will tell if these repairs will hold, or if new ones will be needed. 

Safety Improvement Project 

Regarding MB Rd. safety projects, Hillsborough senior media relations strategist Chris Wilkerson says that, “Morris Bridge Road has a planned safety improvement project (see below) slated to begin later this year. The contract for the project is planned to go before the BOCC (Board of County Commissioners) in April. If approved, the project would address safety concerns on the roadway, including documented consistent high rates of speed and distracted drivers. The project is designed to address speeding and motorist lane departure crashes.” 

Proposed Safety Improvements – $2.1 million: 

• No Passing Zones w/Vertical Delineators 

• Reflective & Profiled Lane Line Markings 

• Speed Feedback Signs, Flashing Beacons for Intersection Ahead & Curve Warning & Signal Head Back Plates 

• Bike Lane & Safety Enhancements at Bridge over Hillsborough River 

• Bicycle Signs and Lane Markings & Wildlife Signs 

Meanwhile, Viera says that, “$2.1 million is wonderful, but we need to push that envelope!,” although he says he is really happy to see that “speed feedback signs” and “no passing” enhancements, are part of the safety project, as these would address issues his constituents have discussed with him. 

Prior 1% Surtax to Fund Resurfacing 

The last time MB Rd. (at least north of CC Blvd.) was resurfaced was way back in 2002. The portion south of CC Blvd. is in somewhat better shape, as it was last resurfaced in 2017. 

A physical review we conducted of the corridor noted aging/deteriorating pavement with potholes, multiple patches, narrow, worn or no shoulders, no sidewalks (except self-funded ones in front of a few businesses) and very narrow lane widths at a few points (mostly north of Cory Lake Isles approaching and into Pasco County). 

So, is MB Rd. on the county’s list of roadways to be resurfaced? We hadn’t previously seen or heard of MB Rd. as being on any 3R (Resurfacing, Restoration, Rehabilitation) project list. 

But, Pratt told us, “The Florida Legislature has identified repaving projects to be completed in Hillsborough County using a portion of the previously collected Transportation Surtax funds (see below). One of the roads to be repaved is Morris Bridge Road. The County will need to coordinate this paving to be done in conjunction with the safety improvement project.” 

Confused? You may recall that back in 2018, Hillsborough County voters had passed a one-cent sales tax to fund needed transportation projects. This tax ended up being legally challenged, and was found to be unconstitutional by the Florida Supreme Court in March 2021. But, by then, the county had already collected about $589 million from local taxpayers. 

After the tax was eliminated, state lawmakers went ahead and made a plan to split that collected money up between county road improvement projects, a Hillsborough tax holiday, reimbursement of the county’s legal fees, and a settlement fund that would allow Hillsborough taxpayers and residents to receive refunds (up to $100 without showing any receipts). 

That plan began about a year ago, when county commissioners met to start dividing up the funds. It was decided that about $256 million would go towards road projects (including road resurfacing). At the beginning of March of this year, the first $17 million of that money started being distributed, with all of the funds expected to reach the long list of target projects by 2030. 

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is slated to make sure the county completes these projects by the deadline. That overall plan will be up for approval at one of the upcoming BOCC meetings in April. 

Capacity Concerns 

At our press time, county officials had not yet responded to our most pressing question — How does the county plan to handle MB Rd. volumes that surely will significantly increase over next few years due to development on the north end of the road (from K-Bar Ranch, Two Rivers and other Pasco developments), and what those forecasted volumes (if they’ve been forecasted through traffic studies or other models) might be, compared with recent historic volumes (meaning, how much growth in percentage or number of vehicles is expected?). 

Current state data shows an annual average daily traffic (or AADT) of 15,000 vehicles per day for MB Rd.. (Note-AADT is the total number, in both directions, of vehicular trips taken on that road each day, divided by 365 days in a year.) 

Based on our preliminary calculations, it would not be unreasonable to see an increase of 20% in the traffic volumes over the next few years, given the size of the future developments that will be connected to the road. 

As we had written in a previous article from April of 2024, the final phase of K-Bar Ranch in Hillsborough will add hundreds more homes, and open up ALL of K-Bar to MB Rd. via an extension of K-Bar Ranch Pkwy. to the east, past Easton Park. Once that extension has been completed, this also will subsequently open all of the Union Park and Meadow Pointe developments in Wesley Chapel to MB Rd. as well, via the planned Wyndfields Blvd. extension to the south, and the existing Meadow Pointe Blvd. extension. 

The 6,000-acre Two Rivers development on the edge of Wesley Chapel and New Tampa (although it actually is located in Zephyrhills in Pasco and Thonotosassa in Hillsborough) will be adding an estimated 7,500 more residences, plus commercial developments, the Peak Surf Park and schools, with its north-south traffic to be split between U.S. Hwy. 301 and MB Rd. But, as anyone living in the area might imagine, it will still have a significant impact on MB Rd. 

Bridge Scouring 

The current bridge over the Hillsborough River on MB Rd. was built in 1963. Since then, its piers have experienced significant base erosion, which is referred to as “scouring,” a critical problem that can affect the bridge’s structural sturdiness if not properly addressed. 

Based on a fact sheet put out in January 2025,Hillsborough plans to spend roughly $864,000 to, “install an articulating concrete block revetment system as a scour countermeasure.” Revetment is just a fancy way of saying a sloping structure that is usually made of stone or concrete, used to protect the riverbed around piers from erosion caused by river currents or other forces. Otherwise, the piers can become unstable if too much of the bed is eroded, which is why this is a critical repair. 

Construction of the revetment system is expected to be completed by early 2027. 

So, How Can I Get Involved? 

Believe it or not, your elected officials actually want — or even, make that need — to hear your traffic and safety concerns about MB Rd. 

So, how can you get involved? In addition to contacting your local county representative — District 2 Commissioner Ken Hagan — Councilman Viera wants everyone to know that he has an upcoming New Tampa Community public meeting, on Tuesday, April 15, 5:45 p.m., at the Easton Park Community Pool Clubhouse (10776 Pictorial Park Dr., Tampa). 

Viera says he will be on hand at that meeting to receive input, answer questions, and talk about MB Rd., as well as about crime, education, housing, the progress on the planned park in K-Bar Ranch and pretty much anything else New Tampa or even Tampa-related. 

Viera will be joined by a representative of the Tampa Police Department at that Town Hall-style event, as well as by District 6 (countywide) Hillsborough School Board member Karen Perez. 

For more information about that meeting, email luis.viera@tampagov.net. 

S.R. 56 At Mansfield/Wiregrass Ranch Blvd. Gets Dual Left Turn Upgrade 

All approaches to the traffic signals on S.R. 56 and Mansfield Blvd. now have dual left turn lanes. The under-construction Orlando Health Hospital is seen here in the background. 

A major traffic pattern change has just been competed at the intersection of Mansfield Blvd./Wiregrass Ranch Blvd. and S.R. 56, as there are now dual left turn lanes in all directions. This change occurred rather quickly last month and only took a few weeks to finish. 

The change was a requirement of the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and Pasco County permitting conditions for the new Orlando Health Hospital, being constructed at the northeast corner of the intersection. This means that the hospital paid for and completed the work in advance of its anticipated opening, which is still expected to be sometime in 2026. 

The change was required to help offset and accommodate the additional traffic the hospital is expected to generate at that intersection, which was laid out in Orlando Health’s traffic study, which was submitted in advance of the project for government review. These operational and safety improvements should keep the signal working efficiently long into the future. 

The S.R. 56 intersection with Mansfield/Wiregrass Ranch Blvd.

All of the signals at the intersection had always been designed to accommodate these extra left turn lanes, but they were striped out with paint until needed. The first dual left (from Mansfield Blvd. northbound onto S.R. 56 westbound) was added in 2018 when FDOT contacted Pasco to let the county know that vehicular traffic leaving the schools in the morning was causing backups on Mansfield Blvd., creating a concern — and sometimes long delays — for local residents. 

Safety has always been a concern here as well, as there have been multiple serious crashes involving younger drivers making left turns in front of oncoming traffic under the previous permissive left turn signal. Now, with the dual lefts, all left turns are protected, which means left turns are only permitted with a green arrow, greatly reducing the potential for crashes. 

There’s also still room to add a third through lane in both the westbound and eastbound directions on S.R. 56 in the striped-out area, when needed. 

Meadow Pointe Blvd. Still A Concern 

Meanwhile, safety and efficiency are still concerns with the down stream signal at Meadow Pointe Blvd. and S.R. 56. 

District 2 Pasco County Commissioner Seth Weightman has said that improvements are coming to this intersection as well, an item that the Board of County Commissioners (BOC) passed in July. 

Dual lefts will be added for eastbound traffic on S.R. 56 to turn north onto Meadow Pointe Blvd., which backs up badly during the afternoon rush hour, and dual lefts will be added for northbound traffic on Meadow Pointe Blvd. to turn west onto S.R. 56, which experiences bad back-ups during both the morning and evening rush hours. 

2024 In The Rear View — Downtowns, Chicken Places, Kelly Gilroy & More!

There’s no doubt that 2024 was an amazing and crazy year in Wesley Chapel. One supposed “downtown” began building early in the year, while another just got approval to begin building near the end of the year. A seemingly never ending supply of hot chicken sandwich places either opened or were ready to open as the year ended. New road projects finally got started and Wesley Chapel continued to see explosive growth — much of which was chronicled not only in these pages, but in the seemingly magical Pasco County Development & Growth Updates Facebook page. But, its usual leader, Kelly Gilroy, admitted to yours truly that she hasn’t been using her real name on her wildly popular Facebook page. So, here are some highlights of the year that was, 2024 in Wesley Chapel:

Road Projects — With both Old Pasco Rd. and Wesley Chapel Blvd. beginning to be widened, the traffic will get worse for two or three (or more) years on each before it gets better.

Chicken Wars — It’s hard for some of us who aren’t big fans of spicy chicken to believe we really need ten or more of these chains (the left photo above is the ribbon cutting of the Wesley Chapel Hangry Joe’s chicken), but we’re still getting them anyway! It looks like Raising Cane’s will be the last to open, in January (Chicken Guy! should be open as you’re reading this), and when it does, the Neighborhood News will sponsor a contest to find the favorite of them all, as selected by a panel of hot chicken lovers — and no, I won’t be one of those judges!

Dueling Downtowns — Avalon Park Wesley Chapel developer Beat Kahli believes that the opening of his first mixed-use downtown building in Sept. (center photo) was the official launch of Wesley Chapel’s official downtown. But, Wiregrass Ranch developer JD Porter says his Legacy Downtown, which just had its development plan approved earlier this month, will prove to be The Chap’s true downtown when it begins building next year.

Kilroy, er Gilroy, Was Here! — Taking all of Pasco County, but especially Wesley Chapel, by storm in 2024 was the Pasco County Development & Growth Updates Facebook page, which went from 0 to tens of thousands of ardent admirers in just a few months. Page admin Kelly Gilroy has become something of a cult figure, even though it seems a large percentage of the people who respond to the page’s literally hundreds of posts only want to make jokes about car washes and storage facilities. The fact that Ms. Gilroy has gotten some Pasco officials to question whether or not she’s a real person is reason enough for me to name her Wesley Chapel’s “Person of the Year.” Will we ever find out her real name? Do we even want to know it?

And Then There’s…Some of the incredible and sometimes unexpected things that happened in our area in 2024 include: the opening in November of Cooper’s Hawk; the announcement in October that Cheesecake Factory was coming to a portion of the already stressed parking lot at the Tampa Premium Outlets; the new Publix at Innovation Springs
(in front of Epperson on Curley Rd.) included a beer-and-wine bar; the long-awaited Whole Foods announced it was coming to Bruce B. Downs Blvd. in Meadow Pointe, then took it back and said it wasn’t, then re-announced that it was; people on every Wesley Chapel community Facebook page complained vehemently about the Pasco Board of County Commissioners and vowed to vote them all out, but all four running for reelection won by landslides; Orlando Health began building Wesley Chapel’s third hospital and Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital officially announced that it will build a children’s hospital near Overpass Rd.; and finally, two New Tampa kids stunned the world, as 12-year-old Bruhat Soma won the Scripps National Spelling Bee in June and 16-year-old Adwaith Praveen who achieved perfect scores on the PSAT, SAT and ACT exams! We’ll tell you what to expect in 2025 in Wesley Chapel in our next issue!