Ironically located across S.R. 54 from the AdventHealth Meadow Pointe Emergency Room at the corner of Curley Rd. (map, left), ground was recently broken on a new freestanding, 3,859-sq.-ft. McDonald’s on a 1.76-acre site (see map and photo) and will have right-in, right-out driveway access to both Curley Rd. and Wesley Chapel Blvd., plus dual ordering boards. It will be the fourth McDonald’s in Wesley Chapel. For more info, visit McDonalds.com.
Some Neighbors In Meadow Pointe Adjacent To The New Development Have Concerns About Flooding, Noise & More
Introduction by Gary Nager
Story by Joel Provenzano
Although some locals still firmly believe that the area needs a Trader Joe’s market even more, there’s no doubt that the beginning of construction of our area’s first and only Whole Foods market is among the most hotly anticipated new developments in Wesley Chapel.
Some of the long-term residents who live in the adjacent Meadow Pointe I community, however, aren’t necessarily as excited. They’re wondering, when it comes to development, how close is too close?
With Whole Foods now under construction, some of those neighbors are voicing their concerns to the Neighborhood News.
These neighbors in The Savannahs subdivision of Meadow Pointe I are asking a number of questions, including one big one:
If a man-made retention pond was built as an original feature of a community’s design and has been part of your backyard since 1992, don’t you have the right to assume that the pond was there to stay?
Why would anyone assume otherwise? In our area, it is virtually unheard of that ponds near established community homesites would end up being removed.
But, there is a pond located behind the homes on Openfield Loop that is being removed for this new commercial development — despite multiple failed previous attempts to develop the 16-acre property located north and east of the intersection of Aronwood Blvd. and Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. into a full-fledged commercial site — and the fact that no previous developer had proposed removing the pond.
All of the neighbors we spoke with understood that the land would eventually be developed into a neighborhood commercial site, as it has been zoned for that purpose since before their homes were built adjacent to it.
What these homeowners could not have anticipated, however, was that the latest developer (SJC Ventures) would propose moving that development even closer to their backyards by eliminating the natural buffer the pond provided — anywhere from 50-200 feet, depending upon which lot your house was located.
And that, the homeowners told us, is where the true concern lies: the edge of the parking lot would now only be 15’ from some of their backyard property lines — close enough to throw a paper airplane and hit a parked car.
The expansive pond buffer — along with the previously approved 20-foot landscape buffer for the southernmost home, as shown in an earlier plat — are being eliminated. In its place, a standard white vinyl fence (possibly) and a uniform 15-foot buffer would directly separate six homes (see map below) from a 160,000-sq.- ft. commercial center, while the views of an additional four homes would be indirectly impacted.
Put plainly, the pond would be removed to make room for approximately 90 of the development’s 881 proposed parking spaces.
That said, the removal of existing man-made ponds for site reconfiguration does occur — just not typically in a young, rapidly growing area like Wesley Chapel, where fresh commercial developments are still popping up all over.
This type of development change normally takes place in older areas where outdated commercial developments are torn down, ponds are removed and new drainage facilities are put in place — whether that be in the form of relocated new ponds, or below-ground “vaults” to provide for more building area or parking.
It’s crazy to think that at 33 years old, and without any aged commercial development, that this parcel fits that criteria, as it is one of the oldest commercial lots (per zoning) in Wesley Chapel.
At its core, this issue reflects the broader tensions that accompany growth and development — where long-held expectations about how things were, or were meant to remain, collide with the sometimes unfortunate realities of change. It is a familiar struggle, one that increasingly places evolving commercial developer interests at odds with those of existing residents — a dynamic we have found ourselves reporting on with growing frequency.
Can more compromise and common ground be found, so everyone still gets what’s important to them?
The goals of neighborhood commercial development are to provide needed services and jobs for nearby residents and, of course, to make money. Having options of where to shop, where to eat and where to get health care can make an area more desirable and more enjoyable as a place to live, because people generally appreciate having proximity, freedom of choice and variety.
The affected homeowners we spoke with understand this, and wanted to make it clear that they’re not against the commercial development now under construction from SJC Ventures, but they do have some concerns.
Meanwhile, most everyone who isn’t directly abutting the property has taken to social media to let everyone know how happy they are that the area is getting the major anchor tenant:
Whole Foods — The 35,518 sq.-ft. modern grocery store owned by Amazon. As mentioned earlier, only a Trader Joe’s might have caused more excitement, but unfortunately, we spoke with Trader Joe’s corporate, which said the company currently still has no plans for a Pasco location. Many Amazon Prime members, however, are rejoicing, because of the benefits and deals offered by Whole Foods to Prime members.
Lifetime Fitness — The club is to be the second (and larger) standalone tenant. Lifetime is a slightly more upscale full-service gym that will offer everything — including two large outdoor swimming pools. Some of the homeowners we spoke with said the pools will cause additional noise and lighting at night (the Lifetime gym on Harbour Island stays open until 10 p.m. on weeknights and until midnight on weekends) that might not have been necessary if everything was fully indoors.
As gyms go, Lifetime Fitness will be quite large, offering two levels and nearly 84,500 sq. ft. of indoor floor space, plus the outdoor pools. Anyone familiar with gyms understands that this means a very large amount of parking is needed.
The Lifetime building will have a maximum height of 45’, according to the site plan. The edge of the gym building will be 92’ from the closest residential property.
The remaining property will be 40,450 sq. ft. of strip-style shops and restaurants and will include the following tenants:
PopUp Bagels — A highly rated bagel shop with existing locations in Carrollwood and the Westshore business district. Pop-Up Bagels serves hot, whole bagels with a variety of rotating shmears (cream cheeses). It’s a place for bagel purists.
CAVA — A popular quick-service Mediterranean restaurant that serves healthy food fast (ordered and made at the counter), a chain that is quickly spreading across Tampa Bay, with 10 current locations.
Naked Farmer — A very highly rated American-style “farm-to-table” quick service restaurant (ordered and made at the counter; like a more upscale Fresh Kitchen) with flavorful, healthy options. Naked Farmer has two existing locations in South Tampa, including one in the Water St. area of downtown Tampa.
Petfolk — Veterinary & Urgent Care with multiple locations across Florida.
The Tox — A popular wellness and detox spa with a highly rated location in South Tampa.
Nail Salon — Tenant TBD.
According to an SJC Ventures release, there’s still roughly 15,000 sq. ft. available. Health, wellness and wholesomeness seem to be the overarching themes for this development, with SJC expecting to have these businesses start opening in the 2nd quarter of 2027.
We had a chance to meet with many of the affected homeowners in person, and speak with them as a group. They’re all long-time residents in one household each in The Savannahs:
• Judy Johnson (8-year resident)
• Laura Knight (name she asked us to use, a 17-year resident)
• Jill McDaniel (32-year resident)
• George Ryan (32-year resident)
Each had a chance to share what they felt were their important personal issues with the project, and a few common themes emerged:
1. Flooding
2. Privacy/Security/Noise
3. Lighting
4. Setbacks/Buffers
We reached out to SJC Ventures through its general contractor (VCC Construction), and although SJC has been responsive to the homeowners, the company did not respond to our inquiry (at least not by this issue’s deadline).
However, both Pasco County and the Engineer of Record for the developer’s project, David Fauxan, did speak with us to provide some clarity about the development codes and practices being called into question by the homeowners, as well as our own technical questions.
Fauxan also has been an engineer on the original Meadow Pointe project since its conception in the early 1990s.
Amanda Hunter, a public information officer for Pasco County, says that, “The county is aware of the homeowner concerns and has attempted to address those.” However, the homeowners told us they were not impressed with the county’s communication and that no one from the county had visited with them in person, to see their concerns first hand, including:
Flooding — For the residents, the proposed removal of the pond has created concerns about flooding, especially considering that flooding during Hurricane Milton left water coming literally right up to their doorsteps (see inset photo above). The residents fear that if the pond wasn’t there, that water would have come right into their homes.
Hunter responded to the flooding concerns with the following statement: “The developer is retaining storage for stormwater under the parking lot, via a vaulted system, instead of an open stormwater pond.”
Fauxan added that the vault system would provide just as much, if not greater retention, than the pond to be removed. We confirmed that the plans do show an extensive vault system under most of the parking lot.
“Honestly, the whole site could have been a pond, and it still would not have fixed the issue,” Fauxan says about last year’s flooding. Ironically, he mentioned that the adjacent Trout Creek watershed, which goes all the way up to S.R. 54, has been strained by development over the years, changing the flood plain from what it used to be.
He added, “The flood elevation used to be ‘X’ back in 1992 (when the homes were built). But now, it’s ‘X’ + 4 feet,” meaning that the flood zone boundary actively shifted from where it used to be. “We’re raising the [project] site elevation [by up to] 2 feet because the new buildings need to be 1 foot above that new flood elevation.”
Homeowner George Ryan confirmed what Fauxan explained, saying that his home, which was previously in Flood Zone X, is now in Zone AE “per the revised boundary,” so he has to have flood insurance for the first time in the 32 years he’s lived there — and that occurred before the SJC development ever broke ground.
What does all this mean for the homeowners? Allegedly, if the area sees another Milton-like storm, which dumped 15” of rain, the water will rise again to exactly where it was after the hurricane, regardless of the pond. But, only time will tell if all of those calculations are correct.
Fauxan explained that one small improvement is planned to address existing conditions. Once a more detailed survey of the area between the residential and commercial properties has been completed, the developer intends to grade the commercial site to actively collect any water that falls near the shared property line — close to the existing wall — and redirect it into the site’s stormwater management system.
Privacy/Security — Since the pond was previously supposed to act as a natural buffer, the community only built the roughly 6-foot-tall brick wall (photo) up to the first home at the pond’s edge, where it abruptly ends. This means that three other homes will have no physical separation between them and the development’s parking lot, other than the planned landscaping.
Fauxan said that the developer intends to install a white vinyl fence to mitigate this concern, stating that the fence was shown in the development’s landscaping plans.
However, the homeowners said that, based on what they were told, the fence would be at the developer’s discretion, and a review of the August landscaping plans showed only trees and hedges along the property line, but no fence.
It’s possible the latest landscaping plans were not uploaded to the permit site.
Lighting — With a building and parking so nearby to their homes, the homeowners are concerned about lighting spilling into the properties, but we were not able to locate a light plan or a lighting analysis, so it’s difficult to analyze what those levels may be. Trees and shrubs in the buffer should help to reduce the light pollution.
Setbacks/Buffers — According to Fauxan and Pasco County, all of the project’s buffers meet the current code. But, while it’s within the acceptable threshold, is it still too close?
When we asked the county why a 30’ setback wasn’t used or why the 20’ buffer from the previous plat was reduced to 15’, the county responded: “The plat in [that question] is a reference to an older project that was not pursued. Per Table 905.2-D of the land development code (LDC), a type ‘B’ buffer is required between commercial and residential uses. A type ‘B’ buffer is 15 feet wide. Note — a landscape buffer and its width are different than a building setback, per our Zoning Code in Chapter 500 of the LDC, which is what you’ve referenced.”
In addition, “As a note, this project meets the building setback requirement. It’s not a construction setback, but a setback from a structure. The structures are set back appropriately and in accordance with the land development code.”
This means that while commercial structures must be set back at least 30’ from the adjacent residential property line, parking is permitted to be within 15’ of it, underscoring how technical compliance does not always equate to neighborhood comfort. Paper airplanes away!
Although there previously were two locations in Zephyrhills and others around the Tampa Bay area that closed, Whataburger, the Texas-based fast hamburger chain with nearly 1,200 U.S. locations, has begun the interior renovations at the former Aussie Grill, located at 25340 Sierra Center Blvd., between Walk-On’s and Bonefish Grill.
The first new Whataburger in the Tampa Bay area in years will actually open soon in Largo, but the 2,800-sq.-ft. Lutz/Wesley Chapel location is expected to open by the summer of 2026.
The $1.3-million renovation will be led by general contractor WH Bass, Inc. which recently fenced in the former Aussie Grill. The new Whataburger is expected to hire 80-100 people. — GN
By Gary Nager & Joel Provenzano
It seems that there’s never a shortage of news coming out of Wiregrass Ranch these days, so we always try to check in with developer JD Porter and his development right hand man, Scott Sheridan, the chief operating officer of Locust Branch, LLC, to get the latest news.
After all, the 5,000-acre Wiregrass Ranch already has The Shops at Wiregrass mall, AdventHealth Wesley Chapel Hospital, the Porter Campus of Pasco Hernando State College, more than 3,000 single-family homes (and townhomes) and 1,400 rental apartment units.
Wiregrass Ranch also is home to the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus, The Beach House assisted living community, Florida Cancer Specialists (FCS), Moffitt Cancer Center and North Tampa Behavioral Health, and coming soon are the Florida Medical Clinic Orlando Health Wiregrass Ranch Hospital, two Orlando Health-owned medical office buildings totalling 150,000 sq. ft., a PAM Health Rehabilitation Hospital and two additional medical office buildings that Wiregrass Ranch will develop in partnership with Flagship Healthcare Properties, and what Porter says will one day be Wesley Chapel’s true downtown — The Legacy at Wiregrass Ranch.
One of the big things people keep asking me (and online) is about the new Publix planned for the east side of Wiregrass Ranch Blvd., just north and east of Walmart (see map above left) on a 9.5-acre site appraised at $3.97 million.
Of that 48,848-sq.-ft. Publix (with a 2,100-sq.-ft. liquor store), which is being built in front of the newest apartment community — Arcadia at Wiregrass Ranch — the main thing most people want to know is whether or not the opening of that new Publix will cause the existing store in the Hollybrook Plaza (less than a half-mile away) to close. Neither Sheridan nor Porter would address that question directly, but Sheridan says, “Final permitting [of the new Publix] is under way now, and I expect them to break ground by early next year. We have no direct knowledge of [Publix’s] intent to close the old store when they build the new one.” The site plan for the new Publix shows its main entrance lining up directly opposite the northern entrance to Walmart.
Although most people appear to agree that it seems a little crazy to have two Publixes located so close to each other, we have heard some online chatter that says the Hollybrook Publix will definitely close, while others say that it definitely won’t close. Without confirmation either way from Publix or the Wiregrass Ranch team, it seems ludicrous to me to speculate either way.
But, speaking of Publix, Porter did mention the possibility of another link in the Lakeland-based supermarket chain coming to the area near the new FCS building on S.R. 56, but Sheridan cautioned that although he had seen a post on Facebook that a preapplication meeting had been scheduled, “there has been nothing from us directly on this.”
Also important to note is that if another Publix is coming to S.R. 56 in Wiregrass Ranch, that possible location is not the Publix planned for the front of the Two Rivers development five miles or so further to the east on 56.
In the meantime, the Arcadia at Wiregrass Ranch apartments have not yet gone vertical, but the 15-acre parcel (valued at $7.04 million) has been cleared to build the 320-unit luxury rental community and its resort-style pool, EV charging stations and more, which will be the seventh Arcadia project (and the third in Florida) for Tampa-based Third Lake Development.
As for the planned medical offices near the Orlando Health hospital, Sheridan says that the first 46,000-sq.-ft. Wiregrass Ranch Medical Pavilion (rendering above), in partnership with Flagship Healthcare Properties, is getting ready to break ground before the end of this year.
“The second phase will move forward once the initial building is completed and fully leased,” Sheridan says.
As for the two Florida Medical Clinic/ Orlando Health medical office buildings (MOBs), Sheridan says, “The hospital is expected to open by April of 2026. We expect the MOBs would be under construction soon but can’t say for sure. They are just now completing all of the site work for both of those.”
Sheridan also said that Wiregrass Ranch is, “coordinating with Mast Capital on their requirement to build the Bypass Loop road within Wiregrass Ranch from S.R. 54 to Wiregrass Ranch Blvd.” as part of Mast’s redevelopment of Saddlebrook Resort (see pg. 44). “But we are not engaged or aware of their developments within the resort.”
New Restaurants? Although the rumor mill has said that The Tilted Kilt, a Winghouse/ Hooters-style sports pub could be the still-unnamed restaurant planned for next to Cooper’s Hawk, Porter told me that although they have had discussions with The Tilted Kilt, it definitely will not be the restaurant built next to Cooper’s Hawk.
Meanwhile, Sheridan says, “We are working on several upscale restaurants along the S.R. 56 corridor including next to Cooper’s Hawk, which, we are told, is consistently the #1 or #2 restaurant in that chain.”
But of course, perhaps the most anticipated development in Wiregrass Ranch is The Legacy, which Porter keeps saying will be the only “true” downtown development in Wesley Chapel, and which will tie together everything already built and still planned for the Porter family’s sprawling cattle ranch. So, is there any Legacy news?
“We are exploring that now with potential partners but have not committed any timing yet,” Sheridan says.
To be continued.
The massive banner on the construction fence couldn’t be any less subtle — “COMING SOON, YOUR NEW WALMART FUEL STATION” (photo).
The underutilized northeast portion of the Wesley Chapel Walmart’s parking lot (directly behind Chase Bank) on S.R. 54 (east of Bruce B. Downs Blvd., or BBD) is being transformed into the next useful feature of the popular store.
Final site plan revisions for the gas station addition were submitted to the county back in January of 2024, but nothing transpired for almost a year and a half, so it was unclear when, or even if, the station would ever come to fruition.
That question has been answered, as the construction is now happening at breakneck speed. Walmart hadn’t even fenced the area off just a few months ago, but now, the massive fuel tanks are getting ready to be buried, the station’s canopy is about half done, and the convenience store is pretty much finished. At this pace, it appears that the new gas station, with 18 fueling positions (making it the largest such station in Wesley Chapel), will be done in a few months.
In addition to the gas pumps, the station will feature a very tiny and interesting 440-sq.-ft. convenience store. From what we can tell from the building plan and this photo, the tiny store will have two exterior restrooms to the rear of the building, with roll-up doors on the side of the building that will protect what appears to be display doors that will open outward which will likely contain drinks and snacks. It’s unclear, however, if you will even be able to go inside the store to make your purchases or if everything will be done from the outside. We’ve never seen anything quite like it before. It’s certainly nothing like the full convenience store at the New Tampa Walmart on BBD.
In addition to these features, the plan also proposes to add a new right turn lane into the Walmart’s northern driveway on southbound Wiregrass Ranch Blvd., which should hopefully reduce conflicts for motorists who only want to access the new gas station.
Considering that the two stores are run by the same company, is the Sam’s Club on S.R. 56 getting its desperately needed fuel expansion next? Unfortunately, it seems that it’s not likely to be happening anytime soon, as the plans for that expansion were withdrawn from the county by the developer in January of this year.
We had previously reported — back in the summer of 2023 — that Sam’s Club representatives had met with the county to expand the store’s existing gas station from 12 fueling positions to 16, which would include adding two more fueling lanes and a redesign to make things run smoother, as the existing location and design of the station causes backups on the access roadway (which sometimes extend out onto S.R. 56) in front of the main Sam’s Club parking lot.
Engineering plans were submitted the following year, and the county gave comments, but it appears that the plan is off the table for now.