Updates On Avalon Park Blvd. & Downtown Avalon Park Wesley Chapel Phase 2

(Above) The site map for Avalon Park Wesley Chapel, which shows the downtown area and the location of the new Avalon Park Blvd.  (Below) An aerial view of Avalon Park, which shows the completed Avalon Park Blvd. (Photo and map both provided to the Neighborhood News by Avalon Park Group)

Nestled in the heart of Downtown Avalon Park Wesley Chapel (WC), a new pedestrian-friendly road runs through the growing community, connecting it from nearby residential areas to where apartments, townhomes and new businesses are now under construction. 

Avalon Park Blvd. (see aerial photo below and map, above), located off S.R. 54 near Friendly Way, recently opened to drivers and pedestrians. 

The roughly 1-mile road cost about $7 million to build, according to president and CEO Beat Kähli of Avalon Park Group, the real estate development company behind the project. 

Kähli says that helping residents easily navigate to the businesses and schools in Avalon Park WC was a primary purpose of the Avalon Park Blvd. road project. 

“It is critical because it connects all of the residential homes,” Kähli says. “If you build a town…connectivity is very important.” 

The extension road runs alongside the developing downtown district, where the first phase of restaurants and retail spaces is already located beneath The Flats apartments. There also is an amphitheater beginning construction at one end of the Downtown Avalon Park WC’s Town Park, where live music performances and other events will eventually be held. Avalon Park Blvd. extends from S.R. 54 through the community, all the way to River Glen Blvd. in Hawthorne Village. 

But, the road is just the latest piece of a larger effort to develop Phase 2 of Downtown Avalon Park WC. 

Although Kähli did not provide additional specific details about the businesses coming to Phase 2, he says a grocery store, a hotel and more than 150 townhomes are expected in the downtown area. Phase 2 also will include two mixed-use buildings (similar to The Flats), with 50,000 square feet of commercial, office and retail space. “We have a waiting list of possible tenants,” Kähli says. 

Also currently under construction near (but not in) the downtown district are Hamlet Cottage Homes, a Dunkin’ restaurant and Pinecrest High School (there currently are high school students being taught at the original Pinecrest Academy K-8 school). 

As for the broader, 1,600-acre Avalon Park WC area, Kähli says that nearly two dozen phases are planned over the next several years. He adds that the additional phases will include more schools, a day care center, an age 55- plus community and at least 10 new restaurants. 

The community is designed around a “Live, Learn, Work & Play” model, with interconnected neighborhoods and tree-lined streets that give Avalon Park WC a small-town, yet modern, feel. 

The design encourages residents to stay within the community for their daily needs, from errands to entertainment. 

The downtown area already is serving as s a central hub for events — including “Absolutely Avalon,” “Avalon Aglow” and the Wesley Chapel area’s longest running open-to-the-public 4th of July fireworks display. As reported in the Neighborhood News, The Flats apartment complex and the first businesses in the downtown district opened nearly two years ago (in Sept. 2024). 

A Tiny Bit Of History 

Avalon Park Group has a history of launching multiple communities, including its flagship development in Orlando. 

“We bought 1,800 acres in 1988,” Kähli says, “but we waited until the 2000s to start construction, We branded that community (which will have around 20,000 total residents at build-out) as [the first] Avalon Park.” 

“We continue to believe that people should live where they can eat, be entertained, work and play,” Kähli says. 

For more info about Avalon Park Wesley Chapel or visit AvalonParkWesleyChapel.com. 

Rudraksh Indian Cuisine Is Now Open In Downtown Avalon Park Wesley Chapel! 

Although Rita’s Italian Ice has been open for a few months now, the first full-service restaurant to open in Downtown Avalon Park Wesley Chapel is Rudraksh (pronounced “Rude-rosh”) Indian Cuisine (4424 Friendly Way, Suite 115), which has really impressed me with its tasty, not overly spicy, different-than-other-local-Indian-places food. 

First of all, while I didn’t leave room on these pages for photos of the restaurant, which primarily specializes in Northern Indian cuisine, the place is beautiful, bigger than it looks from the outside and has a spacious, elegant bar area with craft cocktails like a chai tea martini. There’s even a very solid Varchas bourbon-style Indian whiskey. 

Rudraksh owners Amit Ghorpade and Manashi Boruah, who also own Rasoi Indian Cuisine in Ybor City, offer diners delicious, authentic food at very fair prices. 

For starters, Jannah and I got to sample the first cheese naan bread (at left in above left picture) ever served at Rudraksh. It was thicker than some naans we’ve had and the best compliment I can give it is that Jannah wanted me to bring more of it home when photographer Charmaine George and I went back for a second visit. The potato-&-green-pea-filled samosas (next to the naan) have a spicy kick. And, Charmaine says the Mumbai coastal-style fried Shrimp Koliwada (right) was excellent and not as spicy as she expected. Mine and Jannah’s favorite appetizer so far is the Lehsoni Gobi (top photo) — amazing crispy cauliflower with garlic sauce. 

For you vegetarians, Rudraksh manager Dee, who isn’t from India, recommended we try the Malai Kofta (left), which are chewy cheese-&-veggie dumplings in a creamy, light tomato-soup-like sauce. Good choice, Dee! 

But of course, I couldn’t walk away from Rudraksh without sampling the perfectly spiced rack of lamb-style lamb chops (bottom photo), which are marinated in fresh ginger, yogurt and Masala and cooked in a clay Tandoori oven. So good. We’ll all definitely be back! 

Rudraksh is open every day for lunch (at 11:30 a.m.) & dinner, but closes every day from 2:30 p.m.-5 p.m. For more info, call (813) 355- 3914 or visit RudrakshIndianCuisine.com. 

We’re also excited that the Latin Tallo Restaurant & Bar, which looks absolutely gorgeous inside & out, is expected to open next to Rudraksh on May 15! — GN; photos by GN & CG 

Celebrating The Opening Of The First Building In Avalon Park’s Downtown! 

Developer Cuts The Ribbon As The First Mixed-Use Rental Apartment & Retail Building In Wesley Chapel Opens! 
Avalon Park Wesley Chapel developer Beat Kahli (with scissors) was joined by his entire development team, all of the tenants who have signed commercial leases at the new “downtown Avalon Park” mixed-use building, Dist. 2 Pasco County Commissioner Seth Weightman (to Kahli’s left) and North Tampa Bay Chamber president & CEO Hope Kennedy (to Weightman’s left) on Sept. 19 for the ribbon-cutting and unveiling of the first-ever “neotraditional” retail and residential building in Wesley Chapel. (Photos by Charmaine George)

 So, whether or not it’s actually Wesley Chapel’s “downtown,” there’s no doubt that the Grand Opening and unveiling on Sept. 19 of the new nearly 17,000-sq.-ft., three-story building in Avalon Park Wesley Chapel is the start of at least that community’s downtown — and the first true mixed-use (residential and commercial), urban-style (some would call it “neotraditional”) building in all of Wesley Chapel. 

Avalon Park Wesley Chapel developer Beat Kahli doesn’t hide his excitement about the new 17,000-sq.-ft. first building (below right) in Avalon Park’s downtown district. 

“This is long in the making,” said developer Beat Kahli, the founder, president and CEO of the Avalon Park Group, the developer of both Avalon Park Wesley Chapel and Orlando. “We were lucky, in 1988, to find 1,800 acres in Pasco County, owned by the Brown family — it was called the Brown Ranch —and when Mom Brown died, the IRS came in and said, ‘You have to pay a lot of taxes because you have 1,800 acres and here is your tax bill.’ And they said, ‘We’re just farming here and we don’t have that money at all.’ We bought the land for fair market value (at that time) and told them, ‘You still need to farm here for a long time.’” 

And, although the original New River Township portion of Avalon Park Wesley Chapel has been around for more than a decade and there are now around 2,000 single-family homes built or under construction (with a population of about 5,000 people) in the entire development, Kahli said Bill Brown and his family were able to continue farming the vast majority of their land for “more than a quarter of a century. We would have surveyors and engineers come out and they’d call me to say, ‘Hey, there’s a guy with a shotgun here saying it’s his property. And, we’d have to tell Bill, who was a great guy, ‘Please don’t shoot our surveyors and engineers.’” 

Kahli said that unlike in Orlando, “where we basically had to build the town from scratch, there was already a two-lane (now 4-lane), paved S.R. 54 here.” He also recounted the first homeowners association meeting in Orlando, when there were only about 30 homes, with the people asking him, “What’s the philosophy of the development here?,” to which he replied, “The goal is to build a town where people can live, learn, work and play. If you don’t want to leave, you don’t have to leave — and that’s the same philosophy here (in Wesley Chapel). We’re taking a big step forward with this almost-17,000-sq.-ft., $21-million building , which we have completed now, so we are having the ribbon cutting today.” 

The native of Switzerland also pointed to the “A”-rated Pinecrest Academy charter K-8 school and the adjacent church and likened it to life in Europe, “Where towns are basically built around a church and a school.” 

He also said that by having a place where people live, learn, work and play, “Some of you will become triple or even quadruple stakeholders — someone who lives, works or has a business, has kids in school and entertains, all here in Avalon Park, where we have events that already have 5,000 people attending, sometimes 25,000 in Orlando now [like the annual 4th of July celebrations]. So, the goal is to create a sense of place, a place where people feel at home and feel safe.” 

And, although Kahli said he didn’t miss the mountains or especially the snow where he grew up in Zurich, the largest city in his native country, “I missed having what we are opening here — a lifestyle where you can live somewhere, get in the elevator, sit in a coffee shop or restaurant where you don’t have to get into your car for whatever you do. And, you can have your kids walk to school, which is how I grew up.” 

He then thanked his entire Avalon Park Group (APG) team, as well as Dist. 2 (which includes Avalon Park) Pasco County Commissioner Seth Weightman and North Tampa Bay Chamber President & CEO Hope Kennedy for their support. 

Weightman said, “I’m just incredibly honored to be standing here with all of you to represent the commissioners. This is a testament of the partnership between Avalon Park Group and Pasco County to build something great.” 

APG senior VP of marketing & community relations Stephanie Lerrett also thanked the county, Kennedy and the NTBC, the Pasco Economic Development Council and all of the commercial tenants whose businesses will be located below The Flats at Avalon Park apartments. 

After the ribbon-cutting, attendees were treated to samples of Rudraksh Indian Cuisine’s kabobs, Tallo Restaurant & Bar’s Caribbean-style sandwiches and Rita’s Italian Ices (plus food provided by Vesh Catering) and were able to meet the tenants who are all opening businesses on the ground floor of the building — ISI Elite Training, Woof Gang Bakery & Grooming, Prime Barbershop, Vet Check and dentist Dr. Hetvi Patel of Dream Dental Studio. 

There also were tours of the beautiful 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom apartments (there are 40 total) in The Flats, which are competitively priced with other luxury apartments in the area. 

For more information about Avalon Park Wesley Chapel, The Flats apartments and the new downtown building (at 4424 Friendly Way), visit AvalonParkWesleyChapel.com, call (813) 783- 1515 or (813) 851-4228. 

Avalon Park Wesley Chapel’s Downtown Taking Center Stage 

Research by Joel Provenzano

What started out as New River Township more than 20 years ago is finally getting ready to come to full fruition.

That original community from developer Beat Kahli (of Avalon Park Group) does still exist today — with about 400 single-family (SF) homes in four subdivisions — but the Development of Regional Impact (DRI) formerly known as New River Township has changed names twice since those first homes (and the adjacent New River Elementary) were built.

The new sections, with a separate entrance off S.R. 54, were at first known as “Avalon Park West,” as Kahli’s original Avalon Park development exploded on the southeast side of Orlando. Today, the local 1,800-acre DRI is being touted as “Avalon Park Wesley Chapel,” which is planned for 4,800 single- and multi-family units, part of which will be a walkable downtown area.

Stephanie Lerrett (left) of Avalon Park Group gives VIP tour attendees some information (Photos by Charmaine George)

On Aug. 17, the Neighborhood News was included in a hardhat and virtual-reality VIP tour of the Downtown Avalon Park area, which has a single building under construction and a few retail tenants already signed to fill the twelve total available spaces on the ground floor of a multi-floor “neotraditional” building that also will feature rental apartments on its upper floors.

But honestly, as exciting as the first building in the downtown area may be, it really is only the tip of an iceberg as Avalon Park Wesley Chapel begins to add thousands of additional units, just as the widening of S.R. 54 — the primary east-west thoroughfare serving Avalon Park Wesley Chapel — nears its completion.

VIP attendees also got to check out a Virtual Reality tour of the downtown area.

Avalon Park Wesley Chapel, which previously had been known as both New River Township and Avalon Park West, is stepping up the development of its downtown, and the Neighborhood News participated in the Aug. 17 VIP tour of the first “neotraditional” building under construction to the east of the existing single-family home development in Avalon Park Wesley Chapel.

Developer Beat Kahli of Avalon Park Group/Sitex Development has modeled his Wesley Chapel development after Avalon Park Orlando, his company’s successful 1,860-acre development neighborhood located in southeast Orange County that will have 3,400 single-family and 1,431 multi-family units at buildout. Meanwhile, Avalon Park Wesley Chapel encompasses about 1,800 acres with about 2,900 single-family and 1,900 multi-family units planned.

Despite a steady rain, the VIP tour helped introduce local business leaders to Downtown Avalon Park Wesley Chapel, which has its first three-story, 73,067-sq.-ft. mixed-use building well under construction. This building will include 40 multi-family apartments and 23,720 sq. ft. of commercial/retail space on the ground floor. 

The VIP tour of the first downtown building.

“This phase of construction really helps us move even closer to that vision of building a place where families can build memories and traditions together in a town they can call their own,” Kahli said in a recent news release. “And, while this may not be the most cost-effective time to begin construction, we feel like it is important to continue on to the next step in developing our vision for Avalon Park Wesley Chapel.”

The downtown area also will be home to a two-acre, dog-friendly community park with an amphitheater that currently is in permitting and will begin construction later this summer. The park will host community events such as the popular “Avalon Aglow” and annual Fourth of July celebrations, as well as community partners like Jazz Under the Starz and the Wesley Chapel Theater Group, who are already hosting events and activities in the community. Construction of both the park and the first mixed-use building are scheduled for completion by January of 2024.

“We have been working with Pasco County over the past several years to develop a program that will be a win-win for the entire Wesley Chapel community,” Kahli said. “Community partnerships are vital to our mission to change the way the world lives, learns, works and plays, by creating a place where everyone can feel like they belong.”

Upon completion, Avalon Park Wesley Chapel will include approximately 400,000 total sq. ft. of retail and 100,000 sq. ft. of office space in its downtown. The initial construction in Downtown Avalon Park Wesley Chapel began in 2018 with the addition of the Pinecrest Academy K-9 Charter School. Pinecrest is also now under construction of its second phase, which will ad approximately 600 middle school student stations in a separate building. 

Before & after pictures of the first building under construction in the downtown area.  

Among the first tenants on the first floor of the 12-suite building include the previously announced Prime Barbershop, an unnamed Indian restaurant and an also-unnamed gym. The only other tenant announced at our press time is Rita’s Italian Ice & Frozen Custard.

We got to meet Rita’s franchise owners Antoine and Idalice Stokes, who also own the Valrico location, and they definitely seemed to be super-excited to be opening in Avalon Park Wesley Chapel.

With the first building in the downtown area expected to be completed only four months or so from now, we wanted to provide you with some updates on the development of Avalon park Wesley Chapel:

• A new traffic signal will be installed by the developer at Avalon Park Blvd. & S.R. 54.

• Avalon Park Blvd. will be extended diagonally through the downtown area from SR 54 to River Glen Blvd.

• The Zephyrhills Bypass right-of-way will be given to the county, but that road will not be constructed by the Avalon Park developer. When built, the Zephyrhills Bypass will eventually connect to the existing roundabout in Chapel Crossings to the west and to Eiland Blvd. to the east. 

• The Avalon Park Blvd. extension and residential unit development (just north of Pinecrest Academy) are currently in for county review (as of last month).

• The majority of the single- and multi-family homes going in the northern section of Avalon Park have already been approved and platted.

• New River Township was originally 1,800 total acres, but now includes about 400 homes in the existing subdivisions along River Glen Blvd., but the MPUD approved for Avalon Park in 2017 shows a maximum of 4,800 residential units total, which is still believed to be accurate and close to the actual number that eventually will be built. 

• On August 3, updated plans were submitted to show how Avalon Park Blvd. will hook around to meet up with River Glen Blvd.

For more information about Downtown Avalon Park Wesley Chapel, visit AvalonParkWesleyChapel.com.