Orlando Health Meets The Local Community At Chamber Event At PHSC 

(Above, l.-r.) NTBC President Hope Kennedy, PHSC Porter Campus Provost Dr. Davina Jones, Pasco EDC VP Mike Bishop, Wiregrass Ranch developer JD Porter, Orlando Health VP John Walsh & Turner Construction VP Kim Neuscheler provided more than 150 attendees (photo below) with information about Wesley Chapel’s newest hospital at an NTBC-sponsored panel discussion on Feb. 21. (Photos by Charmaine George) 

Although Wesley Chapel already has two full-size, full-service hospitals located within a couple of miles of each other, the area’s largest hospital is now being built less than a mile from AdventHealth Wesley Chapel, the first hospital to open (more than a decade ago) in any of Wesley Chapel’s three zip codes (33543, 33544 and 33545). 

And, although Orlando Health Wesley Chapel has not yet begun going vertical, when the nonprofit hospital operator asked North Tampa Bay Chamber (NTBC) president & CEO Hope Kennedy if she would be interested in hosting a community meeting to introduce Orlando Health to the local community, Kennedy says she jumped at the opportunity. 

“It was a no-brainer for us,” Kennedy said after the meeting was held on Feb. 21 at Pasco Hernando State College (PHSC)’s Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch, which is located within a few hundred feet of the new hospital site now under development at the corner of S.R. 56 and Wiregrass Ranch Blvd. 

Kennedy asked Porter Campus Provost Dr. Davina Jones if she would be interested in having the meeting at PHSC, where the Chamber hosts its monthly Business Breakfasts, and the event was quickly put together. 

More than 150 NTBC members and a number of local contractors interested in working with Orlando Health on the project came to the meeting, which featured Kennedy, Dr. Jones, Pasco Economic Development Council VP Mike Bishop, Wiregrass Ranch developer JD Porter, Orlando Health VP of Facility Development & Asset Strategy John Walsh and Kim Neuscheler, the VP & general manager of Turner Construction Tampa, which is building the new hospital. 

Walsh said the 103-year-old Orlando Health decided to make its first foray into Pasco County and Wesley Chapel because of the area’s “amazing growth and opportunity,” especially after recently acquiring Florida Medical Clinic, the 52-office physician group that will allow Orlando Health to not only staff the new hospital, but create new partnerships in the area. 

When it is completed, Orlando Health’s will be the largest of the three hospitals in Wesley Chapel, at 395,000 sq. ft. and 300 total beds (although the $300-million first phase will include about 102 beds — 90 medical/surgical and 12 ICU and six operating rooms, with room for 78 additional beds in the building’s shell). It also will include two large (one 60,000 and the other 80,000 sq. ft.) medical office buildings on the same 35-acre site. 

Walsh also said that in addition to the Tampa office of Turner Construction, all of the subcontractors also will come from the local area, which explains in no small part why so many of those providers attended this community event. 

“This is such an exciting opportunity for Pasco County and the Wesley Chapel area,” Kennedy said. 

Walsh also stressed that although Orlando Health is building a hospital, “this is not a one-and-done kind of project…we’re also already working in Lutz to put in a free-standing ED (emergency department); we’re also building the two medical office buildings, which will have an ambulatory surgical center, imaging center and an array of acute care facilities and physician specialists to keep us all healthy, so maybe we won’t have to go through the doors of the hospital (which will need about 400 employees when it opens). It’s important to have that whole array of services. This is not ‘sick care,’ it’s health care.” 

Walsh also mentioned the possibility of adding 10-bed “micro-hospitals,” as needed to serve communities located further from the hospital that couldn’t necessarily support a full-size hospital of their own. 

“The most important things we build in a community is not the buildings,” Walsh added. “It’s the relationships.” 

Porter, who admitted that, “Our biggest fear was that this could turn out to be an albatross if we built too many hospitals,” also said that he knew Orlando Health was a great partner to work with and that, despite the presence of what will be three hospitals by sometime in 2026, “With all the growth out here, this area is actually still underserved. We’ve got a long, long way to go.” 

And, when Kennedy asked about what PHSC could do to help ensure that there is a useful workforce for the new hospital, Dr. Jones responded that, “As a State College, with a history as a Community College, we have a responsibility to know what the needs are in the communities that we serve. So, we’re asking ourselves now, ‘Do we have…are we offering… the right programs…to serve the business community that’s here?’ Our goal is to never get too comfortable and to always be willing to change with the community’s needs.” 

Meanwhile, Bishop agreed with Dr. Jones and talked about the growing life sciences in Pasco and the need for more partnerships. 

“Our challenge is to bring business to this county,” he said. “But, if we all work together, we can address the challenges we all face.” 

And, speaking of those partnerships, Neuscheler said that Turner, as one of the leading health care builders in the U.S., always strives to be a good community partner, giving “opportunities to smaller, local companies to do business with us, with our Turner Construction School, which many of you already have gone through, and is something we’ve done since 1969. We will be holding another one of those in October.” She added that veteran- and minority-owned companies will definitely be offered the opportunity to participate in this process. 

Neuscheler also noted that the hospital’s foundation should begin being built sometime in April or May, with vertical construction taking about six months once the foundation is laid. 

The panelists all also talked about innovation as an important part of the new hospital, which includes in construction, doctors, nurses and other hospital personnel and the equipment that they will be using — from robotic surgery to 3D printing, artificial intelligence and more. 

Walsh said that the merger with a respected partner like Florida Medical Clinic will help ensure that the right doctors will staff the hospital. 

“One of our mottos,” Walsh said, “is that we don’t just care for you, we care about you.” 

JD Porter Provides Updates On Wiregrass Ranch Blvd. & More

The map above, by King Engineering Associates, Inc., and provided by JD Porter, has been updated by the Neighborhood News. It isn’t 100% up to date, but it does show most of what is under development and already has been built in Wiregrass Ranch.

As your local community newspaper, one of the questions I get asked most often is “When will Wiregrass Ranch Blvd. (WRB) open from north of Chancey Rd. to S.R. 54 near Walmart (see map)?” 

During a recent interview, Wiregrass Ranch developer JD Porter provided an answer to this question, as well as to many of the other questions people ask me most often — although not all of the answers are what I would call definitive (at least not yet).

For example, anyone who lives in the Estancia or Esplanade subdivisions in Wiregrass Ranch surely knows that WRB has been fully paved for months, but barricades situated north of Chancey Rd. and by Walmart’s Garden Center just south of 54 have prevented people from legally using it. But, Porter said, that problem should end soon.

“We’re finishing the landscaping and irrigation now,” Porter said. “I can’t guarantee an exact schedule, but it should be fully open by sometime in June.”

As for the Publix supermarket that is ready to begin building behind the Bank of America and Advance Auto Parts at the corner of WRB and 54, Porter said that dirt should begin moving within the next couple of weeks. And, he notes, as far as he know, there still is no plan to close the existing Publix store in the Hollybrook Plaza just east of the intersection of 54 and Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd.

What About Next To The Mall?

The other question about Wiregrass Ranch that I get asked most often is about the large plot of land that has been cleared on S.R. 56, just east of the Shops at Wiregrass. Porter confirmed that although that lot was originally intended to be the second phase of the mall, the mall itself changed twice in just the last couple of years and that Porter’s development arm — Locust Branch, LLC — had purchased back the lot from Queensland Investment Corp. But sadly, although the land has been cleared, Porter said that no new development on the site was imminent.

“We’re just getting it pad-ready,” he said. “That is a potential $100-million asset and we are working to bring higher-quality, better users to that site and to make it more of a true mixed-use location.” He added that while he couldn’t yet make any announcements about what is to come to that location, “We have had a lot of talks with interested parties about it.”

Orlando Health Hospital Update

Also getting ready to begin moving dirt in the next couple of weeks is the Orlando Health Hospital, which will become the third hospital in Wesley Chapel when it opens in 2025. Porter said that there also will be a medical office building affiliated with the hospital that he will be able to show plans for soon. The office building will be located “on the fringe” of the planned Town Center in Wiregrass Ranch.

The Latest On Raymond James

Although Porter still couldn’t say when it will actually begin building, he said that the long-awaited Raymond James Financial — which plans to build 400,000-1 million sq. ft. of a large office campus to the east of the Fairfield Inn and the Audi of Wesley Chapel dealership — “has spent a couple of million dollars on site work already and could begin actual vertical construction by as soon as June or July.”  

Cooper’s Hawk & Other Eateries 

Perhaps the most eagerly awaited new building in Wiregrass Ranch is the construction of the new Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant (photo), which is now under construction to the east of the Culver’s on S.R. 56. Porter said he hopes Cooper’s Hawk will open by the end of this year, but we’ll have to wait and see how the construction goes.

He also noted that in the same general area as Cooper’s Hawk, there is another restaurant site available and that he continues to receive “a ton of letters of interest from equal-level restaurant users” for that spot. “Think about what’s near the Cooper’s Hawk in Tampa (on Boy Scout Blvd., near International Plaza),” Porter said. “It could be like any of those restaurants.”

In that case, it could be anything from Eddie V’s or Ocean Prime to Kona Grill and Del Frisco’s, but Porter wasn’t at liberty to say anything other than, “I think the community will be pleased once we’re able to announce something.”

Amberlin Apartments And…

A number of people also have asked about an age 55+ apartment community being built in our area. That community, which has recently begun vertical construction, is called Amberlin at Wiregrass Ranch.

Porter says, however, that there are other communities that also are planned in that large area with frontage on BBD.

And finally, Porter had no update at our press time about when the planned Town Center will begin building, but stay tuned for an update in the “not-too-distant” future. 

Can 2023 Top 2022 In Wesley Chapel? Sure, Why Not?

Will Wesley Chapel ever stop growing?

Conventional wisdom suggests that, eventually, the area will just run out of available space for new development.

On the other hand, there’s currently still a lot of developable space and 2022 was packed with more eye-opening developments and announcements, portending a future that will continue to delight those eager for new “stuff” and infuriate those who don’t want to be stuck in traffic getting to that new stuff.

Here are five of the biggest things that went down in Wesley Chapel in 2022, with an eye towards 2023.

1. The KRATE at the Grove Container Park finally debuted in June, and we think it’s fair to say that while it’s not perfect, it was still Wesley Chapel’s No. 1 success story of 2022. The grand opening event of what is, at the very least, our area’s most unique and one-of-a-kind hangout, drew roughly 8,000 people, and its neverending stream of special events — like ‘70s Night, ‘80s Night, movie nights and more — routinely draw more than a thousand patrons at a time. 

Comprised of converted shipping containers with an Instagrammable flair, KRATE has a little something for almost everyone. It boasts 29 restaurants with a variety of ethnic offerings – many doing well in our annual Reader Dining Survey of Wesley Chapel and New Tampa eateries; results will be online next week — as well as 17 retail stores. The KRATE’s stage features some kind of live entertainment most weeks. 

And, the park continues to come up with innovative new ideas — like wrapping up 2022 with “Swiftmas Christmas” celebrating Taylor Swift with contests and Wesley Chapel performer Isabella Diaz singing the pop superstar’s hits — that provide just another taste of what we can expect in 2023.

Pop Stroke

2. The Pop Stroke groundbreaking was definitely one of the more buzz-worthy beginnings of a new project in or near Wesley Chapel in 2022. Sure, there are bigger and more consequential developments in the area, but a hip new place to do stuff in an area that has complained about a lack of it for years will be huge when it opens in early 2023.

With Tiger Woods’  backing, the unique mini-golf course is sure to draw big crowds to its location at the intersection of S.R. 56 and Wesley Chapel Blvd. If it also can draw, well, Tiger Woods, to its grand opening, wouldn’t that be something?

Heck, Pop Stroke might even be open before the more traditional, family-oriented mini-golf course at The Grove, which we expect to announce it is officially opening….any…day…now…

3. Saddlebrook Resort — which deserves maybe more credit than anything else for putting Wesley Chapel on the map as far back as the 1980s — was sold in 2022 for $15 million, and long-time owner Tom Dempsey told us that it was just the first step in an expansion and renovation of the storied golf resort and residential development.

Sure enough, buyers Mast Capital and Amzak Capital Management are prepping to get their money’s worth from the deal. On Jan. 5, the developers 

will present their plans to the public at a Pasco County Planning Commission meeting, with hopes of taking it to the Board of County Commissioners in February for approval.

Those plans include expanding Saddlebrook’s master-planned unit development (MPUD) by more than 400 acres and converting one of its two Arnold Palmer-designed golf courses and the resort’s driving range into a site that would potentially include commercial/retail, restaurants, apartments, homes and other uses — serving as something of a Saddlebrook town center.

4. New roads may not be that sexy of a thing to list in the year’s biggest news, but Wesley Chapel took a few giant steps (and maybe a short drive) forward in 2022.

The northbound exit at the DDI.

First, the diverging diamond interchange (DDI) is now fully open at the S.R. 56 and I-75 and, except for some clean up and road markings, has been completed.

Considering the issues the interchange had with its previous construction company, which caused a months-long delay, the completion of the DDI is a pretty impressive feat. And, while it may still be a little confusing to some people, there is little doubt the interchange has proven to be a success.

Any day now (maybe even by the time you read this), the Overpass Rd. Interchange at I-75 also will be open, another project expected to have a big impact on area traffic. Located halfway between the S.R. 54 and S.R. 52 exits, the new Exit 282 interchange will be a boon for those settling in the quickly developing northern part of Wesley Chapel, and heck, it might even also improve the S.R. 54 interchange, which likely has taken over the title from S.R. 56/I-75 as the worst area locally to be driving at 5 p.m. on a weekday.

JD Porter

Toss the widening of S.R. 54 from east of Curley Rd. to Morris Bridge Rd. in there, which also is making steady progress and should be completed late in 2023, and, all in all, it kind of feels like this year was a win for area commuters. And, next year also should see the opening of at least the first leg of the long-awaited Zephyrhills Bypass from S.R. 54 to Morris Bridge Rd.

5. Wiregrass Ranch, which has been simmering for the past few years, is starting to boil, too.

In 2022, it was announced that a second hospital (Orlando Hospital) was coming to the Ranch, along with Cooper’s Hawk Restaurant (which blew up our Facebook page more than any other story in 2022). A number of plans also were filed with the county to begin work on some of the other long-vacant parcels in the DRI, including the long-awaited town center.

With Wiregrass Ranch Blvd., which will serve as the spine to the entire development, just about complete, we’re expecting a slew of major announcements from developer JD Porter in 2023.

Downtown Wesley Chapel?

Rendering of the downtown Avalon Park West area.

Downtown Wesley Chapel.

It may not currently, or officially, exist, but is interesting enough of a concept that three area developers — JD Porter, Beat Kahli and Mark Gold — have all suggested that their current projects will, in fact, be downtown Wesley Chapel.

So, who will it be? 

Whose project will possess most of the qualities that typically define a small town’s downtown — pedestrian friendly, open public spaces with generous amounts of greenery, a cluster of retail and restaurants with attractive storefronts and most important (according to North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce (NTBC) CEO Hope Kennedy), people? It depends upon who you ask.

“I think, ultimately, downtown Wesley Chapel will be wherever the people say it is,” Kennedy says.

Currently, Kennedy thinks the closest thing to downtown Wesley Chapel is the area around the Shops at Wiregrass outdoor mall, which also boasts the AdventHealth Wesley Chapel hospital (and the many jobs that come with it), the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County, high-end car dealerships, hotels and a plethora of retail and restaurants.

But, Wiregrass Ranch is still developing. Its town center — the community’s downtown, when it is completed — hasn’t even broken ground. And, Avalon Park Wesley Chapel and The Grove also promise that big things are on the way, and a newer, bigger and different downtown Wesley Chapel could emerge.

Here’s how the three developments shape up as downtown cadidates:

WIREGRASS RANCH

JD Porter, whose family owns most of the land in Wiregrass Ranch, is not terribly concerned about which community will be home to Wesley Chapel’s official downtown. 

“I don’t think you can force a downtown,” he says. “I think if it’s thought through and done with purpose, I think there will definitely be a downtown in Wesley  Chapel. I just don’t think you can count on a downtown popping up in the next six months, the next year or anything like that.”

Porter says a community’s downtown must come about organically, and he thinks that is what’s happening in Wiregrass Ranch. While he has plans for a town center a little northeast of the Sports Campus on the yet-to-be-finished Wiregrass Ranch Blvd., construction is a ways off. Instead, he says, the area around his town center is filling in nicely, with Raymond James Financial (and the 700+ jobs it promises) beginning construction recently and joining the number of housing subdivisions, the Sports Campus, the mall, Pasco-Hernando State College and AHWC as walkable and bikable destinations.

 There have even been talks of light rail or another form of public transportation within the Wiregrass Ranch community.

Porter thinks a 5-10 year timeframe is reasonable for his vision of downtown to emerge. That vision includes walkability, 150,000-200,000 square feet of retail, 200,000-300,000 square feet of office space and 800 to 2,000 residential units.

He has compared it to Georgia’s Buckhead development near Atlanta in the past.

JD Porter

“It will come naturally,” he says. “We’re getting the density, getting all the different uses coming together that will create the downtown area.”

Porter says it has been a thoughtful process putting together Wiregrass Ranch, and the town center will be its jewel. 

“Almost everyone in Pasco has a ‘town center,’” he says, “basically comprised of a Publix and couple of dry cleaners and maybe a smoothie shop. That’s not a town center.”

Porter has bigger goals. Downtown Wesley Chapel may not be enough.

“I look at our town center as being Downtown Pasco County, Downtown Wesley Chapel, Downtown North Tampa,” Porter says. “But it’s got to mature naturally, it can’t be forced. We have some stuff going on. We’ve upped our timeline. We have some exciting things coming down the pike.”

AVALON PARK WEST

When developer Beat Kahli announced upcoming plans for a downtown core in Avalon Park Wesley Chapel (APWC) in February 2020, it was heralded by many in the media as Wesley Chapel’s future downtown.

And that’s exactly what Kahli thinks it will be.

Kahli is investing more than $700 million in the project — with a $33-million commitment from Pasco County -— which he says could break ground in the next few months.

The APWC (formerly Avalon Park West) downtown will be located on the north side of S.R. 54, less than a mile west of Eiland Blvd. (just west of Zephyrhills), but despite its distance from most of Wesley Chapel, will look the most like a small-town downtown, based on its renderings. 

The downtown area will be a mixed-use development on 215 acres. The entire APWC project is being built on 1,800 acres, the same size as its successful Avalon Park Orlando. It will eventually have 4,800 residential units (it currently has 1,000) and 15,000 residents. Many resident won’t have to leave — they can live, work and play in APWC.

“We don’t build subdivisions,” Kahli says, “we build towns.”

And, while many people might assume that the downtown core is just for residents of APWC, it will be open to everyone.

Kahli says the area will have two of the most important qualities in a downtown —walkability and mixed-use buildings.

After a 10-year buildout, the APWC downtown development will have roughly 2,700 residential units, 165,000 square feet of Class “A” office space and 190,400 square feet of commercial development.

The “neo-tradional” project will include four-story buildings, with neighborhood commercial on the bottom floor and the other three floors reserved for residential. 

There will be multiple parking decks and sidewalks, and four freestanding Class A office buildings, which are typically larger, and will feature top-of-the-line amenities and high-income tenants. 

“Compared to other large projects in the (Wesley Chapel) area, which are generally single-use projects with several hundred or several thousand single family homes, and then somewhere else maybe some apartments, and then somewhere else maybe a mall or strip mall, somewhere else maybe a school,” Kahli says, “we are integrating it all. We’re building full towns. That’s our approach in Wesley Chapel, and wherever we go.”

The “town center” of The Grove development.

THE GROVE

The Porters have been in Wiregrass Ranch since forever, and developer Beat Kahli has patiently held onto the land that will be Avalon Park Wesley Chapel for almost 25 years. That makes The Grove’s developer Mark Gold the new kid on the block.

But, Gold is no rookie when it comes to buying up older projects and making them relevant again. Even when he purchased The Grove for $64 million in 2018, he was not shy about calling it Wesley Chapel’s future downtown.

Despite arriving late to the party, with The Grove project already well under way, he will get the first crack at cementing his 254-acre property as the area’s downtown.

He is pouring more than $100 million into that dream, taking Wesley Chapel’s major shopping center (it was built in 2007, a year before the Shops at Wiregrass) and transforming into something the area hasn’t seen before.

The old Cobb movie theater has been renovated and is open, the long-ignored area Gold calls “The Village” has been revitalized and KRATE, an innovative retail and restaurant park made up of converted hip, reimagined shipping containers, is rounding into form.

While others see The Grove as more of an entertainment and retail district, Gold takes offense. He says the project is much more, with more than 600 homes approved for construction just north of The Grove, as well as apartment complexes in the surrounding area. Other businesses will come in, bringing more jobs. He sees The Grove as a destination for residents as far away as Tampa and Orlando. 

“It will be the No. 1 destination for families, and they will be able to shop, eat, walk, play mini-golf and many other things,” Gold says. “There will be no need to go anyplace else.”

Down On The (Wiregrass) Ranch

JD Porter and his family don’t look at themselves merely as developers trying to make a buck. They look at themselves as curators of a 5,000-acre family heirloom that has been in the family since 1937, when James “Wiregrass” Porter bought the sprawling ranch land and moved to Wesley Chapel.

That land now has an elementary, middle, high school, a state college and multiple residential subdivisions. 

There is a mall and a hospital, a hotel and a high-end car dealership, and so much more already standing, with a state road that was built with six lanes long before it actually needed that many lanes slicing through it.

“We’ve done some great things,” says JD, the developer and driving force behind Wiregrass Ranch’s residential and commercial expansion.

And there’s more on the way. Even as developed as his family’s ranch is, if you take a peek at what is still to come, it doesn’t even feel half done.

So, as the Wesley Chapel area surrounding Wiregrass Ranch explodes with lagoons and trendy shipping container crates, restaurants and town centers, Porter continues to bide his time and slowly build something different.

The State of The Ranch

“It’s good. It’s busy,” Porter says.

While nothing new has been announced recently for Wiregrass Ranch, that doesn’t mean there’s nothing new planned, or any negotiations ongoing.

In fact, there’s plenty new planned, and talks almost daily.

In poker parlance, Porter always plays his cards close to the vest, and will only reveal those cards well after the hand has been finished.

“I’m not trying to be coy,” he says matter-of-factly. “It’s just how we’ve always done business.”

While there won’t be any details announced until later this year, Wiregrass Ranch chief operating officer (COO) Scott Sheridan says it will be a busy time on the ranch.

“We’re pretty excited about 2020,” he says. “We don’t see any slowdown on the near-term horizon.”

Porter says he is content playing the long game. No flashy restaurants or activity centers or trendy grocery stores are coming anytime soon. 

While others may be filling immediate needs and desires, “We are working on infrastructure” that in the end, will make Wiregrass Ranch vibrant and sustainable for years, like it did building S.R. 56 as a six-lane highway long before the area was bustling. 

In The Plans

Porter says a 200,000-sq.-ft. office project will come out of the ground later this year. 

“We have a unique blend of users,” he says. “It’s going to be nice.”

Porter also has submitted plans to build another retail strip on S.R. 54 at the northernmost edge of Wiregrass Ranch, next to the recently completed first retail project, which is anchored by a new Glory Days Grill, on the S.R. 54 side of Wiregrass Ranch, which runs all the way from 54 to south of S.R. 56. Another restaurant is planned for the latest budding retail project, but Porter says no leases have yet been signed.

But, later this year — Porter won’t exactly say when — you might have to buckle up for an announcement or two.

“There’s some exciting things coming down the pipeline,” Porter says. “Some of the things will be game-changers for the area that I don’t think anyone has expected.”

Who doesn’t love a little suspense?

Building The Donut

Porter has had plans for a town center — which he has claimed will serve not only as Wesley Chapel’s downtown but a downtown for the entire North Tampa Bay area — for a while now. But, before that project sprouts to life, he says it is important to build an apparatus — revolving around residential — that will support it, which they are doing.

“I know there has been a ton of stories about town centers recently,” he says (see story on page 6). “We’ve talked about that for, what, 15 years? But we’re working in a direction that surrounds that donut hole.”

Which would make that donut the residential support, Sheridan says. “We’re getting that donut, for lack of a better word, closed in.”

The town center would be located in the heart of Wiregrass Ranch. It will be connected to all of the development by a series of trails and sidewalks — a vast spiderweb, if you will, with the north-south spine running through the middle of it being the under-construction Wiregrass Ranch Blvd., which should be completed from 54 to 56 by 2023.

That road will have traffic-calming roundabouts throughout, another way that Porter and Sheridan are trying to stay ahead of the game.

Meanwhile, Wiregrass Ranch’s future town center area is slowly becoming surrounded by homes. 

Estancia, The Ridge and the Arbors at Wiregrass Ranch, the Altis apartments and a Fairfield Inn hotel are already in place, and Persimmon Park and the 800+ home Esplanade 55-and-older community are under construction. And, now, S.R. 56 has been extended to U.S. 301, which will bring with it more homes and even more residents who will be flocking to the area.

Porter says he is thrilled to have Esplanade starting with Taylor Morrison Homes on board as the builder. The 55-plus community, the residents of which will likely consist of many retirees, will provide much of the daytime business when the town center is built.

“It was an underserved market, and a great fit for us,” Porter says.

More people means more businesses, which leads to a need for more entertainment and neighborhood retail, leaving developers with a greater responsibility to find the right combination to make the “live here, work here, play here” model work.

In the past, Porter has talked about a performing arts center in Wiregrass Ranch, but that is no longer necessary due to the one the county is building next to Cypress Creek middle and high schools to the north. But, something with a similar impact will take its place as an anchor.

“We are actively working on, and looking at, some unique catalysts in our town center,” Sheridan says. 

“The end of the earth used to be Meadow Pointe Blvd., but that’s not the case anymore,” Porter says. “The town center is 10 times more viable than it was 10 years ago, and it was viable then. We’ve just been extremely patient to get the right blend.”

As for the town center, well, just you wait, says Porter says. It won’t be anchored by a Publix and a laundromat, he jokes. It will be something special.

“It will be a true, mixed-use, walkable, pedestrian-focused town center,” Sheridan says.

Still Waiting… 

Raymond James Financial filed plans last year to build its massive 1-million-sq.-ft. satellite campus on 65 acres at the corner of S.R. 56 and Mansfield Blvd.

When that actually will happen, though, no one knows.

“They own the property. They have the permits. Everything is ready to go,” Porter says. “They are a big company and when they decide they are ready, they are going to do it. It’s been put on a silver platter.”

Since Raymond James, which will create thousands of new jobs when it finally builds its campus, closed on the property last year, Porter says other projects in Wiregrass Ranch have already created 2,000 jobs.

Another long-anticipated project is the move of the Publix grocery store from the corner of S.R. 54 and Bruce B. Downs Blvd. to a space across Wiregrass Ranch Blvd. from Walmart.

It’s still happening, says Porter, who adds that Publix may be looking to build two other stores within Wiregrass Ranch.

Wrapping It Up

Just consider the things that are open, underway or wrapping up this year:

•Esplanade and Persimmon Park: Persimmon Park, which is geared towards families and will have 340 townhome units by David Weekley Homes and ICI Homes, should have models ready to view and future homes ready to sell by April.

•The Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County will open in July, and will host its first event in September. The massive campus will feature a 98,000-sq.-ft. indoor sports facility, plus outdoor fields on the 80-acre parcel, and eventually a 128-room Marriott Residence Inn. The public-private partnership facility will provide an economic boon to the Ranch.

•And…AdventHealth Wesley Chapel: Built on the land where Porter was raised, is expanding, in partnership with Moffitt Cancer Center. A three-story, 100,000-square-foot medical office complex, with 28,000 square feet dedicated to a cancer outpatient center, is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

• Plus…Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch of Pasco Hernando State College (which started as a community college and has room for expansion) and Beach House at Wiregrass Ranch Adult Living & Memory Care. All of these are Wiregrass Ranch projects that have been patiently developed for years, and have come to fruition. 

Flashy? No. 

Pillars for building a strong community that will contribute to residential and commercial growth? Absolutely.

Developing Wiregrass Ranch is a job Porter says he takes personally and that he is in it for the long haul, he says, which makes his approach different, and more careful.

While he enjoys the competition from other developers and seeing what they will be building — and rooting for them, by the way, because he says he wants to see Wesley Chapel flourish — he feels he has a greater responsibility to make the right decisions.

“This land has provided a huge opportunity, not only for my family but the whole area,” he says. “We’ve been here 80 years, why wouldn’t we want to make it better for the next 80 years? That business model doesn’t work for publicly traded companies that have to make 25 percent for investors every year. That allows us to work on filling the gaps and being sustainable.”