JD Porter Getting Ready To Build His Legacy At Wiregrass Ranch! 

Wiregrass Ranch Developer Is Still Waiting To Finalize The Agreement With Pasco County Before Proceeding With His ‘Downtown’ 

The planned 1,500-seat concert hall and five-story parking structure (far left) planned in Phase One of The Legacy at Wiregrass Ranch, which developer JD Porter says will be the true downtown for not just his development, but all of Pasco County. (All maps & renderings provided by Wiregrass Ranch)

 When it was announced back in December that Pasco County had reached an agreement in principle with Wiregrass Ranch developer JD Porter and his Locust Branch LLC development company on Phase 1 of Legacy at Wiregrass Ranch — the 30-acre area set aside by Porter to serve as his uniquely urban downtown — Porter and his chief operating officer Scott Sheridan thought that it would only be a matter of weeks before they would be able to begin moving dirt. 

But now, more than six weeks (at our press time) after that agreement in principle was reached, Porter and Sheridan — in an exclusive sit-down with yours truly — said they are still waiting. 

“We need to get Phase 1 of Legacy at Wiregrass going now,” Porter said. “We’re trying to time the opening of the downtown area — with all of its office and retail — with the opening of the Orlando Health hospital (the largest in Wesley Chapel, which is expected to be done in early 2026). We estimate that if we get started right away, Phase 1 of Legacy could be completed within a few months after the hospital’s opening.” 

Sheridan added, “The good news is that we already have most of the infrastructure needed for Legacy in place. We’re ready.” 

For anyone who hasn’t heard, Pasco’s Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved the “term sheet” for Legacy at Wiregrass Ranch — where the financial plan for what Commission chair (and Dist. 3 commissioner) Kathryn Starkey called “Pasco County’s downtown” on Dec. 10. 


The map above shows the location of Legacy at Wiregrass Ranch between S.R. 56 and Chancey Rd. The two maps below are turned on their sides (north is actually to the left instead of up in both) to show Legacy’s proximity to the under-construction Orlando Health Hospital complex, which is actually located south and to the east of Legacy.

Part of the agreement announced in December are ad valorem tax incentives for the developer of $50 million total, spread over 30 years, to offset the $85 million in Wiregrass Ranch’s investment in public infrastructure for Phase One alone. Sheridan and Porter estimate that the construction costs for the entire Legacy project are between $400-$500 million. 

Sheridan said that Wiregrass Ranch, the 5,100-acre cattle ranch owned by Porter and his family, which is less than 40% developed at present, already provides a tax base of $1.5 billion, with nearly $11 million annually in county operating revenue. At buildout, he says, that tax base is projected to be as much as $6 billion, with about $50 million in annual revenues for the county. 

Among the elements planned for Legacy’s first phase (of 130 acres total set aside for the two phases of Legacy) are 150,000 sq. ft. (in two 75,000-sq.-ft. buildings) of office space, adjacent to the 150,000 sq. ft. of office space (in one 90,000-sq.-ft. and one 60,000-sq.-ft. building) now under construction on Orlando Health’s campus, next to the hospital. “Quite honestly,” Sheridan said. “That 300,000 square feet of office will look like one large master development.” 

Sheridan also noted that Wiregrass Ranch and an unnamed partner also is developing an additional 100,000 sq. ft. of office space in two buildings to the west of Wiregrass Ranch Blvd. 

One of the most important parts of the first phase of Legacy is a $37-million, five-story parking structure with about 1,500 spaces to serve the office buildings, retail and 150,000-sq.-ft. “eatertainment” complex, all within walking distance of each other, as well as of a planned 150-room hotel and 820 multi-family apartments. If you’ve ever been to the new Midtown Tampa, Legacy at Wiregrass is about 30% larger. The hotel and apartment buildings also are expected to be four and five stories tall. 

“This type of density is definitely urban,” Sheridan said. “It’s not suburban sprawl, because we’re doing on 30 acres what Pasco usually puts on 100 acres.” 

‘Eatertainment’ Galore! 

The part of the agreement for Legacy announced in December that yours truly is most excited about is the 150,000-sq. ft.. “Eatertainment” complex. Sheridan says that this area will include an Armature Works-style food hall, upscale retail stores, some “jewel box” standalone restaurants, a concert hall with about 1,500 seats immediately adjacent to the parking structure, plus a hotel, conference center and public art. 

And, although neither Sheridan nor Porter were willing to name any of the potential tenants or operators they’ve spoken with to put restaurants in Legacy, both mentioned having conversations with operators of restaurants on Water St. in downtown Tampa, Beach Dr. in downtown St. Pete and other upscale dining areas. 

The above rendering and those below show the urban look and feel of Legacy.

“Legacy has been designed by Torti Gallas + Partners,” Sheridan said, “the same firm that designed GasWorx in Ybor City, the Silversaw apartments (next to the Hyatt Place Tampa-Wesley Chapel hotel) and many of the most beautiful mixed-use projects across the country. And, they told us that Legacy at Wiregrass is unique in its location, planning and design.” 

Porter added, “Most of the time, when projects like these are approved, the developer first has to put in the infrastructure, but most of that is already in place in Legacy. We’re ready to begin building as soon as we get the final word from the county that we can begin.” 

To which Sheridan added, “We don’t need another County Commission vote. All we need is for the Planning & Economic Development department to finalize the agreement.” 

He also noted that until the agreement with the county has been finalized, “We can’t finalize deals with the tenants we’ve been talking with for the retail and restaurant spaces. But, as soon as we’re able to close those deals, we know the community is going to be excited about them.” 

To which Porter added, “These are not going to be the same retail strip centers with the same type of tenants that you see everywhere else in Pasco.” 

Sheridan also says that residents in the multi-family apartments will not be parking in the main garage structure. Instead, they will have their own parking structure. At the Dec. BOC meeting, Dist. 5 commissioner Jack Mariano requested that some of those rental units be converted to townhomes for “workforce housing,” but still voted to approve the Legacy agreement in principle without any such conversion being promised by Sheridan or Porter. 

“And, even though they’d have to cross S.R. 56 to do so, Porter said, “students and staff from the Porter Campus at Pasco Hernando State College can even walk to Legacy.” 

He added, “We’re not just doing the same thing everyone else in Pasco does. We want this to be the kind of place people are drawn to for years to come.” 

Wiregrass Ranch Update 

The Orlando Health construction is moving along nicely, and the $300-million hospital complex, which sits on 47 acres at the corner of S.R. 56 and Wiregrass Ranch Blvd., just south and east of Legacy, will include 102 beds when it opens and 300 when it is built out. 

Porter and Sheridan also mentioned that although Pasco had yet to finalize its deal with Sports Facilities Companies of Clearwater to take over the management of the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus, “The county picked the best possible operator to take over.,” Porter said. “It would just be nice to hear that the deal is finalized, because, in our agreement for the land we donated for it, the county (which has been managing the Sports Campus since buying out the management contract of RADDSports in 2023) was never supposed to be managing that facility.” 

Porter also said that with the success of Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant on the north side of S.R. 56 (at Lajuana Blvd.), “we’ve been having some pretty serious negotiations with a number of restaurant operators — some successful Tampa Bay-area operators and some top-level chains” — for the restaurant pads adjacent to Cooper’s Hawk. 

For more information about Wiregrass Ranch, visit TheWiregrassRanch.com. 

Frances Brassey Celebrates 107th Birthday

Frances Brassey. (Photos courtesy of Ashley Victoria Photography)

As far as birthday parties go, this one may take the cake.

The guest of honor was Frances Brassey, celebrating her 107th birthday on October 4, at a party hosted by the Legacy at Highwoods Preserve, a New Tampa assisted living facility where Frances is one of 52 residents.

Since Frances was born in 1912 in Harlowton, Montana, she has seen more than 10 decades of changes in the world around her. The staffers at The Legacy say she is the oldest of their 52 residents by more than 10 years, and they believe she is likely the oldest resident in Tampa.

Her days typically begin when her private caregiver helps her to get dressed and eat breakfast. She prefers to drink a Coca-Cola with her breakfast, lunch and dinner, and keeps Coke in a mini-fridge in her residence, too.

Lifestyle director Ashley Gunter says the staff often tries to steer her toward water or cranberry juice, which she will drink, but it’s not her preference. “She’ll give us a look that says, ‘That’s not what I asked for,’” Ashley says.

After breakfast, Ashley says Frances loves to participate in morning stretches with the other residents. She eats lunch with her caregiver and often enjoys entertainment during happy hour.

Frances’s son Wayne (pictured above with Frances) lives with his wife in Arbor Greene. They come by to see her two or three times a week.

“We take her to get frozen yogurt at the yogurt shop,” he says.

Wayne says that Frances doesn’t communicate much anymore, but she always has a smile on her face. At 107, she doesn’t hear well and doesn’t see well, “but our bodies just weren’t made to live this long,” Wayne says.

When asked what has kept his mother alive for nearly 11 decades, he laughs, “If I knew the answer to that question, I would be talking through my attorneys and publicist.”

In her younger days, Frances and her husband, Edward, moved from Wyoming, where Wayne was born, to Louisiana, then to Panama, where they lived for 25 years.

“She was a pretty good square dancer,” Wayne remembers, saying she and Edward enjoyed dancing together.

Edward worked for an oil company, while Frances “was head of a couple of women’s clubs,” says Wayne.

“She was always a strong lady,” he adds.

In the 1980s, experiencing symptoms of Alzheimer’s, Edward retired to Clearwater, where he eventually passed away in 1985. Frances continued to live in Clearwater for three decades. She kept her mind sharp by playing bridge and enjoyed bridge tournaments.

Wayne would visit her, and eventually noticed she needed some extra help. He was retired, so he moved in and helped her for several years, until she needed additional care.

Her mind was still sharp, says Wayne, but she would sometimes wake up in the middle of the night and try to navigate the stairs. Fearing she might fall, he began to look for a safer environment for her.

In 2015, Wayne got married and moved to New Tampa, moving Frances into The Legacy as one of its very first residents.

For her birthday, though, Wayne was away due to a family emergency, so The Legacy staff took over, ensuring she was pampered and cared for on her special day. They touched up her hair and nails, which had been done in the on-site salon, affixing a birthday tiara and pins.

To kick off the celebration, local entertainer Ralph Espinosa crooned “Sixteen Candles,” then the gathered staff and residents sang “Happy Birthday.”

“We sang it twice because she really liked blowing out the candles,” says Ashley.

Wayne’s visited her a few times since her birthday.

“We try to do the best we can for her,” he says. “She’s not going to go to the movies every night or run track, so we make her as comfortable as we can.”

With a smile on her face, she enjoys those simple pleasures, including her Coca-Cola, frozen yogurt and time spent with her son.