The New Tampa Peforming Arts Center could be ready for its ribbon cutting in September.
The decades-in-the-making New Tampa Peforming Arts Center (NTPAC) should be ready to open this fall, says Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan.
Hagan, who represents New Tampa in District 2, said a ribbon cutting is tenatively scheduled for September 22 or 23.
âNothing is set in stone yet,â Hagan says. âBut thatâs what county staff is looking at right now.â
The 20,000-sq.-ft. NTPAC, which can be expanded later to 30,000 sq. ft., will have a 343-seat theater with retractable seating, a stage, a catwalk and an orchestra pit. There will be four multipurpose rooms and parking for 215 vehicles. The facility, located behind the Village at Hunterâs Lake shopping plaza, across from the entrance to the Hunterâs Green community, is expected to be used for community performances and arts training of all kinds.
No one has been selected to run the facility yet, a responsibility the county may end up assuming. It had originally chosen The Florida Cultural Group, formerly known as The Manatee Players, Inc., but some of the commissioners objected and said they preferred a local group be hired to manage the NTPAC.
A new company was expected to be chosen to run the programs at the PAC by March but nothing has yet been announced.
But, the NTPAC ribbon cutting isnât the only thing the county has planned for September in our area â Hagan says he also expects the new Branchton Regional Park to break ground that month.
The park, which will be located on Morris Bridge Rd. just south of Cross Creek Blvd., will have pickleball and basketball courts, a splash pad and a Hillsborough County Sheriffâs Office (HCSO) substation in its first phase, to name a few of the amenties.
âCounty staff is finalizing plans and getting the final permits,â Hagan says.
And, prior to the NTPAC and Branchton events, Hagan said there will be a public meeting held in August so local residents can weigh in on a proposed public recreation center, which would be the first such county-run facility in New Tampa.
The recreation center will be located at Cross Creek Park, adjacent to Pride Elementary just off Kinnan st.
The facility will include indoor basketball, volleyball and pickleball courts and be available for other sports, and there will be community meeting space as well.
The basketball courts and playground already at the park will be upgraded, and a splash pad also would be part of the improvements.
Hagan says he has secured $1.5 million for the project, and is looking at the rest of the funding to come from the American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) federal funding. Hillsborough County has received $285 million from the federal program.
The recreation centerâs proposed location, near Pride Elementary, could be an issue for many K-Bar residents without major road improvements in that area.
At various townhalls and meetings with city officials, residents have expressed safety concerns about school traffic in that area, due to the unusual configuration of the road leading past the school and into K-Bar Ranch, which has created logjams for years.
Wesley Chapel and New Tampa have been on a great run of fun and interesting projects, and 2022 should be no different. Here are the five weâre most looking forward to this year.
1. KRATE Container Park
The long-awaited KRATE container park at The Grove at Wesley Chapel is expected to be fully open by summer 2022 â which is great news for local residents in the quickly expanding S.R 54 corridor looking for more shopping and dining options.
Photos by Charmaine George
There are so many cool things coming to Wesley Chapel this year, but KRATE ranks as No. 1, thanks to the unique nature of the project and the anticipation that has built up because it has taken much longer than many expected, due in no small part to a variety of Covid-related issues.
KRATE was the jewel of developer Mark Goldâs plans when his company, Mishorim Gold Properties, bought The Grove â then a moribund 250-acre parcel anchored by a shopping center â for $64 million in September 2019. Gold has invested an additional $20 million in the KRATE, which he claims will be the largest container park in the U.S. and something that will draw visitors from around the state to Wesley Chapel.
The seven-acre KRATE project will feature 55 businesses in converted shipping containers, each with their own product-centric mural painted on the side by artist Whitney Holbourn of Colorado.
At our press time, only two stores â Provisions Coffee & Kitchen and Shake-A-Salad â were already open. Once the others are ready, the KRATE is expected to cash in on what is likely to be a welcome experience in these Covid-ridden times â walking an open-air market featuring restaurants, retail shops and even a stage that will host concerts and other performances.
Its proximity to The Groveâs big box stores, and its popular restaurants like Treble Makers and the Falabella Family Bistro (see pg. 36), the Double Branch Artisanal Ales craft brewery, The Grove movie theater (and home of Side Splitters comedy club) and a new mini-golf course (see below) will make The Grove arguably the top entertainment destination hub in Pasco County, if not all of Tampa Bay.
2. New Tampa PAC
If we didnât like shopping and desserts so much, this would be our No. 1.
Regardless, the New Tampa Performing Arts Center (NTPAC; photo, left) will provide a cultural boost to the area with its promise of music, dance and theatrical performances. The area already has an acting troupe, the New Tampa Players (NTP), that will call the PAC home and be one of what we hope are hundreds of groups to bring productions to the 350-seat theater.
When was the last time you had to get dressed up to attend anything in New Tampa proper?
Our only gripe â it would have been nice to see the NTPAC fronting Bruce B. Downs Blvd. in all its glory, lit up at night as drivers-by gawked, as opposed to being tucked out of view between an apartment complex and a grocery store.
But, after a nearly 20-year battle to get the place built, whoâs complaining?
3. Lotte Market
This, very quietly, might be the coolest thing to open anywhere in 2022, because if you know, you know.
While we havenât had any updates in a while on the plans for the new market, and no official announcement at all, weâre guessing Lotte Market will fill the 55,000-sq.ft. former Sweetbay Market with hard-to-find Korean, Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese food items, as well what is likely to be the largest selection of fresh â and, dare we say, unique â seafood, fruits and vegetables in the area.
The only other Lotte Market in Florida is located in Orlando, and that store, like most of its others located in Maryland, New Jersey and Virginia, have a handful of Asian restaurants or a food court. Lotte has already been approved by the city to put restaurants in the market, and we canât wait to see which ones they will be.
4. Mini-Golf
The groundbreaking of PopStroke Entertainment was held on Feb. 2
Remember a few years ago, when the major complaint about the area was that there was nothing to do? Well, since 2016, weâve added an Urban Air Adventure Park in Tampa Palms, and in Wesley Chapel we now have the Advent Health Center Ice facility, the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County, an indoor recreation center and outdoor roller hockey rink at the Wesley Chapel District Park and the Main Event bowling alley and game center on S.R. 56.
As if thatâs not enough, in 2022, Tiger Woods PopStroke Entertainment, a mini-golf and restaurant concept the golf superstar owns with entrepreneur Greg Bartoli, is coming to Wesley Chapelâs Cypress Creek Town Center on the north side of S.R. 56.
The project officially broke ground on Feb. 2 and should be ready by the beginning of summer, if not sooner.
Builders describe the place as an âexperiential golf and casual dining concept merging a dynamic, technologically advanced competitive golf environment with food and beverages.â
Sign us up!
And while weâre at it, please also reserve us a spot at the new Grove Mini-Golf, which is expected to open in March. While PopStroke skips all the bells and whistles associated with a traditional mini-golf course, Grove Mini-Golf is leaning into them with plenty of holes requiring tricky shots â one hole you shoot over a river, another into a river (youâll see), and thereâs even a figure-8 hole and lots of hills and rocks to accentuate a rich, tropical oasis experience.
And, nighttime neon lighting and fire will give it a fun, festive feel. All of the holes will be illuminated with neon lights and glow-in-the-dark flags and balls. Very cool!
5. Diverging Diamond Interchange
If navigating castles, rocks and water on a mini-golf course doesnât get you excited, how about navigating the soon-to-be-completed (no, weâre not kidding) Diverging Diamond Interchange at the S.R. 56 and I-75 intersection?
Weâre not sure if it will be easier figuring out the DDI or, say, shooting par, but the folks building it promise the new intersection is less confusing than it looks.
That would be great for those who want to venture out to that area but donât because, well, ugh…that traffic. But, the DDI is supposed to eliminate all those conflict points and make for a safer interchange, using free flowing lanes â sometimes taking you to the other side of the road (relax, itâll be fun!).
Just to be safe, though, weâd suggest hitting up YouTube to watch a few videos.
And…While these are our top 5, they arenât the only cool things happening in our area in 2022, like the completion of the S.R. 54 widening project, Wesley Chapelâs second lagoon at Mirada âwhich, at 15 acres, is twice as large as the one in Epperson â new restaurants like The Living Room, and we might even see a few surprises. (Weâre looking at you, empty Best Buy building on BBD).
The New Tampa Performing Arts Center has gone vertical and Hillsborough County could choose someone to manage it as soon as March. The NTPAC is expected to open in fall 2022. (Photo: Charmaine George)
The New Tampa Performing Arts Center (NTPAC) has finally gone vertical, and one of the final questions remaining before it opens sometime in the fall of 2022 is who will run the facility.
Ken Hagan, the Hillsborough County Commissioner for District 2, which includes New Tampa, said that decision could come by March 2022, now that the deadline for interested parties to respond to the countyâs request for proposals (RFP) has passed.
The RFP was issued on Nov. 10 and expired Dec. 3, or after we went to press with this issue. The county is looking a performing arts resident company to manage all aspects of the NTPAC for 10 years, with renewal options for another 10 years, subject to annual satisfactory performance evaluations.
One of the groups that was expected to bid to manage the 20,000-sq.-ft. center is Florida Cultural Group, which was originally selected by the county staff. But, during a vote about the PACâs funding in May, four commissioners â Mariella Smith, Kimberly Overman, Gwen Myers and Harry Cohen â voiced concerns about the organization, primarily because of its location in Manatee County.
Coomissioner Smith and Kemp, who were the dissenters in a 5-2 vote to approve the funding for the PAC, wanted a local group to run it. They also questioned the $1.4 million in county subsidies over the next four years requested by Florida Cultural Group.
The commissioners then unanimously voted to open up the facilityâs management with an RFP.
Both commissioners specifically mentioned the New Tampa Players (NTP), a 20-year-old organization that was started by residents of Hunterâs Green and Tampa Palms. A large part of the effort to build the NTPAC, which is under construction off Bruce B. Downs Blvd. across from the entrance to the Hunterâs Green development, was to deliver a home for the NTP, which has staged performances at numerous locations, but none the group could call its own.
âThe NTP are the driving force behind my championing the New Tampa Performing Arts Center,â Hagan says. âThey are the reason. It will be their home and they are an essential partner in this being a successful and sustainable facility for generations to come.â
But, will NTPalso get to manage it? While producing artistic director Nora Paine declined comment, it is believed that NTP planned to submit a proposal. The troupe has held meetings with those involved in New Tampaâs performing arts scene in order to bolster its standing by forming a larger local and more inclusive group that includes dance and ballet.
Paine did say that NTP has not been involved in many large fund-raising campaigns. That is likely to be a major requirement for any organization that is selected to manage the new center.
About The Florida Cultural Group
Formerly known as The Manatee Players, Inc., which was created in 1947, the Florida Cultural Group is an umbrella organization that operates the Manatee Performing Arts Center and the Manatee Players community theater. It has a long track record marked by successful fundraising.
âWhen this issue came in front of us before, our staff was very enthusiastic about that group because of their fundraising track record,â Comm. Hagan said. âItâs paramount that we have local representation driving this partnership, but I donât think you can ignore the importance of fundraising throughout this process.â
Hagan says he will let the county staff make the determination as to who should manage the NTPAC, but no matter who is selected, he would like to see a Board formed, and âitâs critically important that thereâs a majority of New Tampa representation on that Board.â
Hillsborough County Dist. 2 Commissioner Ken Hagan called it a âgreat day in New Tampaâ as he joined New Tampa Players president Nora Paine, Dist. 3 Commissioner Gwen Myers and deputy county administrator Greg Horwedel at the groundbreaking of the New Tampa Performing Arts Center on July 8. (Photos: Charmaine George)
Rendering of the New Tampa Performing Arts Center (above).
Nearly 20 years to the day that the idea of a New Tampa cultural center was hatched by a nine-member volunteer committee comprised mostly of Hunterâs Green residents, the projectâs very long and very winding road finally has come to an end, ironically, right across Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. from the entrance to Hunterâs Green.
Ground was officially broken July 8 on what is now called the New Tampa Performing Arts Center (PAC) behind the new Village at Hunterâs Lake retail center.
Hillsborough County Commmissioners Ken Hagan (District 2) and Gwen Myers (District 3), New Tampa Players president Nora Paine and deputy county administrator Greg Horwedel used gold shovels to sling a few piles of mud (thanks, Elsa!) to officially kick off the construction of the PAC.
âWhat a great day it is here in New Tampa,â Hagan told a crowd of about 60. âElsa passed, last night the Tampa Bay Lightning secured their place in history with back-to-back championships and today, weâre breaking ground on this long-awaited and much-needed facility.â
The 20,000-sq.-ft. PAC was designed by Fleischman Garcia Architects. It is expandable to 30,000-sq. ft. with the addition of a second floor, which would require additional funding down the road.
The PAC features a 350-seat theater and four other rooms that can be used by the community for a variety of purposes, as well as a state-of-the-art lobby.
After years of complications and reboots, the County Commission, with opposition from District 5 commissioner Mariella Smith and District 6 commissioner Pat Kemp, voted 5-2 to approve a $7.3-million construction contract to Dunedin-based Bandes Construction.
While Hagan was the driving force to get the project to the end of the road, he thanked previous commissioner and Hunterâs Green resident Victor Crist for his years diligently shepherding the project, and current District 7 Tampa City Council member Luis Viera, who rallied the city to contribute to the operating costs when the project appeared to be hitting another snag in April of this year.
The original idea behind the New Tampa cultural center was to find a home for local acting troupes like the New Tampa Players (NTP), which has had a gypsy-like existence. The group staged their first production, âTheyâre Playing Our Song,â at Tampa Palms Golf & Country Club in September and at Hunterâs Green Club in October of 2022.
It was former NTP leader Doug Wallâs dream to see the PAC become the troupeâs primary home.
Wall passed away in 2017 after a bout with cancer.
âThis means a ton to us,â said Paine, holding back tears. âItâs been a long time coming. Heâs not here but he really should be. I know heâs here with us in spirit, though.â
Construction of the New Tampa Performing Arts Center could begin on this barren lot in the next few months. (Photo: Charmaine George)
The New Tampa Players (NTP), a local acting troupe looking for a permanent home, recently finished a run of shows with a cast of just a handful of performers in a 2,000-sq.-ft. black box theater at the old University Mall.
Itâs not exactly what the group may have envisioned when it started nearly 20 years ago with the hope of a cultural center they could call home in the heart of New Tampa, but now, they can see a spotlight at the end of the tunnel.
Thanks in part to a public outpouring of support from many NTP and New Tampa community members, the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners voted 5-2 to approve a $7.3-million construction contract to build the long-awaited New Tampa Performing Arts Center (NTPAC).
âWe werenât 100 percent it would go through, but we are super happy it did,â said Nora Paine, a long-time member and current president of the NTP.
The vote is the biggest step yet for the project, which dates back to 2001, and was initially approved in 2014. Commissioner Ken Hagan, whose District 2 includes New Tampa, says a groundbreaking for the state-of-the-art, 20,000-sq.-ft. (expandable to 30,000 square feet) NTPAC should be scheduled in the next month or two.
Hagan would like to see the project, which is located in the Village at Hunterâs Lake development across Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. from the entrance to the Hunterâs Green community, completed by September of 2022.
âIâm ecstatic over the results,â Hagan says. âGood things come to those who wait. It only took 17 years, but we finally got over the finish line. The end result is that next year, New Tampa is going to have a first-class facility thatâs going to be a wonderful centerpiece for the entire community to enjoy.â
Ken Hagan
Hagan told the Neighborhood News that the construction contract has been awarded to Dunedin-based Bandes Construction, but that the Request for Proposals to operate the PAC hasnât yet happened.Â
Hagan told the Board he had received more than 140 emails in support of the NTPAC project. The handful of emails Hagan said he received in opposition to building it primarily dealt with traffic concerns.
Prior to the vote, more than a dozen speakers, including many NTP members, asked the commissioners to keep the PAC dream alive.
âA lot of us had concerns of (the project just being) small stores and another apartment complex,â said Hunterâs Green resident Rob Larsen. âWell, to our surprise, the Performing Arts Center was going to be the heart of this new center. And without it, it basically dies.â
District 63 State Rep. Fentrice Driskell sent an email of support, and Tampa City Council member Luis Viera, who represents New (and North) Tampa in District 7, weighed in as well, promising a commitment from the city to help pay some of the PACâs operating costs.
Joining Hagan in voting to award the construction contract were commissioners Harry Cohen, Stacy White, Kimberly Overman and Gwen Myers.
They all cited the promises made to New Tampa residents over the years and, as Hagan pointed out, the money to build the PAC was approved back in 2019 and has been waiting to be spent.
âPromises made, promises kept,â said Comm. Myers. âI hope no other community would go through 17 years waiting on a decision from our county.â
The New Tampa Players, performing “Little Mermaid”, may soon have a permanent home to put on its productions. (Photo: James Cass of Picture This of Palma Ceia)
Commissioners Mariella Smith and BCC chair Pat Kemp voted against awarding the construction contract.
Smith said she didnât believe the rights to operate the PAC once it was built should be awarded to the Manatee County-based Florida Cultural Group (FCG).
Kemp was critical of the PACâs location. She said it was a âlittle teeny place carved out of a massive parking lotâ and jammed between a strip mall and an apartment complex, both which financially benefited the developers and left the PACâs actual location as an afterthought.
âIt would just be a boondoggle for me to put an iconic building that you put up a lot of money for behind a strip mall and in front of a four-story apartment building,â Kemp said.
Following the construction vote, the commissioners addressed the concerns about FCG by voting unanimously for a Request for Proposals (RFP) to reopen the bidding process in order to find a group to handle the PAC operations.
Hagan says the county staff felt that FCG was the best organization to run the facility to get it to a net-zero operation, and that its extensive experience at fund raising and luring national acts would be an ideal fit.
âUnless thereâs another organization that weâre unaware of, our staff feels that at the end, after going through the RFP, it will likely be FCG again,â Hagan says. âWhoever it is, I just want them to be able to be effective and able to fund raise and bring in national acts.â
Hagan said he also will champion the creation of an additional local board, comprised of New Tampa residents, to support the facility and help with any other issues.
For more information about the New Tampa Players, visit NewTampaPlayers.org. The troupeâs latest project, âMotherhood Out Loud.â runs June 11-12 at 7:30 p.m., June 13 at 3 p.m., June 18-19 at 7:30 p.m. and June 20 at 3 p.m. at the Uptown Stage at the University Mall (2200 E. Fowler Ave.).
