As previously announced, the last remaining New Tampa Winn-Dixie supermarket, located at 6425 County Line Rd. (in the same plaza as LA Fitness), closed on Dec. 8 and is in the process of being converted to the New Tampa/Wesley Chapel areaโs third ALDI grocery store.
At our press time, we didnโt know how long it would take for the new ALDI to open, but this Germany-based international brand already has nearly 2,500 U.S. supermarkets and more than 200 stores in Florida, including at 18002 Highwoods Preserve Pkwy. in New Tampa and at 2215 Sun Vista Dr. in Lutz (in front of Costco).
Sindbad To Replace Bang-Bang!
Although the tasty Bang-Bang! Bowls store in the Pebble Creek Collection (at 19651 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., Suite C-2) lasted less than a year, coming soon (maybe even by the time youโre reading this) to that location is the second Sindbad Tampa restaurant, which features smoothies, juices, crepes, desserts, cakes and ice cream.
The original Sindbad location is at 10933 N. 56th St., Temple Terrace, and even though the shop has a Middle Eastern-sounding name (Sindbad the Sailor is a fictional character from Baghdad), the sign now posted in the Pebble Creek location would seem toย indicate a more Mexican-inspired menu. Among the items listed on that sign include Elote (Mexican street corn), Mangonada (a Mexican frozen beverage), Aguas Frescas (Mexican fresh fruit juice smoothies), Frutas con Nieve (water-based Mexican ice cream) and more Latin fare. However, the New Tampa Sindbad, like its Temple Terrace counterpart, also will feature some delicious-looking Sindbad Waffles (right) with fresh strawberries, blueberries and Nutella and you can even add ice cream.ย
Until the New Tampa location opens, visit or call the Temple Terrace Sindbad at (813) 443-9692 & please tell them I sent you! โ GN
The team of doctors at AllergyTampa, which has a location on Bruce B. Downs Blvd., includes Dr. Richard Lockey (above), Dr. Seong Cho (below right), Dr. Mark Glaum (below left) & Dr. Amber Pepper (Bottom right) & Dr. Emily Dzoba (bottom left).ย
When it comes to AllergyTampa, located on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. near E. Fletcher Ave., caring for individuals with allergies and immunological diseases goes beyond the walls of the office. Doctors Richard Lockey, Seong Cho, Mark Glaum, Amber Pepper and newest addition Dr. Emily Dzoba not only provide quality care for thousands of patients, they also participate in ground-breaking research and train students and medical professionals in the specialty.
A founding faculty member of the University of South Florida (USF) Morsani College of Medicine, Dr. Richard Lockey helped start USFโs Division of Allergy & Immunology in 1973, along with founding director Dr. Samuel Bukantz. More than 50 years later, USFโs Division of Allergy & Immunology has been recognized as a World Allergy Organization โCenter of Excellence.โ
Dr. Lockey earned his Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree from the Temple University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, PA, before becoming a Professor of Medicine at USF. He is a past president of the World Allergy Organization and the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI).
Dr. Lockey first established his private practice in 1984 as โAcademic Associates in Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.โ At that time, Dr. Lockey humbly wondered if he would even have enough patients. Within just five years, he was already getting referrals for severe asthmatics. Now, 40 years later, AllergyTampaโs flagship practice is thriving and there is a second location in South Tampa, and Dr. Lockey is still actively involved, seeing patients two days a week in addition to his teaching and research at USF.
Despite his 50+ years of experience, Dr. Lockey appears to be in no rush to retire. His love of the work is evident โ and not surprising โ since his interest in allergy and immunology was sparked at a young age. Going on rounds with his father, a family physician who later specialized in allergy and immunology, Dr. Lockey says he was greatly impacted by what he witnessed โ especially people who were struggling to breathe deeply.
Then, after doing a research paper on asthma in medical school, it became clear to him that allergy & immunology was the specialty in which he wanted to make his mark. Dr. Lockey, and his colleagues at AllergyTampa, continue to be at the forefront of quality patient care that benefits from clinical research, Board-certified expertise and a desire to improve the quality of life for those suffering from allergies and immunological diseases.
โThe advances in immunology have totally revolutionized our care,โ Dr. Lockey says. โThe treatment of allergic and immunological diseases, in my lifetime, has changed exponentially. People no longer die from diseases they used to die from.โ
Dr. Seong Cho
Participating in those advances enables the doctors at AllergyTampa to provide informed, expert care for their patients.
Dr. Lockeyโs colleague, Dr. Seong Cho, shares his optimism about where medical science is heading. An otolaryngologist, or ear, nose & throat (ENT) specialist, Dr. Cho earned his M.D. degree from Kyung Hee University School of Medicine in Seoul, South Korea. He honed his allergy and immunology expertise at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, IL, before joining AllergyTampa.
Dr. Cho describes how research of biologics (a class of drugs that can be used to treat a variety of allergic conditions, including asthma, eczema and food allergies) is expanding. Biologics are now being used to help with other conditions and are altering approaches to treatment altogether. As an ENT, Dr. Cho has seen first-hand how these advances have major impacts โ for example, for patients who have nasal polyps, which are non-cancerous growths inside the nose or sinuses that can last for several months and are more common with allergies, asthma and frequent infections. While small nasal polyps may not cause symptoms, larger ones can cause discomfort and complications that need to be addressed.
โIn the past, nasal polyps and chronic sinusitis were surgical diseases,โ Dr. Cho says. โBut now, because of those medications, you donโt need to have repeated surgeries. We figure out [which] molecule causes the problem and target it.โ That precision means fewer side effects for patients and, as their use continues, injections may have the potential to treat a variety of other conditions. That marriage of research and patient care by the doctors at AllergyTampa has led to other life-changing treatments.
Dr. Mark Glaum
Dr. Mark Glaum describes how clinical research changed the landscape of how hereditary angioedema (HAE) is treated. HAE is an immune reaction which can be triggered by any number of potentially everyday occurrences, from anxiety and stress to colds and even minor injuries like a scratch. It can cause swelling of the face, intestinal tract and airway and, depending upon the location and severity, also can cause disfigurement or even potentially be life-threatening. HAE previously was only treated with supportive care, but that too has evolved, thanks to the clinical research involved in creating products that are now on the market.
Dr. Glaum describes how these new medications helped a specific patient that had been extremely limited by her HAE.
โShe had never gone on a cruise, or a vacation outside of a metropolitan area, because she was afraid that she would have an attack and need treatment,โ Dr. Glaum shares. โBut, now that she is controlled, with no flare-ups or swelling on the medication, she is free to go and enjoy life and vacations outside of the city.โ
Dr. Glaum earned his M.D. degree from Hahnemann University School of Medicine (now Drexel University College of Medicine) in Philadelphia, and completed an allergy and clinical immunology fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital, also in Philadelphia. He says that when he came out of his training, there was only supportive care for hereditary angioedema.
Quality Of Life Improvements
Dr. Amber Pepper
Helping people with allergies and immunological diseases improve their overall quality of life is a priority for all of the doctors at AllergyTampa. Dr. Amber Pepper says she was inspired to focus on the specialty in medical school, after meeting her husband, who has allergies and asthma, and seeing how those conditions affected him. That personal connection, along with the opportunity to shadow Dr. Dennis Ledford (who retired from this same practice), whom she calls an amazing mentor, at USF, made it an obvious choice. Dr. Pepper went on to earn her M.D. degree from USF in 2013 and completed her internal medicine residency and allergy & immunology fellowship at USF in 2016.
Dr. Pepper emphasizes the importance of identifying food allergies, which she says are distinct from food sensitivities and intolerances.
โThe thing about food allergies, that is really important, is that if you are truly allergic, you can potentially have anaphylaxis (a severe allergic reaction that can cause patients to go into shock if not treated immediately), which can be life threatening,โ she says, adding that, โthere are now certain types of immunotherapies that we can do to try to increase the threshold of food allergies.โ
Dr. Emily Dzoba
For people who suffer from certain environmental allergies, Florida can be especially challenging according to Dr. Emily Dzoba, the newest member of the AllergyTampa team. Dr. Dzoba earned her M.D. degree from the University of Florida in Gainesville in 2019 and completed her internal medicine residency there in 2022. In June of this year, she completed her allergy & immunology fellowship at USF and came to AllergyTampa in October.ย
โWhatโs pretty unique here in Florida is the pollen season,โ Dr. Dzoba says. โIt lasts all the way from January to May because of the climate.โ
Keeping track of area pollen levels is key for these reasons and the pollen-counting station at USF, which is run by Dr. Glaum, is there to help the wider Tampa Bay community.
โWe do counts of pollens that are in the air at any given point and time, on a weekly basis, and report it to the National Allergy Bureau,โ Dr. Glaum explains. โIt helps our patients keep track of whatโs in the air that they might be sensitive to, and gives them a heads-up.โ
One thing that Dr. Glaum says makes AllergyTampa โ where all of the doctors are Board-certified (Dr. Dzobaโs Board certification is pending) and members of AAAAI โ unique is that, โWe try to make sure when you come in you see a physician, each time. You donโt see a PA or nurse practitioner. We pride ourselves on taking care of patients like they were our family members.โ
AllergyTampa has offices at 13801 BBD Blvd., Suite 502, and in South Tampa at 1906 W. Platt St. For more information or to schedule an appointment, visit AllergyTampa.com or call (813) 971-9743.ย
These renderings of the planned Peak Surf Park on the north side of S.R. 56 near U.S. Hwy. 301, in the Zephyrhills portion of the massive Two Rivers development, show (below left) the entrance to the park, with the central wave device or โplungerโ visible behind it and (above) a surfer riding the curl. (Photos and Renderings provided by Tony Miller)ย
Even though he grew up in Tampa, Peak Surf Park developer and businessman Tony Miller says he and his friends spent a lot of time driving to Floridaโs east coast to catch whatever waves were available.
โSometimes, we did a lot more paddling than surfing,โ Tony says, โwhich was kind of disappointing after driving all that way.โ
But today, at age 57, the still-surfing former owner of SPARK, a marketing and advertising agency in Tampa that had Visit Florida and Visit Tampa Bay as two of its largest clients, says his plan is that, โanyone who wants to surf, whether they just want to learn how or are already experts, to be able to do so, with waves that will always be perfect for them. Thatโs why Iโm bringing Peak Surf Park to Pasco County,โ which of course, also is known as โFloridaโs Sports Coast.โ
Tony says he has been studying all of the different โsurf lagoonโ technologies available and chose Australia-based Surf Lakes, which he says, โhas the highest-capacity surf lagoons, with 200 surfers per hour.โ He adds that some of Surf Lakesโ competitors can only accommodate nine surfers per hour.
โThis technology sends out a wave in each direction,โ he says. โBecause itโs a full 360ยบ lagoon, with a central wave device (CWD) or โplungerโ in the middle, it sends a pulse out and itโs like dropping a rock in a pond โ it ripples out in concentric waves. The bottom shapes the waves and we shape the bottom so you have a north wave, south wave, east wave and west wave and each one of those can be a beginner, intermediate, advanced or expert wave โ and thatโs our game plan, to have those different skill sets, so all levels can have a wave that they can ride at the same time. Itโs 30 seconds of the machine pumping up and down and creating the waves. and then the lagoon settles for a minute, when it gets kind of calm again.โ
But, speaking of lagoons, Tony says Peak Surf Park will be nothing like the Crystal Lagoonsยฎ at Epperson and Mirada, which are basically just huge swimming pools.
โThis is a much more active, fun place to be,โ he says. โYes, we will also have about a half-mile of pristine beach area, great food andย beverage options and live music for those who will never even think about getting in the surf lagoon to still have a great day, but this is truly an action-adventure park.โย
He adds that his experience working with Visit Florida and Visit Tampa Bay has taught him a lot about โcustomer experienceโ and he knows that Peak Surf Park will provide a unique experience with something for everyone.
โWe believe thousands of people will come to Pasco County from all over for the chance to surf hours away from the nearest ocean โ without sharks, jellyfish or bad surf conditions. There are maybe 60,000 surfers currently in Florida, but we believe we will create thousands more from the millions of people living in West Central Florida (which is his protected territory with Surf Lakes), as well as from the millions more visiting this area. I canโt wait for it to open.โ
Securing The Land
(above) Peak Surf Park developer Tony Miller today (below left) and in his teens, posing with the first surfboard he ever owned.
Tony says that the hardest part, at least so far, of bringing Peak Surf Park to our area was the large amount of land he needed.
โI was looking for at least 30 acres for almost two years,โ he says, โand I was talking to the developers at Two Rivers for more than a year before things got serious. Yes, they have 6,000 acres, but they also have eight home builders and every type of commercial, condo and apartment developer all wanting some of it, so I wasnโt too high on their priority list. I personally drove toย at least 87 potential sites all over the area and checked out at least 100 more online before coming to an agreement for this property.โย
That search began after Tony commissioned an economic impact study by Hotel & Leisure Advisors in 2022, which indicated that Peak would generate more than $1.3 billion in annual business output and 700 jobs per year, with tax revenue for the county he chose to be in nearly $150 million over ten years. He eventually was able to secure the 35 acres in Two Rivers, so the process of creating the park could begin. Tony also has launched a crowd-funding campaign that accredited investors can take advantage of to fund pre-construction and plans to launch a secondary campaign for retail investors.
He says that although there currently arenโt any surf lagoons anywhere in Florida, he knows a few will be coming online soon and notes that there are four different surf park technologies out there.
โThere will be a bunch more lagoons coming to the U.S. over the next two years,โ he says. โThe entire surf park industry is in its infancy (no more than 5-6 years old), but, a lot more of these surf parks will be going public with announcements. I went public with my announcement earlier than most will. Because I havenโt been a developer, I do things a little bit differently than most developers โ and I believe thatโs a good thing. I think Iโm getting a lot more positive than I am negative out of it, but most developers are pretty close to the vest when it comes to their projects. They donโt really announce anything until theyโre ready to break ground.โ
He likens surf parks today to where the skiing industry was in the 1930s, โwhen a few adventurous people would actually climb mountains to ski down them. The advent of chair lifts then opened up access to everyone, and the industry just boomed โ to the point where, today, there are 462 ski areas in the U.S. But, you can really only ski at any of them for six months a year, at most, whenever thereโs snow on the mountain. With all that being said, this type of surfing is way easier on your body because youโre popping up & riding for 15 seconds at a time. Itโs not like bouncing down a mountain. And, here in Florida, you will pretty much be able to surf at Peak all year โround.โ
What About The Water?
Tony is definitely prepared to answer most of the questions about where the millions of gallons of water for Peak Surf Park will come from.
โThe initial fill will likely be municipal water,โ he says, โbut from there, we will do a lot to capture rain water to minimize any additional water needs we might have. Sustainability and conservation have always been a big component of the surf world and certainly people going to surf parks are going to be very conscientious about that.โ
A rendering of the planned deck overlooking the Peak Surf Park lagoon and โplunger.โ
He adds, โWe looked at various solutions where we can actually take stormwater thatโs just held in retention areas and Iโve talked to Swiftmud (the Southwest Florida Water Management District) about being able to take some of that water to flow it through our multi-million-dollar water filtration system to use as a replenishment source. They said that although they wouldnโt normally do that, after they reviewed our proposal, they said, โYes, this is something we would consider permitting.โ I donโt have a specific answer yet in terms of ongoing water but there is going to be a lot of effort to control how much water we will need after that initial fill.โ
He adds, โI would tell people this โ our surf lagoon is projected to use the same amount of water to fill it and, on an annual basis, if we re-filled it every year, as about three holes of golf.โ
Tony also says that, โPeople see a big lagoon and say, โLook at all that wasted water,โ but what they donโt think about is that an 18-hole golf course (and there will be one on the Hillsborough side of Two Rivers) uses about 4-5 times the amount of water, which gets sprinkled over fertilized dirt and runs into the water system, which is far worse environmentally. But, when you see a large lagoon itโs so much more obvious how much water there is, so itโs an education process that these lagoons are much more water-conscious and sustainable.โ
Tony says he plans to open Peak by the end of 2027. He believes it will take about a year for him to receive all of the entitlements he needs to break ground and 18-24 months for construction, with about six months built in for unforeseen delays.
For more info, visit PeakSurfPark.com, or connect with Peak on Facebook & Instagram.ย
Tampa Palms resident Scott Strunk (left) & his friend & partner Jorge Arroyo started Good 5 Golf to sell quality golf apparel to the average golfer.ย (All photos provided by Scott Strunk)ย
When I was a much younger man, I used to play some golf, but considering that my goal was to someday play bogey golf (one shot above par on every hole, or a score of 90 on a par-72 course), I clearly wasnโt very good. As my sons reached the age where they chose to play pretty much every team sport, even when I wasnโt one of the coaches, it still fell on me to drive them to and from every practice and most every game. Golf was the one thing in my life at the time that I felt comfortable giving up, because of how long it takes to play an entire round, much less practice or take enough lessons to improve.
When Tampa Palms resident Scott Strunk started advertising his company Good 5 Golf with us, it wasnโt 100% clear to me whether he was selling golf apparel or lessons or both or what the significance of โGood 5โ was โ at least until I read his explanation on Good5Golf.com.ย
For those of you who love to play the worldโs most humbling game, you may already be that bogey golfer I aspired to be, which likely means youโre hoping to play scratch golf someday.
If so, Iโm sure youโve experienced that feeling when you couldโve easily hit a double bogey, but you either hit a nice shot from out of the woods or sunk a long putt that allowed you to still hit a 5 on a hard par four and someone said to you, โGood 5.โ (Or, for me, โGreat 5.โ)
Good 5 has matching T-shirts for every cap color.
Well, Scott says that was the motivation for calling the LLC he founded with his childhood friend from rural New Jersey, Jorge Arroyo, in September of this year.
โI had just gotten a bogey on a par 4 and my friend said to me, โHey, Good 5,โ and that was it for me,โ Scott says. โI said, โIโm going to start a golf brand called Good 5.โโ
The companyโs motto on his ad, is โGood 5 is for the golfer who accepts bogey with grace, style and comfort. Itโs better than a double. Itโs a Good 5.โ
Nearly three short months later, Good 5 is the locally owned company that sells top-quality golf caps in a variety of styles โ from the super-popular โrope caps,โ with the rope crossing the top of the brim, to trucker-style and peached cotton twill caps, all embroidered here in Tampa with the unique Good 5 logo. The company also sells heavyweight golf T-shirts in all of the same colors as the hats, so you can mix and match them all.
โWe will be adding golf polo shirts, in both menโs and womenโs styles, in the future,โ Scott says, โbut right now, weโre just focusing on hats and T-shirts.โ
He adds that what he doesnโt want is to put his logo on โsome cheap polo shirts that fall apart after two washings. This brand is about quality, and weโre still looking for the right polo shirts at the right price.โ He also says he also plans to put the logo on ball markers and maybe even golf tees and golf balls in the future, โif things go well.โ
Scott notes, however, that Good 5 probably wonโt be getting into adding golf shorts or pants anytime soon, โbecause there are just too many sizes, fits and styles to deal with.โ
He also says that sales are going pretty well, but he started advertising Good 5 in these pages because, โI purchased quite a bit of inventory (from Oregon-based Richardson Sports), โmost of which is taking up most of the space in my office. In order to get hats of this quality at a reasonable price, you have to buy quite a few at a time. Letโs just say that my credit cards are all pretty much maxed out.โ
Fortunately for Scott, whose background is in computer sales and who still has his โday jobโ with a company that sells high-end gaming computers, โUnlike computers, shirts and caps kept in plastic wonโt go bad in six months or a year or become what I call โaged bananas.โ Itโs better to have too many than to run out of stock. We have a lot of friends whoโve bought them and everyone so far loves them.โ
โI Really Want To Do Thisโ
Scottโs daughter Ashley, who handles the companyโs social media, sports a Good 5 rope cap.ย
Scott says that when he first told Jorge, who still lives in New Jersey, that he was planning to start a golf apparel company, Jorge said, โYou do realize thatโs a really competitive business, right?โ
Scott countered, โI know, but Iโm at the age now where I donโt just want to think about doingย things in the future, I want to actually do them. I really want to do this and I really want it to do well. But, if it ends up not making money, I guess thatโs OK, too.โย
So, Jorge, who had sold a company and was always interested in a good idea, agreed to partner with his long-time friend. They purchased the domain name โGood5Golf.comโ and Scott says they realized, โWe need a really cool-looking logo โ which I think we have. โ and the right brand with the right marketing. I worked with a local company that I know from Tampa Palms Golf & Country Club to (he has lived in Tampa Palms since 2019) help me source some of the hats and T-shirts and I created the website. So, weโre going full steam ahead with this Good 5 Golf brand.โ
Scott then enlisted his 25-year-old daughter Ashley โ who was on the golf team at her high school in Boca Raton and then at Eckerd College โ to handle social media for the business and Good 5 Golf was born.
He notes that, โThe reason the logo only says โGood 5โ and not โGood 5 Golfโ is because I really want this to become a โlifestyle brand,โ not just a golf brand. Good 5 can be about anything.โ
A Military Tie-In?
Scott says that his father enlisted in the Navy and served as an intelligence officer in the Vietnam War. โI was born in Key West because my dad was stationed there,โ he says.
In addition, George Miragliuolo, another one of Scott & Jorgeโs friends from their K-12 school (which had only 23 kids in their graduating class), did multiple tours of combat duty in the military, so he hopes to someday have an opportunity to partner up with a charity that provides service to military veterans.
โWeโre trying to figure out how we can honor veterans in general,โ Scott says, โand we want to tie in with one of the great veteransโ charities going on out there. But we havenโt figured out how to do that yet.โ
For more info about Good 5 Golf, visit Good5Golf.com. You also can follow the brand on Facebook and Instagram @Good5Golf. And, if you use the code โNewTampaโ from the ad below, youโll save 25% off your purchase. So remember, โItโs better than a double. Itโs a Good 5.โย
The Townes at Cross Creek townhomes by Lennar Homes (on Cross Creek Blvd., across from the main entrance to Heritage Isles) offer a more affordable alternative then most single-family homes in the New Tampa area. (Photo by Joel Provenzano)ย
A little over a year ago, in our Sept. 23 New Tampa issue, we told you about an upcoming townhome community that Lennar was getting ready to build, called the Townes at Cross Creek.
The unique thing about this development is the fact that it is new residential construction, in the heart of what was otherwise an entirely built out and established Cross Creek Blvd. corridor, something that hadnโt been seen in years.
For the past couple of years, townhomes have been extremely popular with buyers โ especially with rising real estate prices โas a mostly less-expensive option to traditional single family-homes, while still offering the living space, garages and floorplan options buyers desire, just with less land.
And, thatโs been great for Lennar, as the construction giant has been actively building a large portion of the new townhome market around the Tampa Bay area, typically at the lowest price point compared with their competitors, with DR Horton being Lennarโs closest rival.
Keeping Pace
According to sales rep Carlos Torres and construction manager Fernando Ospina, the Townes have been going absolutely gangbusters since they began being built in June of this year. And, thatโs without even having an onsite sales office open yet!
The Townes at Cross Creek are divided into two phases. Although there is no โPhase Aโ or โPhase Cโ (and we have no idea why), โPhase Bโ consists of 60 units (located directly across the street from the entrance to the Heritage Isles community); and โPhase D,โ consists of 35 units further to the east, being built almost simultaneously together, but oddly about a half mile from each other on two completely separate parcels of land.
As of Nov 25, 27 of the 60 units in Phase B were already, according to Lennarโs website, and the Lennar team told us a few more were working towards closing, including the โmodel,โ where the garage space was actively being built into the on-site sales office for the development (but it was not yet open as of our press time).
We were told that the buyer for the model was itching to close because, when the model sells while still being used as a model, the builder will do a lease-back to the buyer, effectively paying the buyer rent until Lennar is done using it and will then convert the sales office back into a two-car garage.
When Ospina, was asked why the on-site sales office wasnโt finished yet, he explained that,ย โIt took longer than expected to get the needed permit, but it was received Nov. 16,โ where they promptly started the build-out, and are now close to adding furniture. He chuckled and said the delay was due to, โThe City of Tampa, you know, being the City of Tampa,โ eluding to the always- arduous permitting process.ย
Other than that, he said construction had been going really well, with the number of days for each townhome building completion (under his purview) being only about 129 days, a full month faster than the average for his company.
โEven though weโve been doing great, we could ideally use another construction manager to help keep pace,โ Ospina said as he flipped through the multi-page checklist he had in his hands, detailing inspection item after inspection item, everything that needed to be perfect before a unit could be finished.
Details & Pricing
The day we showed up to look at the community, three other groups of people also pulled up (one of whom had an appointment), but Torres was able to effectively split up his time, making sure everyoneโs questions were answered.
Torres said that theyโve been so busy that they wondered if they would really even need to open the on-site sales office at all. Heโs been driving out and meeting people with appointments on-site, and currently any customers who want to sit down and discuss numbers or go over paperwork have met him at Lennarโs Two Rivers office in Zephyrhills, about 10 minutes away, at: 35027 Brackett Bend Rd.
Ospina said that most of the buildings will be done over the next five months, with occupancy for Phase D being ready in March, April, and May. The very last building on the project schedule is actually a 6-unit building across from the future on-site sales office in Phase B, to be ready for occupancy before the fall of next year.
As construction progresses, units are only being released for sale in very small handfuls. Lennarโs online transparency makes seeing the inventory quick and straightforward. The website for the community actually shows which units have sold, which are currently for sale (with exact current prices) and which ones are upcoming on an interactive map, along with the floorplans.
All three floorplans feature 3 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms with usable covered patios that can easily be screened. All units also have large kitchen islands (above), as well as a second-story loft, which even the in the small plan was still a usable size and layout. Here are the three units at the Townes:
Allegiance – 1,597 sq. ft., with a 1-car garage; being offered at $319,990
Constitution – 1,760 sq. ft., 1-car garage; being offered at $339,900
Declaration- 1,807 sq. ft., 2 car garage; being offered at $364,900 (this is the model and the end units on each building)
These were the advertised online prices at the time of writing the article and are subject to change), but Torres said that additional discounts may be offered at various times, and the prices for the Declaration plan may go all the way up to around $410,000, depending upon the lot.
The prices seem very competitive to whats being offered in other Lennar communities, especially considering these are being built in the desirable and geographically well-positioned New Tampa. Prices are even similar to what was being sold by Lennar up in Connerton, a community on the north end of Land Oโ Lakes, but these New Tampa units do come with some drawbacks.
The $384 monthly homeowner association (HOA) fee is definitely on the high side, especially considering that this community has no amenities. Torres also says that no utilities are included in the HOA fee, but that it does cover outside maintenance and insurance. The units at the Townes also have tiny backyards โ noticeably smaller than other recent townhome communities weโve toured.
Torres asked that anyone interested in seeing the community should make an appointment, and check to see if the on-site sales office has been opened yet. The phone number is (888) 211-6153. Carlo Torres also can be reached by email at carlo.torres@lennar.com.
