News Briefs — BayCare Seeking YMCA Approval, Home Sense Opens & Subaru Celebrates 

BayCare Health’s proposed YMCA (two black outlines at center left) and medical office building (top rectangle close to BBD).

As reported by Kelly Gilroy on her outstanding “Pasco County Development and Growth Updates” Facebook page on Aug. 24 — after no updates since representatives from the YMCA first started attending local meetings a couple of years ago — BayCare Health Systems is having a pre-application meeting with Pasco County staff to propose 52,391-sq.-ft. YMCA and a 100,000-sq.-ft., two-story medical office building. The plan includes parking lots, a “New Drive” roadway and a curb-cut connection at the southwest corner of Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. and Eagleston Blvd., next to the new BayCare Wesley Chapel hospital. We’ll update this story once we have additional information. 

Home Sense Opens Next To Bealls 

On Aug. 10, a new Homesense store opened in the Shoppes at New Tampa of Wesley Chapel, between the also-still-new Bealls Outlet and Flip Flop Shops stores in the plaza on BBD Blvd. south of S.R. 56. 

Homesense — the off-price home store featuring high-quality furniture and accessories that is the newest retail banner of The TJX Companies, Inc. — now operates 50 stores in the U.S. TJX is the leading off-price retailer of apparel and home fashions in the U.S. and worldwide. The company operates nearly 5,000 total stores in nine countries, including 1,304 T.J. Maxx, 1,189 Marshalls, 901 HomeGoods, 81 Sierra, and now 50 Homesense stores. 

I visited the new store the day it opened and it was packed with not only people, but as-advertised great prices on everything from couches to wall art to Halloween knickknacks (photo above). For more information, visit us.homesense.com or call (813) 991-0249. 

Subaru’s Grand Grand Opening! 

Although the dealership has been open for several months, we want to thank Subaru of Wesley Chapel (located at 26570 Silver Maple Pkwy., just south of S.R. 56) owner Scott Fink and his entire staff for hosting one of the greatest Grand Opening and North Tampa Bay Chamber ribbon-cutting (top photo) events in recent memory on Sept. 7. 

An estimated crowd of at least 300 people attended the dog-friendly event (the dealership is a supporter of the Humane Society of Tampa Bay), which included three food trucks, lots of amazing raffle prizes (including a mountain bike, kayak and paddleboard) and lots of happy dogs, some up for adoption, others with their owners and some with their Pasco Sheriff’s Office handlers (photo, below). 

“Scott Fink and his Fink Auto Group definitely know how to throw a party,” said NTBC president & CEO Hope Kennedy. “We appreciate the opportunity to be here to cut the ribbon.” For more information about Subaru of Wesley Chapel, call (813) 618-5051 or visit SubaruWesleyChapel.com