Taylor Morrison Breaks Ground On 55+ Community In Wiregrass Ranch

The Esplanade at Wiregrass Ranch, which broke ground last month, will be an over-55 community with more than 800 total homes, as homebuilder Taylor Morrison continues to expand in Wesley Chapel.

Homebuilder Taylor Morrison’s Esplanade series — which provides “resort lifestyle experiences” for its residents — has already proven to be popular in a number of Tampa Bay locations.

A new development planned for Wiregrass Ranch could take that popularity to another level.

Last month, Taylor Morrison broke ground on Esplanade at Wiregrass Ranch, which will feature more than 850 single-family and detached villa homes and will be Wesley Chapel’s first 55-and-over community since Williamsburg was originally built as an age-restricted community in the 1970s.

The new community will be located in the heart of the Wiregrass Ranch DRI, between State Roads 54 and 56 and east of Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. Esplanade at Wiregrass Ranch will be adjacent to the under-construction Wiregrass Ranch Blvd., which will run north and south from S.R. 56 to S.R. 54.

Originally, the project was called Valencia under a different builder, but when that fell through last year, Taylor Morrison was approached and jumped at the chance to take over the development.

“The location and the size of it were two of the things attractive about this opportunity,” said Doug Miller, Division President of Taylor Morrison’s operations in Tampa. “To have this lifestyle community in Wesley Chapel is really attractive for us. There are a lot of things to do there, there’s a hospital, shopping and entertainment. It really made this location key for us.”

Phase One, which was approved for construction in May, will have 169 single-family, attached homes.

Scott Himelhoch, vice president of land acquisition for Taylor Morrison, unveiled many of the plans and amenities for Esplanade at Wiregrass Ranch at a North Tampa Bay Chamber Economic Development Briefing at Hunter’s Green Country Club on Aug. 29.

With construction under way, the 55-over community hopes to hold a grand opening of its amenity center sometime late in the first quarter or early in the second quarter of 2020. That was good news for some of the Realtors in attendance at Hunter’s Green, who said they are in need of more product to sell to eager buyers. 

Taylor Morrison’s Esplanade offerings generally offer features like tile roofs and lush landscaping as standard features. Because it will be building in an area that has ample greenspace, walking paths and nature will be incorporated into the layout.

Although the community will be mostly restricted to residents 55-and-over (80 percent must fall in that category, with the other 20 percent required to be 45-and-over), Taylor Morrison will be building homes ranging in size from 1,700-3,500 square feet, recognizing that not every older family wants to downsize and that many still want to be the central hub for holiday and family gatherings.

Taylor Morrison has Esplanade communities either built or in the process of building out in New Tampa (350 homes just south of the Hillsborough-Pasco county line and west of Grand Hampton) and Starkey Ranch (500 homes) in Odessa.

The Wiregrass Ranch community, however, is expected to be the crown jewel of the Esplanades in the Tampa market.

Himelhoch touted many of the offerings that will make Esplanade at Wiregrass Ranch a popular pick for homebuyers.

Because Esplanades seek to give residents a boutique resort living experience, a full-time lifestyle manager is on staff in every community, operating as part-cruise director, part-concierge.

The lifestyle manager helps create wellness programs and social events. A loaded calendar offers things like dinner dances, concerts, clubs, groups and football watch parties.

The concierge service is an added plus. The resort-style pool will offer towels, food and beverage service, as well the ability to make dinner reservations without ever having to leave your poolside seat.

Taylor Morrison has been very active in Wesley Chapel. In the last few months, the homebuilder has completed two new communities in Wesley Chapel — Woodside Trace, a 52-townhome community located on County Line Rd. approximately two miles west of Bruce B. Downs, and Chapel Trace, an 87-unit single-family-home community north of S.R. 54 on Boyette Rd. The builder also is preparing to build three additional new subdivisions within WaterGrass on Curley Rd.

With the new S.R. 56 extension to U.S. Hwy. 301 in Zephyrhills complete, Taylor Morrison already is planning on new developments in that corridor – it is the contract purchaser for land at the former Zephyr Egg site west of Morris Bridge Rd., and could begin construction next year.

“We expect to continue to be active,” Miller says. “Wesley Chapel is one of our key submarkets in our approach to Tampa. We have a nice mix of offerings in that area, and we see a lot of runway ahead of us in Wesley Chapel.”

For more information about Taylor Morrison’s new 55+ community, visit EsplanadeAtWiregrassRanch.com, where you can join the VIP Interest List, or  call (866) 495-6006.

The Latest On The Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus Of Pasco County!


Above is a 3D rendering of the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County, which shows eight basketball courts that can be divided into 16 volleyball courts. Source: RADD Sports. 

After years of staring at renderings and blue prints and imagining what the new sports complex in Wiregrass Ranch will actually look like, general manager and RADD Sports CEO Richard Blalock’s vision is now coming into focus.

The Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County is no longer just a large patch of cleared land, it has gone vertical, and the current schedule is looking towards a July 10, 2020, completion.

After three failed efforts since 2001 to build an athletic complex on the property located northeast of the Shops at Wiregrass and two miles east of Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., off S.R. 56, the 98,000-sq.-ft. indoor gymnasium is on its way.

Blalock, however, is not letting his excitement get the best of him. While the $45-million facility — which will share a campus with a full-service, Marriott-branded, 120-room Residence Inn hotel featuring a rooftop bar — is a big part of transforming the Wesley Chapel area — and Pasco County — into even more of a sports tourism hotbed, he intends to proceed slowly out of the gate.

“We’ve got people lined up that want to sign a contract now,” says Blalock. 


A drone photo of the progress on the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus. Photo by Charmaine George.

He is proceeding, though, like a quarterback with plenty of time on the clock. It’s not that he doubts the projection. But, he’s leery of Florida’s cranky wet weather that often slows down construction, most recently during Hurricane Dorian’s trip through the Atlantic.

“We had to take all of the cranes down,” says Jannah Nager, who was recently hired as RADD Sports’ director of marketing after working for more than four years as the marketing and events coordinator at the Pasco Education Foundation. She is the wife of Neighborhood News publisher Gary Nager.

With more bad weather lurking, it may not be the last time the cranes and other equipment have to be removed from the site for safety reasons.

“Everybody is beating us up, ‘When are you going to start booking events?,’” Blalock says. “But, I will not start booking events until after this hurricane season. Once the roof is on, or the side panels, I’ll be more comfortable.”

Blalock says a new facility in North Carolina jumped the gun on its opening and, thanks to Hurricane Dorian, had to postpone that opening.

“That’s the last thing we can afford to have happen here,” he says.

By October of 2020, Blalock says, he hopes to have events ready to go at the new facility, which broke ground in June of 2018. He hopes to book at least 25 events in the first 12 months the sports facility is running. Nager’s job is to help spread the word in the community while marketing the facility to sponsors.

“Jannah knows the community, she knows the people, she knows the ins and out, and she knows the politicians,” said Blalock. “We need somebody that knows community and is popular in the community. That makes our job so much easier.”

The primary sports at the new complex will be basketball and volleyball, and cheerleading is expected to be the third core sport at the facility, which can run eight basketball courts or 16 volleyball courts at any one time.

There also is room for multiple mats for wrestling and judo tournaments, with gymnastics also a possibility. Blalock said he even has been contacted by a youth soccer team in the United Kingdom that is interested in training for a few weeks at the new facility, which will have two outdoor soccer fields and plenty of room to train inside if the weather turns bad.

Local Use During The Week!

Weekend sports tournaments, however, will be just part of the big picture at the new facility.

Blalock says there will be plenty of sports programming for local athletes to participate in, too. He says there will be a three-tier system for each of its three core sports — Academy, Competitive and Development — which will allow opportunities for all level of athletes starting at the age of 9 and going all the way through high school 

Jannah Nager and Richard Blalock are just beginning to market the complex to local sponsors. 

The Academy will be for training elite athletes for travel teams, but will also include an educational component and require participants to maintain a certain grade-point-average. He says the sports will be programmed to not interfere with the local high school seasons.

“The ultimate goal is to change the culture of how these kids are trained,” Blalock says, adding that it is well-documented that youth sports are susceptible to being overrun by overzealous coaches and parents, as well as entitled athletes.

The Competitive program also will be in-house, with three days a week of practices and games — and the chance for advancement to the Academy level, Blalock says.

The Developmental program will be “quasi-recreational,” according to Blalock. Volunteer coaches will run the teams, although those coaches will have plenty of access to paid coaches on the complex’s paid sports staff to help develop more drills and gameplans.

The programming also will be competitively priced with the local market, according to Blalock.

For those who like sports but don’t play for whatever reason, the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus will offer a Sports Administration & Hospitality program, where kids can gather data, travel with the teams and serve as managers.

And, now that ground has broken on a nearby 55-over community in Wiregrass Ranch (see story on pg. 8), more programming for older residents also may be in the offing, like pickleball and Rock Steady Boxing for those with Parkinson’s disease. There may even be room for some golf cart parking spots, Blalock says.

In addition to its youth and adult sports programs, the facility is able to provide space for conventions, banquets and other non-sports events.

Blalock and Nager are putting together sponsorship packages now, and also are accepting resumes for positions, although Blalock stresses that the actual hiring process is likely several months away. 

For more information about sponsorships and more, visit RADDSports.com or email Jannah@raddsports.com. 

Wesley Chapel Area Spring Football Recap

CYPRESS CREEK

Biggest Question

Tim Ford-Brown was the team’s leading rusher and second-leading receiver last year and, along with others in the first graduating class at Cypress Creek (CCH), will leave a big hole. Can anyone fill it?

The Answer

It’s unlikely, as the Coyotes are graduating about 85-90 percent of all of their offensive production from a year ago. Rising sophomore Andrew Burgess got the lion’s share of the carries and pass receptions in a disappointing 35-14 spring game loss to Pasco, but showed some durability and versatility. The Coyotes will still rely on rising senior twins Jehlani (the quarterback) and Jalen Warren (wide receiver and running back), but will need more help.

Spring Game Standouts

Fullback Brycen Hernandez scored both of Cypress Creek’s touchdowns in the spring loss on 2- and 4-yard runs. Dontrell Clerkley caught a 24-yard pass in the game. Defensive lineman Ameen Saed had a forced fumble on the first play of the game, but separated his shoulder doing so and sat out the rest of the contest.

Audible

“(Burgess) is someone we’re going to move around a lot on offense,” head coach Michael Johnson said. “He was all-in for the spring game but there were some eye-opening moments for him, especially in the second half, playing at the varsity level.”

WIREGRASS RANCH

Biggest Question

The Bulls only graduated seven seniors, but most were critical pieces to the starting lineup, like two-year starter at quarterback Grant Sessums. How would the replacements, especially 6-foot-2 rising senior QB Hunter Helton, look in live game action?

The Answer

Well, the new quarterback helped produce 55 points, so he looked pretty good.

Helton connected with rising senior running back Keith Walker on three touchdowns in a barn-burner 55-48 win at East Lake. The defense, on the other hand, gave up a lot of points against a hurry-up offense that limited their substitutions and audibles.

Spring Game Standouts

Walker scored five touchdowns on the night, three through the air and two rushing. A role player last year on offense, Walker could be primed for a huge season after topping 100 yards rushing and receiving against East Lake. Helton threw for 242 yards and spread the ball around well, hitting Noah Biglow for a 69-yard score.

Audible

“I don’t know how many teams we’ll play that play that fast,” Wiregrass head coach Mark Kantor said of East Lake. “That style was faster than arena league and it was hard to get a lot of things going on defense because they (East Lake) snapped the ball so fast — it was tough.”

WESLEY CHAPEL

Biggest Question

The quarterback position has been a quarterback-by-committee affair ever since Jacob Thomas graduated at the end of head coach Tony Egan’s first year.

Egan, new staff members Tom McHugh and Brian Colding from Pasco High, as well as former South Carolina and CFL quarterback Stephen Garcia, have been working hard with possible starters. So, who will it be between rising junior Owen Libby and backup Ethan Harper?

The Answer

To be determined. Both guys played well in the spring game, a 35-7 win over Land O’Lakes. Libby threw for 177 yards and two scores, including gains of 41 and 38 yards. Harper threw a fourth-quarter touchdown pass and also ran for a score.

Spring Game Standouts

Isaiah Ramsey, a basketball player who goes 6’-4”, 205 lbs., caught a 48-yard touchdown on a slant, and Jon’Tavius Anderson had a breakout game with more than 100 yards receiving. 

Audible

“This is going to be the first time we have a 20-game starter at QB since Jacob Thomas,” Egan said. “Both (Libby and Harper) need more reps and we’ll be doing a lot of 7-on-7 this summer to help with their progressions and routes.”

JD Porter: Wesley Chapel’s Favorite Developer Captivates Another Huge Crowd At The April 26 North Tampa Bay Chamber Economic Development Briefing   

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT briefings, which are hosted by the North Tampa Bay Chamber (NTBC) monthly and designed to introduce local business leaders to incoming developers, new business owners or regional leaders, range from being buzzworthy affairs to merely informational.

Unless JD Porter is speaking.

Then, the Chamber briefings become more like a local version of an Apple Event where, in this case, a standing room-only crowd at Hunter’s Green Country Club gathered to hear what great coming attraction — New restaurant? New corporation? New housing development? — the Wiregrass Ranch developer would be announcing.

Porter didn’t deliver anything major, however, like an Apple “one last thing” flourish.

There was, however, notable news he shared on April 26 about the coming developments in the 5,100-acre Wiregrass Ranch Development of Regional Impact (DRI), which is being developed by the Porter family’s Locust Branch, LLC, and extends from S.R. 56 north to S.R. 54, and west to east from Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. to Meadow Pointe Blvd.

The best news — things are good in Wiregrass Ranch. Really good. According to Porter, developers are lined up trying to get in, and home prices are rising. The average sales price of a home located in the Wiregrass Ranch DRI is a staggering $485,000, which he says is 2.3 times the average home price in Pasco County.

According to Metrostudy, which specializes in housing and construction data, Wiregrass Ranch is the No. 1 community in the Tampa Bay area for home closings in the first quarter of 2018, and is No. 3 for starts.

And much more is on the way…

*JOBS: Porter was proud to proclaim that Wiregrass Ranch has created 2,500 new jobs over the last two years.

“We have created more jobs than homes,” Porter said. “I know there’s not another community in Pasco, and you would be hard pressed to find one in Hillsborough, that can say that.”

And, he added, those job numbers don’t even include the 5,000 or so that Raymond James Financial is said to be bringing to the area when it finally opens, or current construction jobs. Porter’s job news earned him the loudest ovation of his presentation.

*RAYMOND JAMES: Speaking of Raymond James, which was announced in 2011 and has become a long, painstaking effort for Porter, ground will be broken sometime this year. Porter couldn’t say exactly when dirt will begin moving on the 65-acre property at S.R. 56 and Mansfield Blvd., but the huge Raymond James campus is finally close to taking off.

That area east of the Shops at Wiregrass also already includes the new Altis at Wiregrass Ranch apartments, which are already leasing and will be built out by the end of the year, a Morningstar Storage facility (finishing this fall) and a Fairfield Inn hotel, set to open later this summer. A daycare center is currently in permitting.

Also coming and already under contract is a major new restaurant, which Porter did not name, although he did admit that it was likely a major chain that he said would be breaking ground this summer.

“We’re expecting to close here real quick,’’ he said.

Also in the Wiregrass Ranch DRI and expected to finally break ground this summer is the long-awaited indoor sports facility and park, and a Marriott hotel on the same property, which was donated by the Porter family. The project is a public-private partnership venture between developers and the county, which Porter says Pasco County will see more of down the road “because they work.”

BIGGER THAN RAY-JAY?: If you think Raymond James is big, Porter says Wiregrass Ranch is “in the running” for something even bigger.

Declining to name names, Porter said Wiregrass Ranch is on the shortlist of places two Fortune 200 companies are considering as a new location.

One would occupy a 600,000-sq.-ft. space; the other would take more than 1.2-million sq. ft. of space.

Both businesses, he added, are higher on the Fortune 500 list than Raymond James. Porter says he is hopeful.

“It would be nice to have another big one like that,’’ he says, adding that he also is hoping find the right balance between big and small, and is encouraging smaller, localized businesses to make their homes in Wiregrass Ranch.

While grabbing some of the bigger corporations to put on large campuses, he also plans to build office space vertically, in buildings 4-7 stories high, in the hopes of creating Pasco County’s only skyline.

Porter said Class A office space — which generally is located in good and easy-to-access buildings that are professionally managed with high-end tenants — is in the works, as well as a 150,000-sq.-ft. medical office, which would be three times the size of the Farina Orthodontic Specialists “cube” building on BBD in Wiregrass, just south of FHWC.

*TOWN CENTER?: One of the most exciting subjects discussed by Porter was the potential for a town center area in Wiregrass Ranch, which he foresees as being something of Wesley Chapel’s downtown and much-needed in the area.

It will be located on Meadow Pointe Blvd. — which is being expanded all the way to S.R. 54 ahead of schedule — and about a 10-minute walk from the Shops at Wiregrass, which is the primary gathering place in Wesley Chapel right now.

“I think the town center will become that place,” he says.

He foresees a lot more retail in the area, as well as homes and apartments. However, in order for local businesses to succeed, he said that there must be people in the area, and that the plan the past two years with all the home development has been to build that density.

More than 100 people packed the room at Hunter’s Green Country Club to hear Porter’s latest update about the continuing development of his family’s 5,100-acre cattle ranch.

*MORE MULTI-FAMILY: Porter also said that he has 18-20 letters of intent sitting on his desk from multi-family developers who want to come in and build Class A apartments or condominiums/townhomes, but he is proceeding slowly and cautiously. with them.

“We are definitely in the right area at the right time,” Porter said. “I want to make sure that the businesses that are here will stay here and live here, when they see what (the potential downtown area) is all about.”

When Porter was asked by local Realtor (and NTBC Board member) Karen Tillman-Gosselin (who introduced Porter on behalf of the Chamber at the event) about creating a town center like the one in the Westchase area, which is responsible for nearby homes getting multiple contract offers on them, Porter pointed out that Westchase’s town center is on only about 16 acres of land.

The Wiregrass Ranch town center is envisioned to be built on 120 acres.

“I think we’ll start seeing come growth, some development, in the next 24 months,” Porter said. “If we get some ground broken and land a couple of users, it will accelerate that quickly and things will happen real fast.”

*IT’S ALL ABOUT CONNECTIVITY: Porter said that unlike the surrounding areas, Wiregrass Ranch will have the kind of transportation network of which residents can be proud.

S.R. 56 west of Bruce B. Downs Blvd. is already four lanes in each direction, and the expansion east to U.S. Hwy. 301 in Zephyrhills will be a game-changer, Porter said, making the area even more attractive to home builders and businesses.

He noted that the development of Wiregrass Ranch has always carefully considered the roads, and built them for the future, not the present. “If you don’t,” he says, “you’ll never catch up.”

Porter also said that there are 3-4 miles of rapid bus transit or light rail planned in Wiregrass, although he thinks rapid bus transit will happen first and that light rail “may never happen here.”

And, because a new Park & Ride bus station near Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel has been successful since opening, the potential is there to build a vertical parking garage to accommodate more bus riders.

“We are definitely setting things up the right way from the start,” he said. “What we’re doing right now is how everybody should have been doing it.”

During his question & answer session following his briefing, Porter said that he is not in favor of the BBD bypass, which would connect BBD to Meadow Pointe Blvd. a half-mile or more south of where businesses like Sun Trust Bank and Sonny’s BBQ are located, because it will hurt those existing businesses on BBD located north of the bypass. He called it a “waste of money” and “one of the dumbest ideas” he has heard.

He did not weigh in on the much-discussed Kinnan-Mansfield connection in Meadow Pointe (see story on page 10), but said he was in favor of connectivity in general. “I think the more connected we are, the better for everyone.”

*SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE?: Porter also said a 55-plus adult community planned near Estancia will have 850-900 units, as Wiregrass Ranch becomes a player in the quickly growing adult community market.

“We have a younger demographic, people making more money and they want their parents to be close by,” Porter said. “So, we’re going to fill that gap, we’re going to knock it out of the park. I think its going to benefit everybody.”

Although people get the most excited about big box stores and brand name chain restaurants, Porter said he hopes Wiregrass Ranch finds a balance with local businesses and mom-and-pop restaurants.

When it comes to more and better schools, Porter seemed to throw up his hands at the way Pasco County has gone about funding new school construction.

“I think you’ll see a lot more charter schools, I think you will see good charter schools,” Porter says. “You’ll see some private schools opening up, too.”

Two charter schools are scheduled to open in Wesley Chapel over the next two years, including Union Park Charter Academy in August.

And, at the end of the day, Porter hopes Wiregrass Ranch becomes the model for future developers. From making sure the roads were in place to handle future traffic, to bringing in big and community-based businesses first such as the Shops at Wiregrass and Florida Hospital, as well as Pasco-Hernando State College, to carefully easing into the housing developments, he thinks Wiregrass Ranch has been done right.

Judging by the response of his latest presentation in front of local business leaders, many agree.

Heavy Hitters Talk Up Wesley Chapel’s Future At Economic Summit

(L.-r.) Metro Development Group VP Kartik Goyani, Metler Toledo general manager Viggo Nielsen, Wiregrass Ranch’s J.D. Porter and Larry Morgan of ComPark 75. (Photos by Steven John Photography)

The idea behind the 2017 East Pasco Economic Development Summit — the brainchild of Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCCC) CEO Hope Allen and District 2 Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore — was to get some of the county’s heaviest business hitters into one room to update local business leaders on what the future has in store for Wesley Chapel.

The outlook presented was more than just rosy, to say the least.

“I thought it was a big success,’’ said Allen, who was backed up by positive survey results indicating that the audience of roughly 75 would like to see more summits of this nature.

And, Allen said that is the plan — she is trying to organize something for next year on local innovation — after two panels of local business experts, sandwiched around a keynote address from Dr. Jerry Parrish, the chief economist and director of research for the Florida Chamber Foundation, provided three hours of local business news for those in attendance.

The event, held at Pasco Hernando State College (PHSC)’s Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch, was moderated by Moore, who represents much of Wesley Chapel on the Board of County Commissioners (BCC).

The first panel had some of the biggest names in Wesley Chapel development today – J.D. Porter of Wiregrass Ranch, ComPark 75 owner Larry Morgan and Metro Development Group vice president Kartik Goyani. Also on the first panel, although not located in Wesley Chapel, was Viggo Nielsen of Metler Toledo, which manufactures scales and analytical instruments and is relocating from Hillsborough County to a 250,000-sq.-ft. facility to be built near the Suncoast Parkway in Central Pasco (and bringing 500 jobs with it).

Not surprisingly, each business leader agreed that business in Wesley Chapel these days is pretty good, thanks to a combination of land still being available for expansion, a local county commission that is very business-friendly and incentive programs that have attracted companies like Raymond James Financial to the area.

Morgan, whose ComPark 75 is located off Wesley Chapel Blvd. (aka S.R. 54), just south of the S.R. 54 exit off I-75, said that was not always the case. He said much of Wesley Chapel’s development has hinged on patience.

‘When I bought my land in 2007, Pasco was becoming a boom town and then, of course, the recession hit,” Morgan said. “I just had faith and confidence that when the day turned, Pasco County was going to be the spot. I’m not always real good at foresight, but in this case think I got it right.”

Porter echoed Morgan’s sentiments. His family has owned the 5,100-acre Wiregrass Ranch for 75 years, weathering the Great Depression, as well as the local (and national) economic rollercoaster since then.

But now, things couldn’t be more ripe for success. “It’s all about being patient and doing things at the right time,’’ Porter said. “Anybody out there can crush it right now.”

Porter cited infrastructure that is already in place, a higher median household income and lower median age as attractive benchmarks for major businesses interested in setting up in Wesley Chapel. He said the addition of more homes and schools, as well as the continuing business-friendly voting of the county commission and the streamlining of the permitting process, portend a bright future for the area.

“Everyone recognizes Wesley Chapel as a whole right now,’’ Porter said. “Our (old)slogan was, “We’re Open for Business,” but nobody saw Pasco County as being open for business. They saw a bunch of headaches that actually changing (those headaches) has set the stage for moving forward.”

Morgan and Goyani agreed that Wesley Chapel is part of a hot region at the moment when it comes to business and development.

Goyani said that when Metro Development approached Pasco officials four years ago about building its “connected city” project — which is being built from the internet up with giga-fast internet service, the first two Crystal Lagoons in North America (see story on pg. 6) and a high-tech infrastructure that will one day showcase autonomous vehicles — it received a positive response from the county immediately.

“We got a yes quickly,’’ Goyani said. “I don’t think we would have gotten that response from any of our other counties. It really made the choice easy for us. Time will prove it was the right decision.”

Porter agreed.

“Pasco County now has a seat at the ‘big boys’ table,’’ he said. “They have more land and more resources and better infrastructure than what you will find in Pinellas, Hillsborough, Sarasota or Manatee (counties).  That’s my opinion.”

(L.-r.) PHSC-Porter Campus Provost Kevin O’Farrell, PHSC provost Stanley Gianett, Pasco County administrator Dan Biles, Pasco EDC president Bill Cronin, Florida Trend publisher Andy Corty, Wesley Chapel Chamber CEO Hope Allen and District 2 Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore.

About the only things the panel did complain about were the state legislature’s battle with Governor Rick Scott over reducing incentives — Porter called it “pretty sad, pretty disgusting” — and the recent decision by the Pasco BCC to raise impact fees to help build more schools, a decision that has been lauded by the Pasco School District and Moore’s fellow commissioners on the BCC.

As for the future, the panel predicted more good things. Porter, continuing his diligent pursuit of “just the right fit” for Wiregrass Ranch, hinted at another big deal just around the corner. He said in the past month, he has talked to two companies with even more name recognition than Raymond James Financial about coming to Wesley Chapel.

Porter didn’t provide any details, other than to say Wiregrass Ranch is in the running for both, but he predicts he will at least land one of the two.

“I think everybody is going to be very excited with what’s coming in the next 12-18 months,’’ Porter said.

After Parrish gave his keynote address about the positive jobs outlook in Florida, a second panel featuring Florida Trend publisher Andy Corty, Pasco County administrator Dan Biles, Pasco Economic Development Council president Bill Cronin and PHSC provost Dr. Stanley Gianett continued the conversation, looking at the government’s role in luring businesses to the county, and the positive effect regionalism could have down the road.