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WESLEY CHAPEL/NEW TAMPA EDITION
LAKERLUTZNEWS.COM
MARCH 8, 2017
Auto Accident? Slip and Fall?
Development ready to take off
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Dreams and visions for the redevelopment of Pasco County began more than two decades ago.Today, homes, shops, hotels, offices and medical campuses are coming out of the ground and redrawing the county’s future. On March 1, developers of four of Pasco’s master-planned communities updated more than 100 people who came to the annual Meet the Developers breakfast.The Pasco Economic Development Council sponsored the event at the Marriott Residence Inn, off State Road 54. In closing remarks, Bill Cronin, president of Pasco EDC said,“this is the right time, the right place for Pasco County…If nothing else, I hope you have that ‘oh, wow’ effect. That’s not the Pasco I knew.” Speakers at the breakfast were Matt Call, project director at Starkey Ranch, which is being developed by Wheelock Communities;Tom Panaseny, vice president and general manager for Bexley by Newland Communities; J.D. Porter, of Wiregrass Ranch Inc.; and, Kartik Goyani, vice president of operations for Metro Development Group Inc. “We’re all selling this dream and vision of where Pasco can go,” Call said. Three years ago, Starkey Ranch, about four miles west of the Suncoast Parkway, off State Road 54, was largely still on the drawing board. Today, Starkey Ranch anticipates having more than 300 new homes under contract in a year, Call said. So far, there have been more than 150 closings, he added. The average price of homes being sold
COURTESY OF PASCO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL
Bill Cronin, president of the Pasco Economic Development Council, left, introduces developers who spoke at a ‘Meet the Developers’ breakfast. They are: Matt Call, project director of Starkey Ranch/Wheelock Communities; Tom Panaseny, vice president/general manager of Bexley by Newland Communities; J.D. Porter, co-owner of Wiregrass Ranch Inc.; and, Kartik Goyani, vice president of operations for Metro Development Group LLC.
there is in the low to mid-$400,000s. The most expensive home — at about 4,800 square feet – sold within the past two weeks for about $874,000. “Most are not first-time homebuyers,” Call said.“Most are moving-up buyers.” Upcoming projects included widening Gunn Highway and extending the road into Starkey Ranch. About one-third of a 20-mile trail system is built and will eventually connect with Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Preserve and the Suncoast Trail. A business park, fronting State Road 54, is in the works. A town square is planned for 2018.
While Newland Communities is new to Pasco, its track record in Tampa Bay includes master-planned communities in Hillsborough County, including FishHawk Ranch in Riverview and Westchase in Town ‘n Country. Panaseny described Newland as the largest private developer of planned communities in the country, with projects in 19 states, stretching from coast to coast. The homebuilder’s first Pasco community is Bexley Ranch, in an area encompassing about 1,700 acres. It is located also on State Road 54, east of Suncoast Parkway. See DEVELOPMENT, page 13A
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Other Pasco County developments among the top five were Long Lake Ranch, at fourth place, with 227 starts; and, Starkey Ranch, at fifth place, with 219 starts. Porter expects residential growth to continue to flourish in Wiregrass Ranch. He pointed to a contract on a large tract of land for a new active adult community that’s expected to close this year. The development, which will have around 1,000 units, will fill a niche in the market, Porter said. “Nowhere in Wesley Chapel is there really an age-restricted community,” he said. It will be “highly amenitized,” he said, and will be designed for people who are 55 and
Local youth attends Trump’s first speech to Congress
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Once known for its cattle and citrus groves, the Wiregrass Ranch area of Wesley Chapel is now being viewed as a place where people can live, work, shop, learn and receive medical care. During the past decade: • Pasco-Hernando State College opened Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch, giving Wesley Chapel students their first opportunity to seek a four-year college degree in their own backyard. • Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel opened, and the demand was so great that the hospital expanded — well ahead of expectations. • Florida Medical Clinic opened, on land situated near the hospital. • North Tampa Behavioral Health opened, and has been so successful that it is already undergoing an expansion. • Financial services giant Raymond James closed on the purchase of 65 acres of land and is expected to break ground later this year on a satellite campus, across from the college. And, that’s just part of the story, according to J.D. Porter, president of sales and development for Wiregrass Ranch, in Wesley Chapel. Besides the health care, education and commercial projects, residential growth is going strong, too, Porter said. Wiregrass Ranch — with 340 housing starts — was No. 1 in housing starts in the period ending Dec. 31, 2016, according to a report by MetroStudy. FishHawk Ranch, in southern Hillsborough County, was second on the list with 324 starts.
older. Another residential development will offer row houses, and will appeal to people who are looking for a maintenance-free lifestyle, he said. More commercial growth is on the horizon, too, Porter said. A 15,000-square-foot medical office is going up next to Florida Medical Clinic, he said, noting the bottom floor will be occupied by an orthodontist. He expects that to open within the next seven months to nine months. “They’re turning dirt like crazy right now, which is fantastic,” Porter said. The medical office market is hot, Porter added. “We probably get five to 10 calls a day,” he said. It’s possible that another 100,000 square feet to 150,000 square feet of medical office could be added, he said.“It’s going to be limited by size.” Porter also noted that his family is actually doing a strip center of its own on State Road 54, which will include restaurants and businesses which cater to local needs. And, while there’s been a considerable amount of interest about when Raymond James will break ground and bring new employment opportunities, Porter said other major players are also eyeing the Wiregrass Ranch area. Wiregrass is also on the shortlist of a couple of other companies that have equal, if not greater, name recognition as Raymond James, Porter said. “Now that we have these foundations, it just ramps up to a different level, which is exciting,” Porter said.
COURTESY OF SHARRI AND BILL CAGLE
During his visit to Washington D.C., 13-yearold Colin Cagle received tours of the U.S. Capitol Building, the Kennedy Center and the Library of Congress.
Like millions of other Americans, Colin Cagle viewed President Donald Trump’s first speech to a joint session of Congress on Feb. 28. Unlike most, the 13-year-old Odessa resident, attended Trump’s speech in Washington D.C. He was the invited guest of U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis. That fact is even more impressive, considering each member of congress was allotted just one extra ticket for Trump’s address. Cagle, a seventh-grader at Martinez Middle School, was thrilled to receive the rare invitation. “I was just extremely thankful, and I was in shock. I was so surprised,” Cagle, said. Bilirakis first became aware of Cagle when his family requested tickets for
President Trump’s Inauguration on Jan. 20. (Though Bilirakis’ office was out of tickets, Rep. Dennis Ross was able to pitch in.) Cagle and Bilirakis have remained in touch, and the congressman became enthralled by the youth’s keen passion for politics. That was furthered once Bilirakis’ office came across a 6 ½-minute NBC News feature on Cagle’s political interests and ideology. Cagle, an unabashed Trump supporter, left the address content with the president’s remarks on strengthening the military and unifying the country. “He put out plans that I know that both Democrats and Republicans can all stand behind,” Cagle said. “Overall, it was very presidential, and it was an amazing experience.” See CONGRESS, page 13A