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WESLEY CHAPEL/NEW TAMPA EDITION
MAY 20, 2015
Ice rink complex gets name By Kathy Steele
ksteele@lakerlutznews.com
A naming contest for the ice rink complex under construction in Wesley Chapel drew some 200 suggestions. And, the winner is: Florida Hospital Center Ice. The name and logo were unveiled May 14 by Florida Hospital representatives and Gordie Zimmermann whose company, Z Mitch, is building the 150,000-square-foot ice rink and sports complex. The name is fitting, said Zimmermann, because so much takes place in a rink at center ice. That includes face-offs over hockey pucks and figure skaters waiting for their PHOTOS COURTESY OF FLORIDA HOSPITAL CENTER ICE music cues to begin their programs, he said. “It truly is a center for sports. It has a Hockey fans watch from the sidelines in this interior rendering of Florida Hospital Center See ICE, page 9A
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Ice, an ice rink and sports complex under construction at the State Road 56 and Interstate 75 interchange.
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The cast of ‘Seussical’ has been rehearsing at The Alliance Church of Zephyrhills, but performers will bring the production toPasco Middle School this weekend. From left to right are Josh Corjay, Melanie Kender, Roman Ricardo and Rhett Ricardo.
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Arts in Motion’s new musical is ‘Seussical’ By Michael Murillo
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When Arts in Motion presents “Seussical” at Pasco Middle School this weekend, the audience will recognize Dr. Seuss’ famous characters and stories that have entertained children for decades. And they’ll also experience something that sets the play apart from many musicals: A lot more music. “It is honestly, let’s say, 97 percent music,” said director Craig Hartfield. “There’s very few lines, and even those lines are in verse, because it is Seuss.” Having that many musical numbers presents challenges from a production standpoint. But Hartfield brings extensive experience to the job. He has been directing acting for decades and has directed “Seussical” before, but this is his first play with Arts in Motion. And, as a play for Arts In Motion — a local nonprofit dedicated to cultivating arts
actor. Most actors also perform in more than one role. That format requires a tight production with actors knowing what role to play and where to be at any given moment, Hartfield isn’t worried. He’s happy with his cast and the support he’s received from Arts in Motion. “They’re very organized. It’s very important to them that there’s a strong level of support for me and the kids in the show,” Hartfield said about Arts in Motion. While most of ‘Seussical’ involves singing, Having multiple roles gives the cast a the cast also faces plenty of acting and chance to get in a lot of work, rather than dancing challenges, too. learning one character’s lines and waiting around for their speaking role. education and youth theater — all the charSome actors will be speaking or singing acters are played by actors ranging in age as one character and then dancing as anothbetween 5 and 18 years. er. In “Seussical,” the age of the average perWhen it comes to “Seussical,” there are former is just over 10. many moving parts. The actors also have a little extra work, The play has nearly 50 cast members too. playing more than two dozen important “Seussical” is double-casted, meaning the See SEUSSICAL, page 9A major roles are played by more than one
Apartments and new retail coming to Wiregrass By Kathy Steele
120,000 square feet but could be somewhat larger or smaller depending on the tenants’ needs, said Abbas Hasan, manager of planMore retail and a new apartment com- ning and development for the plex — on vacant land northeast of The Cleveland-based Forest City Enterprises. Shops at Wiregrass — are on the drawing The next step is filing an application board at Pasco County’s planning depart- with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the ment. federal agency that would approve a permit Forest City Enterprises, the developers of for the project. The Shops at Wiregrass, and NRP Group are “The process takes quite a long time,” partnering on the next phase of develop- Hasan said. “We’re trying to get all the pieces ment on the former Wiregrass Ranch together.” property in Wesley Chapel. Specifics on tenants and construction Conceptual plans filed with the county schedules are on hold until the Corps of show a development of 248 apartments and Engineers weighs in, and the project is fur127,000 square feet of retail. ther along. Among the retail possibilities are restau“The Shops at Wiregrass are basically a rants, a specialty market, a cinema and lifestyle center and an open-air mall. This is shops. more a few large anchor type users and Forest City will handle the commercial more specialty stores,” Hasan said. “It will side of the project. NRP Group will build complement the mall and others in the the apartment complex. area.” The apartments will be linked with the The retail portion likely will fall within
ksteele@lakerlutznews.com
retail, so that residents will be able to walk to the retail part of the development, said Kurt Kehoe, vice president of NRP Group, which has offices in Lake Mary, Florida. “Being able to have the pedestrian and vehicular connections to both existing and upcoming commercial is key,” Kehoe said. “In a suburban area, this is not normally what you find.” The project will include three-story and four-story buildings, with upscale apartments. Most of the apartments will be one-bedroom and two-bedroom layouts, though some will have three bedrooms, Kehoe said. Some apartments will have detached garages. There will be a clubhouse, pool and fitness area. “Generally there is a lot of optimism for the tri-county area, especially Pasco,” he said. “There’s a lot of desire to live, work and play out there.”