It’s All On The Avenue We’re Taking You To (Or Near?) — 42nd St.!

By GARY NAGER

For years, whenever anyone headed southwest from Tampa Palms on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. towards the Lake Forest subdivision, there really wasn’t much between the two on the west side of BBD other than a gas station, a flower shop (A Special Rose Florist, now located in Tampa Palms), a do-ityourself car wash, an Ob/Gyn office and the North Oaks condominiums.

Just north of North Oaks, a street labeled as 42nd St. already was home to the Palma Verde apartments, a small rental apartment development built in 1965 made up of ten one-bedroom units in five buildings.

Then, roughly eight years ago, Angels Senior Living at New Tampa Assisted Living & Memory Care, which has a sign at the corner of 42nd and BBD, near the Palma Verde apartments (which are managed by Martino Chillura Management), became the second establishment to open on 42nd St., and both Angels and Palma Verde have Tampa addresses in zip code 33613.

The 42nd St. location, which offers 102 beds and 89 total units (including 24 secured memory care apartments), is one of eleven senior living facilities the Angels Senior Living parent company operates throughout the Tampa Bay area. Photographer Charmaine George and I toured Angels and I will say that it is quaint, super-clean and provides its seniors with home health care, therapy, pharmaceutical services, adult day care, respite care and a lovely place to live.

What prompted me to write this story, however, was the fact that until more of the property on BBD began being cleared a couple of years ago, to add more than 750 total additional rental units (see below), I honestly didn’t even know Angels was there. Yes, we had published stories about the new apartment units that had begun construction at that time, but now, as you head north on 42nd St. from Angels, you realize that not only are there sparkling, new apartments for rent, but also that the street seems to change names to what is now called Cypress Cay Blvd.

This mile-or-so-long stretch of Cypress Cay Blvd. actually does have a separate curb cut on BBD just north of 42nd St. In addition, even though Palma Verde and Angels are located in zip code 33613, the new apartment communities — the separate Lantana and Sage at Cypress Cay rental communities located north of Angels — actually have Lutz addresses in zip code 33559.

Cypress Cay Blvd. continues past the 252-unit Lantana (which just welcomed its first residents a couple of weeks ago and is not yet 100% completed) and 304-unit Sage (which has been open for about a year) communities and winds its way towards a new multi-family development known as the Cottages at Cypress Cay, which will include 198 total additional rental units in 71 buildings.

Although we don’t yet have much information about the Cottages at Cypress Cay, based on the photo of its sign (below), it appears that, like Lantana and Sage, it also will be seeking to reach upscale apartment renters. Lantana and Sage feature 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom apartments ranging from $1,800 to more than $3,000 per month. And, while they are located near USF, these are not your usual student apartments, with their beautiful lobby areas, upscale amenities and gated security.

Both Lantana and Sage are being developed by RangeWater Real Estate, which has developed dozens of apartment communities in 11 states, including Ascend Grove West and Beacon Epperson in Wesley Chapel. We were told that Sage, which is nearing its capacity, is now under contract to be sold.

Meanwhile, The Cottages are being developed by Capstone Communities, which also has developed thousands of units in over half the U.S. (including 8 projects in Florida), but is making its debut in the Tampa Bay area.

And, just northeast of where Cypress Cay Blvd. meets BBD (see map on next page), there is an undeveloped commercial lot. We don’t yet know what is planned for that site, but will update that for you in a future issue.

(Top) For about 50 years, the for-lease Palma Verde apartments at the corner of Bruce B. Downs Blvd. & 42nd St. were the only buildings on 42nd St. But, eight years ago, the Angels Senior Living Assisted Living & Memory Care residence (middle and bottom photos) opened, and the beautiful lobby area has been welcoming residents to its 102 studio, 1- and 2-bedroom and 24 memory care apartments ever since. (Photos by Charmaine George)