NEW SEVEN OAKS COMMUNITY MAY HAVE TO RETHINK GATES
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MORTGAGE COMPANY CLOSES DOORS IN WESLEY CHAPEL A corporate decision to leave the mortgage services business has put 10 people out of a job in Wesley Chapel. Springleaf Financial has filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or WARN, with the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, saying it plans to cut those jobs beginning in October. The office, according to the notice, is located at 2533 Windguard Circle, Unit 101, in Wesley Chapel, just across from Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel off Bruce B. Downs Boulevard. “Springleaf has decided to sell its mortgage services business,” the Indiana-based company told The Laker/Lutz News, in a release. “In conjunction with the sale, the company plans to close its facility in Wesley Chapel. This was a difficult decision, and where possible, we are working to place affected staff in new positions within the company.” The sale of the mortgage service division was part of nearly $7.2 billion worth of divisions Springleaf recently decided to part ways with. The company provides loans and other credit-related products to more than a half million people in 26 states, as well as Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, according to the company’s website. It also provides bill consolidation loans, personal loans, home improvement loans, and loans for unexpected expenses and vacations. The company went public in 2013.
A new townhouse community planned for Wesley Chapel’s Seven Oaks subdivision is struggling to keep the neighborhood gated. Pasco County officials have recommended denying a request by The Ryland Group to allow for two gated access points as a planned 96-unit community near the intersection of Stockton Drive and Bruce B. Downs Boulevard.The problem, they say, is that there isn’t enough room to accommodate a line of cars. County ordinance requires there be at least 75 feet of space from a sidewalk to a community’s gated entrance, enough to fit three cars. However, because of the unusual layout design of the property where Seven Oaks Ryland Townhomes is planned, it can only provide enough space to accommodate two cars.The rule, officials said, ensures there is enough room for a small line of cars, without blocking sidewalks and roads. The plan would have provided for two entrances into the community, one from Stockton Drive, the other from Eagleston Boulevard. Only the entrance at Stockton would provide visitor access, but even a resident-only entrance at Eagleston created concerns from county officials. That’s because it would only have enough room to hold one vehicle, and any additional vehicles would block pedestrian pathways. Developers will have a chance to plead their case in front of the Development Review Committee, which will meet in the county commission chambers at 8731 Citizens Drive in New Port Richey on Aug. 21, beginning at 1:30 p.m.
UPCOMING PHHCC EVENTS
Some of the upcoming August events with the Pasco Hernando Hispanic Chamber of Commerce include: • Mixer Aug. 20 beginning at 5:30 p.m., at Good Faith Insurance Services, 5854 Argerian Drive, Suite 101, in Wesley Chapel. • Coffee & Conversation Aug. 22 beginning at 7:30 a.m., at Centennial Bank, 23000 State Road 54 in Lutz.
• Business & Career Expo, Oct. 17 from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m., at Wesley Chapel Toyota, 5300 Eagleston Blvd., in Wesley Chapel. For information, visit PHHChamber.com.
NEW PAINTING FRANCHISE OPENS
Jason Metz has opened a new location for ProTect Painters, a professional painting company that specializes in exterior and interior residential and commercial painting projects, in Wesley Chapel. It will be located at 1936 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., Suite 64. ProTect Painters as a corporation was acquired by Service Brands International in 2009, the franchisor of household services companies like Molly Maid and Mr. Handyman. Under the SBI umbrella, ProTect Painters is expected to grow to 200 franchises over the next five years, according to a release. For information, call (813) 279-5083.
PLANNED ZEPHYRHILLS RESTAURANT GETS SOME FINANCIAL HELP
The Zephyrhills City Council, meeting as the Community Redevelopment Agency, approved nearly $20,000 to help a popular Tampa restaurant expand into Zephyrhills. Michael and Laura Andrews want to open Smokehouse B-B-Q & Grill at 5740 Seventh St., a space formerly occupied by Pancho Villa’s Mexican Restaurant. However, nearly $40,000 in vandalism caused to electrical and air-conditioning made that nearly impossible. The CRA, however, offered to help, which could pave the way to creating up to 30 new jobs in the city, according to city documents. The Andrews bought the 36-year-old building for $95,000. It originally sold in 2003 for $250,000. The CRA will give the couple up to $19,688 — or half the cost to make electrical and air-conditioning repairs — according to City Manager Steve Spina. Smokehouse B-B-Q was started in 2004 on U.S. 301, one mile north of Interstate 4 in Tampa, according to city documents.
Although revenue has steadily increased at that location over the past few years, the Andrews felt they had reached their capacity at their current location, and wanted to add a second one.
HOUSING MARKET UP, CONDO SALES DOWN
Nearly 15,000 existing homes and condominiums changed hands in the greater Tampa Bay area during April, May and June, showing promising housing market trends despite a drop in overall condo sales. The region — which includes Pasco, Hillsborough, Hernando and Pinellas counties — sold 3,733 condos in the second quarter, down more than 5 percent from the year before.The median sales price, however, rose more than 12 percent to $110,000. The volume was second only to the greater Miami and Fort Lauderdale area, where nearly 13,000 condos were sold, according to a new report from Florida Realtors. Sales there, however, were down more than 6 percent. The lower volume is actually good news for the market, Florida Realtors chief economist John Tuccillo said, because that means foreclosure-related short sales are on the decline. “The second quarter numbers show that Florida’s real estate market is settling in,” Tuccillo said, in a release. “While prices throughout the state tend to be up, sales are mixed with single-family sales growing, and condos and townhouses declining.” Some of the reasons for that include the reduced role of bulk investors — buyers who pick up multiple units at a time in hopes to rent or flip — and many families who are having trouble getting mortgage credit because of flat income. Just a little more than 10,800 single-family homes were sold in the quarter, up 3 percent from a year ago. Median prices, however, were much more flat at $156,000, an increase of 1.3 percent. Statewide, single-family sales were up more than 7 percent, while median sales prices rose just above 5 percent at $180,000.
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August 20, 2014
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