Celebrating the Valentine’s Day Season in Wesley Chapel
The Season of Love and Friendship is Here! Wesley Chapel has many romantic and fun activities to enjoy with your loved ones. Share your love all month long with your family and friends at any of the following events.
Paint & Sip with Pinot’s Palette
All month long, Pinot’s Palette offers beautiful and fun Valentine’s Day painting lessons for both individuals and couples. Check them out for an unforgettable night of painting, wine, and fun! Book your painting class here.
Valentine’s Day Holiday Market
The Boyette Family Farms Holiday Market gives you the perfect opportunity to not only find the best Valentine’s Day gift for your loved ones, but also the chance to support local businesses. Check them out on Saturday, February 11th and stay for lunch from the visiting food trucks! Learn more about the Valentine’s Day Holiday Market here. Rock & Brews Valentine’s Specials
Enjoy one of Rock & Brews’ signature handcrafted cocktails and a three-course meal for two! From Saturday, February 11th through Tuesday, February 14th. Learn more about all their Valentine’s Day specials here
Girl Scout Galentine’s Day Dance
Join Girl Scout Troop 303 for a night of dancing, crafts, photobooth and fun with the girls! All ages with parent attending. Taking place in Shepard Park in Zephyrhills, FL. Learn more about the dance here.
Whether you choose a fun activity or a quiet night in, we hope that your Valentine’s Day is spent surrounded by the ones you love most. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Galentine’s Beer & Chocolate Pairing – Florida Avenue Brewing
Invite your friends to learn about the delicious relationship between beer and chocolate at Florida Avenue Brewing on Monday, February 13th. Welcome beer and four pairings included. Get your tickets here!
There are also several activities in Avalon Park Wesley Chapel to love this February. Progress on the first mixed-use commercial building in what will be Downtown Avalon Park Wesley Chapel is now under construction with the second floor. Upon completion the 3-Story, 73,067 mixed-use building, will include 40 multi-family apartments and 23,720 SF of ground-floor commercial/retail space and has plans of being open to the community in the first quarter of 2024. Additionally, there is a full year of fun community events on the calendar for 2023. To stay up-to-date on community news, development and events, visit us at avalonparkwesleychapel.com
FEBRUARY 2023 VOLUME 4 EDITION 2 LIVE LEARN
PLAY PAGE 7 PAGE 11 PAGE 15 COMMUNITY UPDATES KEEPING THE NEWS LOCAL & THE COMMUNITY CONNECTED. PAGE 2
WORK
#ILoveAvalonPark
being in the midst of a pandemic. After talking with many leaders, we found Daytona Beach would be a great fit for a community where people can live, learn, work and play, like in Avalon Park Orlando, or Celebration or Baldwin Park. The land is in a great location near Interstate 95. Additionally, Daytona Beach has a world brand. I am writing this Coffee with Beat on the train from Zurich to Basel, Switzerland, and I asked 6 random passengers on the train if they knew of Daytona Beach. They all said YES, and of the six, three had heard about Tampa, three had not. It is amazing for me to see that half a world away on a train in central Europe, double the people I asked knew Daytona Beach over Tampa.
On February 19th, the world-famous Daytona 500 is taking place. However, the most important difference between Avalon Park Daytona Beach, and all Avalon Park’s for that matter, is that the Daytona 500 is a race…fast and over in one day. While Avalon Park Daytona Beach is the opposite of a race, it is a very long-term engagement.
We will start construction of Avalon Park Daytona soon, however, soon means in 1 - 5 years. When we bought Avalon Park Orlando, at the time (1989) 9,400 acres, we waited eight years before starting construction. I am glad we did. There was the saving and loan crisis in the early 1990’s and starting right then would not been a good idea. You see, in a 30 year+ project, timing is everything. Real estate professionals often use the famous “location, location, location” as
These days most of Avalon Park Group’s competitors operate with other people’s money, from Wall Street or other sources, where the manager often has no SKIN IN THE GAME. We believe in longterm investing in the communities we build, along with all stakeholders, homeowners, tenants, local government, and the community at large. For most developers, their investment is at its highest when buying the land and putting in infrastructure, such as roads, sewer and water lines, parks, etc. Then, the next step is typically to sell-off to builders and others, either getting their money back, or making a profit in good times, or losing their shirt in bad times. This is where Avalon Park Group is different, we continue to invest. Today our investment in Avalon Park Orlando has never been higher, even with the community 99% complete. Why? Again, we have SKIN IN THE GAME and invest alongside the community, in public infrastructure, buildings, startup companies, nonprofit organizations and more.
Having SKIN IN THE GAME does not stop at a financial commitment to infrastructure and businesses, it goes far beyond that. By supporting organizations and members of the community, like the Boys and Girls Club. And when I return from my week-long business trip to Switzerland, we will attend the Mayor’s Gala benefitting First Step this Saturday in Daytona Beach. This is the same in all of our communities, such as in Avalon Park Wesley Chapel, supporting organizations like the Stano Foundation and the Pasco Fine Arts Council with true SKIN IN THE GAME.
At the end of the day if we are all aligned, we can reach so much more for all constituents. Avalon Park Group will stay for the long time, in good and bad times, as we have proven in Orlando over the last third of a century.
PUBLISHER
Beat Kahli EDITOR Stephanie Lerret MANAGING EDITOR
The Avalon Park Sun is published by Avalon Park Group. Interested in Advertising with us? Email Marketing@AvalonParkGroup.com or call 407.658.6565. 3801 Avalon Park East Blvd. #400 Orlando, FL 32828 www.AvalonParkSun.com
Marielle Fernandez ART DIRECTOR Kenzie Farrish
Update from Pasco County Commissioner Seth Weightman
I hope you had a great start to the new year! I appreciate the opportunity to provide you these updates about what is happening around Pasco County.
January brought great news with the opening of Overpass Road interchange at I-75! This was a Pasco County funded project with Florida Department of Transportation managing the construction process. This should help alleviate traffic at the State Road 54 and 52 interchanges in Pasco County, making it a little easier for you to get to Avalon Park Wesley Chapel. I want to thank everyone who worked so hard to make the Overpass Road interchange a reality, it will be a great asset and will help the flow of traffic through east Pasco County.
On January 20th, Moffitt Cancer Center held groundbreaking for phase one of their new research campus in the Land O’ Lakes area, named Speros. This is going to be transformational for Pasco County and I’m excited to see dirt moving beyond the infrastructure work. Our friend, statewide Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Wilton Simpson, was recognized with the main road into the campus being named Wilton Way and early phase of buildings named the W.E. Simpson Concourse for Cures. I was proud to stand with so many people in the community to see such an amazing project. In the near future, some of the most cutting-edge cancer research in the world will be happening in Pasco County.
I received my committee and board assignments from Chairman Jack Mariano in January. I’m thrilled to let you know I’m representing Pasco County on Tampa Bay Water Board of Directors. Before I was elected to the County Commission, I was an appointee of the Governor on the Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board. Water infrastructure are critical components for quality of life, and I look forward to representing Pasco and making
sure our water supply is secured well into the future.
The Pasco County legislative delegation meeting was in January. I greatly appreciate the work of our state delegation and I look forward to working with them more during the spring legislative session. After redistricting, we now have seven members of the Florida Legislature representing Pasco County in Tallahassee.
Thank you again for taking the time to read this column. I hope you have a wonderful February. Remember, you can always catch up on the latest happenings on the Pasco County website at MyPasco.net.
About: Commissioner Seth Weightman represents District 2 on the Pasco County Commission. He lives in San Antonio with his wife and two children.
LIVE (Cont.)
Moffitt Cancer Center Breaks Ground on ‘Speros FL’ Campus Jan. 20
WHAT: This groundbreaking and naming celebration for Speros FL will officially kick off construction of the 775-acre Pasco County campus to be used for the future of revolutionary cancer treatment and research. The campus will feature 16 million square feet of lab, office, manufacturing and clinical space.
The groundbreaking will honor Agricultural Commissioner and former Florida Senate President Wilton Simpson for his long-standing commitment to Moffitt’s mission and his legacy of supporting the growth of the scientific community for the benefit of all Floridians.
“You cannot separate cancer research and treatment from hope, which is the root of the name Speros FL and the driving force behind all that we do at Moffitt Cancer Center,” said Dr. Patrick Hwu, Moffitt president and CEO. “Our vision is to be the global epicenter for personalized oncology care and leading research that will revolutionize the way we prevent, find and treat cancer. We look forward to breaking ground on this innovative community and are proud to announce the name, which is an important step in this historic project.”
The name, Speros, is a derivative of the Latin verb “Sperare,” meaning “to hope” or “to look forward to” and was announced in December 2022.
BY THE NUMBERS:
14,000. Approximate number of Moffitt team members at project completion.
Acres of the total 775 acres to be developed, allowing for environmental preservation. The number of buildings to be built on the site. 6+. Miles of new road construction for the entire
project.
2023-2028: The years in which construction is planned to complete Phase 1A of the campus.
$1.6 billion: The estimated cost of Phase 1A.
$600 million: Total investment in Phase 1A by Moffitt, the state of Florida and Pasco County. (Including $200 million for research, $80 million for clinical, $70 million for proton therapy and $100 million for infrastructure)
$1 billion: Private sector investment for Phase 1A.
WHEN: 10 a.m. Friday, Jan. 20, ceremony begins Media interviews available starting at 9 a.m.
WHERE: Speros FL, 16828 Ridge Road, Land O’Lakes, FL 34638. Parking is available along Ridge Road.
MORE INFO: Drone footage of the property is available here. Additional video and highlights are accessible here
About Moffitt Cancer Center
Moffitt is dedicated to one lifesaving mission: to contribute to the prevention and cure of cancer. The Tampa-based facility is one of only 53 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers, a distinction that recognizes Moffitt’s scientific excellence, multidisciplinary research, and robust training and education. Moffitt’s expert nursing staff is recognized by the American Nurses Credentialing Center with Magnet® status, its highest distinction. With more than 7,800 team members, Moffitt has an economic impact in the state of $2.4 billion. For more information, call 1-888-MOFFITT (1-888-663-3488), visit MOFFITT.org, and follow the momentum on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
WORK (Cont.)
WHO: Moffitt Cancer Center
