Volume 22 Issue 26
Inside:
Did You Win A Clearwater Beach Stay? See Page 29!
December 13, 2014
Named The 2014 ‘Small Business Of The Year’ By The Wesley Chapel Chamber Of Commerce! THIS INDEPENDENT COMMUNITY NEWS MAGAZINE IS DIRECTLY MAILED TO: WESLEY CHAPEL: Aberdeen • Belle Chase • Bridgewater • Brookside • Chapel Pines • Country Walk • Lexington Oaks • Meadow Pointe • New River • Northwood • Pinewalk • Pine Ridge Saddlebrook • Saddleridge Estates • Saddlewood • Seven Oaks • The Lakes at Northwood • The Villages of Wesley Chapel • Watergrass • Wesley Pointe • Westbrook Estates • Williamsburg OUR NEW TAMPA EDITIONS ARE MAILED TO: Arbor Greene • Cory Lake Isles • Cross Creek • Easton Park • Grand Hampton • Heritage Isles • Hunter’s Green • Hunter’s Key K-Bar Ranch • Lake Forest • Live Oak Preserve • Pebble Creek • Richmond Place • Tampa Palms • The Hammocks • West Meadows
Costco Meets With Pasco Officials After Outlet Mall Breaks Ground By Matt Wiley The developer of the planned Tampa Premium Outlets mall on S.R. 56 (just west of I-75), has scheduled a groundbreaking ceremony for the day that you should be receiving this issue in your mailbox. After years of uncertainty and months of preparation, work will officially begin on the planned 441,000-sq.-ft. outlet mall in the Cypress Creek Town Center (CCTC) Development of Regional Impact (DRI). That news comes just days after representatives from the Costco Wholesale Corporation scheduled a pre-application meeting with Pasco County staff to discuss a possible new location on an 18-acre parcel adjacent to the future mall (see map). The meeting is set for Tuesday, December 16. County records state that Costco is planning a 153,000-sq.-ft. wholesale warehouse on the outparcel adjacent to (and west of) the mall, but a finalized site plan had not yet been submitted at our press time. County documents also show that Costco’s director of real estate management Jeff Rutter, Edward McDonald of Thomas Engineering, Dominic Salomone (representing the Richard E. Jacobs Group, which owns the property) and Joe Cimino of WRA Engineering, as well as Pasco’s planning staff, will be in attendance at the December 16 meeting. Pasco County planner Dawn Sutton says that after that meeting, Costco officials
will have six months (180 days) to submit a development plan for review, although a representative from Costco declined to comment on that report. “(The Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce [WCCC] is) excited Costco is potentially investing in Wesley Chapel,” says WCCC executive director Hope Allen. “The Cypress Creek Town Center is a fantastic location for a warehouse store. From what I understand, Costco offers great jobs, great pay, great benefits and a great place to work, so they would a good addition to our community.” Development actually has begun on both sides of S.R. 56 within the CCTC DRI (we told you about ground being moved in the property north of S.R. 56 in our August 30 issue, which is available at WCNeighborhoodNews.com), although Costco is only the second store that has been named as a potential retailer anywhere in the DRI. Back in May of 2012, Simon announced that it would be opening seven new locations of the popular clothing outlet Saks Fifth Avenue “Off 5th” at many of its new and existing outlet malls. Among the new locations on the list is the Tampa Premium Outlets, which is expected to open in time for the 2015 Holiday Season, or about a year from the Dec. 12 groundbreaking. The CCTC DRI sat dormant for years after initial development began in 2007. Lawsuits from a coalition of environmental
groups, led by the Sierra Club of Tampa Bay, delayed the project with legal setbacks, shortly after the U.S. Army Corps of engineers issued a building permit to the Richard E. Jacobs Group, which originally was developing more than 500 acres of the DRI south of S.R. 56 into a regional mall. The Corps has to issue a permit when environmentally-sensitive lands are being developed. The Army Corps revoked the developer’s permit after muddy water was discovered pouring into Cypress Creek, a tributary that A meeting is scheduled between Costco Wholesale and Pasco County feeds into the Hillsbor- to discuss a possible future location for the international chain (outough River and supplies lined in pink above) in the Cypress Creek Town Center DRI. drinking water to Hillsborough and surrounding counties, but the mall’s building permit and, according to lawsuit still moved forward. The Sierra Club court documents, ordered the Army Corps sued the Army Corps for violating the Clean to make a determination on how the project Water Act in 2007 and the Jacobs Group would affect wildlife habitat fragmentation, specifically for the endangered eastern inpaid substantial fines in a settlement. A November 2011 ruling in the U.S. digo snake. The Corps issued an “all-clear” District of Columbia Appeals Court reversed late in 2013 and infrastructure development a previous decision that all but revoked the picked up this summer.
By Matt Wiley They came, they saw, they wobbled. The second annual Wiregrass Wobble Turkey Trot 5K is a wrap and, once again, a success. More than 1,700 people of all ages came out to the Shops at Wiregrass mall (located off Bruce B. Downs [BBD] Blvd. in Wesley Chapel) on Thanksgiving morning (November 27) to participate in the 5K race and onemile fun run that raised money for the New
Tampa Family YMCA (located on Compton Dr. in Tampa Palms), Feeding America Tampa Bay and Rotary International Foundation. The 5K (which was organized by Brian Brink, of Wiregrass mall merchant FITniche) took participants around the mall and out to Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel. On the way back to the finish lane at the mall, runners were challenged with running up and down the ramp in the mall’s parking garage, a “Florida hill.”
The one-mile run took participants around the mall down Paseo Dr. “I’m very happy with how this year’s event went,” Brink says. “It went much smoother than last year and we had great weather!” Brink says that the proceeds from the event are still being totalled, but that so far it has raised more than last year’s impressive $20,000. “The Shops at Wiregrass is thrilled to partner with FITniche in More than 1,700 ‘Wobblers’ came out to participate in the second annual Wiregrass Wobble Turkey Trot at the Shops providing a venue to host their secat Wiregrass Mall on Thanksgiving Day. ond annual Wiregrass Wobble,” said Shops at Wiregrass marketing director Deb- about 300 more participants than last year. Congratulations to Donald Bly, 40, of bie Detweiler. “It was great to see so many individuals and families here on Thanksgiving Lutz, for finishing first in the 5K with a time morning to participate. We are honored to of 17:21.3. be a part of this community event in support of the New Tampa Family YMCA, Feeding America Tampa Bay and the Rotary (International Foundation).” She added that this year’s race drew
Wiregrass Wobble Turkey Trot Gobbles Up Greenbacks For Some Good Causes
Also Inside This Issue!
News, Business, Sports & Education Updates
Neighborhood Magazine
Improvements Coming To County Line Rd., Baseball Complex Deal In Jeopardy; Plus, Lots Of Local Business Features!
Reviews Of Little Greek & OTB Cafe, Our 2014 Dining Survey & Contest Results & Neighborhood Nibbles & Biz Bytes!
Pages 1-24
Pages 25-44