Pasco County residents have a new district park, shaped and landscaped out of a former cow pasture at Starkey Ranch.
But, before children could run bases at the new ball fields or play hopscotch at the playground, the “premier” park got its official unveiling at a ceremony on Oct. 31.
About 30 people attended, including members of the Starkey family, the development team for the master-planned Starkey Ranch community, all five of the current Pasco County commissioners, school board members, and Pasco County School Superintendent Kurt Browning.
“It’s a first-class park, and I hope it’s the beginning of what all parks in Pasco will look like,” said Pasco County Commissioner Kathryn Starkey. “This should set the bar for all the parks.”
An R.O.T.C. color guard presented the colors during the Pledge of Allegiance.
River Ridge High School students with the Knights of Jazz entertained. Guests enjoyed a catered luncheon.
The ribbon cutting marked the completion of the first phase of what is estimated to be a $14 million project, spread over several years. Two additional phases are planned.
No construction date is scheduled for the next phase. The park is being completed on a pay-as-you-go plan.
The county budgeted about $7.3 million for the initial design and construction of the park. The county, Pasco County Schools and Wheelock Street Capital agreed to a public/private partnership to build it. The partnership was the first of its kind in Pasco.
Once completed, the shared site is expected to have 14 ball fields, a library, gymnasium, media center, tennis and basketball courts, a paved trail, a black-box theater, and a school for elementary and middle school students.
The school will be built on pastureland adjacent to the park, with an anticipated opening in August 2021.
“That might sound like a long time off,” said Browning. “But, in school years…that’s short.”
The district park is in Odessa, off the main entrance into the master-planned community of Starkey Ranch, at 2500 Heart Pine Drive.
The newly dedicated park has a playground, pavilion, three multi-purpose fields, practice fields, a softball field, a paved trail, concession building, restrooms and a maintenance building.
The seed for the park began with talks between county and school board officials. Initially, plans were to co-locate county and school district facilities.
But, then in 2013, the school district suggested a more ambitious approach to share facilities and create the public/private partnership.
“They took a chance to get this done,” said Dan Green, a principal at Wheelock Street Capital and developer of Starkey Ranch. “But, it’s all coming together to make this a premier place to live in Tampa Bay.”
Construction on Starkey Ranch was just getting started in 2014, said Matt Call, project director for Starkey Ranch/Wheelock Communities.
“We had to build all the infrastructure into the park,” he said. “There was no Heart Pine Drive. This was just a cattle field.”
Per the cooperative agreement, the developer initially will pay for operation and maintenance at the park, with the county gradually sharing in the costs. By the eighth year, the county will have full responsibility for the park.
The arrangement helped the county and school board leverage available taxpayer funds for the project, said Browning.
For instance, the school’s gymnasium, media center, library and black-box theater will be shared among residents and students.
“We want to keep the costs off the taxpayers,” he said.
Pasco County Commissioner Mike Wells said the county has come a long way in developing its park system since his days playing soccer as a teenager.
He recalled a do-it-yourself method of mowing a playing field in his neighborhood the night before a soccer match.
“This is very exciting,” he said. “I can’t wait to see thousands and thousands of our youth out here enjoying this.”
Published November 8, 2017