Kathy Steele

JCPenney announces 250 jobs

July 13, 2016 By Kathy Steele

JCPenney stores in the Tampa Bay area, including Pasco County, are taking applications for 250 jobs, according to an email announcement from the national department store chain.

Many jobs are part-time, but company officials say most positions can be stepping stones to longtime careers with Penney’s.

Stores are hiring now as they gear up for back-to-school shoppers, according to the company email.

The Florida Sales Tax Holiday in 2016 generally heralds the start of the new school season. This year the holiday begins Aug. 5 and ends Aug. 7. Sales tax exemptions apply to clothing, shoes and school supplies.

Jobs are available at area malls including The Shops at Wiregrass in Pasco, Westfield Brandon in Brandon, Westshore Plaza in Tampa and Westfield Citrus Park in Hillsborough County.

There are openings for cashiers, commission sales associates, merchandise support associates and customer support positions.

The company is seeking “energetic associates,” according to Joey Thomas, a company spokesman who responded by email to The Laker/Lutz News.

James Cash Penney founded the department store chain 114 years ago in Wyoming. He learned the retail business initially by working for owners of the Golden Rule stores in Colorado and Wyoming. Eventually, he bought them out.

Penney’s sells clothes, cosmetics, electronics, shoes, furniture, housewares, jewelry and most recently, appliances.

There are more than 1,000 stores in American and Puerto Rico. JCPenney had about 105,000 employees as of 2015, according to company data.

People can apply in-store at Applicant Kiosks or online at JCPcareers.com.

Published July 13, 2016

Business Digest 07/13/2016

July 13, 2016 By Kathy Steele

New board member
The Pasco Economic Development Council welcomes Kevin Glenn to its board of directors. Glenn is vice president of business development with Cutler Associates Inc. The firm recently increased its investment in the PEDC to a corporate-council level of $10,000. Glenn is a veteran of marketing and business development in the architecture/engineering/construction industry, including senior level positions in the Tampa Bay region with Bovis Lend Lease, Turner Construction, Heery International and Kvaerner Construction.

He recently joined Cutler Associates in a leadership role throughout the west coast and central Florida regions.

Cutler Associates is a design/build construction firm specializing in health care, education, industrial/manufacturing and senior living markets in the Tampa Bay area. The company has been active in Pasco County on such projects as Bayonet Point Middle School and Fivay High School. It will serve as construction manager for the new high school in Wesley Chapel, scheduled to open in August 2017.

For information on Pasco EDC and becoming an investor, visit PascoEDC.com, or call (813) 926-0827.

Mixer
Enjoy a monthly mixer on July 14 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., at Zaytoun Mediterranean Grill at 10970 Cross Creek Blvd., in New Tampa.

There will be samples, door prizes and a dinner special.

For information, call The Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce at (813) 994-8534, or email .

Grand opening
Bay Dermatology & Cosmetic Surgery will have a ribbon cutting and grand opening on July 15 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., at 2653 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., in Wesley Chapel.

The event is free.

Please RSVP to Shar Preslar at (727) 585-8591, or email .

Salon open house
Porte Noire, a salon collective, will have an open house on July 18 at 11 a.m., at its new location in the Palms of Carrollwood, at 13145 N. Dale Mabry Highway in Tampa. Attendees can tour the site and enjoy light refreshments. The event is free.

Porte Noire is a community of independently owned studio salons operated by cosmetology, health and wellness professionals.

For information, visit PorteNoire.com, Facebook.com/portenoire, or call Meaghan Butler at (407) 472-3732.

Hispanic business luncheon
The Hispanic Business Leaders luncheon will be July 19 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Land O’ Lakes Community Center, at 5401 Land O’ Lakes Blvd. The event is hosted by the Hispanic Business Leaders of the Central Pasco Chamber of Commerce. Meetings are conducted in English.

The cost is $20 for chamber members, and $25 for non-members, but $15 if prepaid by July 14.

For information, email .

Business forum
A Lunch N Learn Business Forum is scheduled for July 21 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at The Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce Don Porter Boardroom, at 6013 Wesley Chapel Blvd., Suite 105.

Attendees will learn about IGTech365, a company offering IT management services.

The cost is $15 including lunch. RSVP by July 20 is required, as seating is limited.

For information, visit WesleyChapelChamber.com, or call (813) 994-8534.

Chamber luncheon
The North Tampa Chamber of Commerce will have a chamber networking luncheon on July 21 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Beef O’ Brady’s, at 8810 N. Himes Ave., in Tampa. Attendees can order from the lunch or regular menu. A minimum payment of $5 is required if you don’t order food, plus you must pay for your drinks.

Display table is available for brochures, flyers and promotional items.

RSVP by July 19 to , or call Keller Williams Tampa at (813) 864-6370.

Two-day forum
The third annual APTacious Experience, a two-day forum for personal and professional development, will meet on Aug. 5 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., and on Aug. 6 from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Residence Inn by Marriott, at Northpointe Village, 2101 Northpointe Parkway in Lutz.

June Hall, founder of Time to APT (Accentuate Positive Thinking), is the event’s organizer. This year’s theme is “Find Your Happiness, Find Your Success.”

There will be live entertainment, food, breakout sessions, door prizes and a fashion show. The event will benefit two nonprofit organizations — Big Brothers/Big Sisters Tampa Bay and Bricks 4 Kidz Wesley Chapel. The organizations are serving as partners for the forum, with Time to APT.

Special hotel rates are available for event attendees.

The cost is $60 for the forum.

For sponsorship opportunities, program booklet ads and exhibitor tables, email Alexandria Blaha at .

For information or to register, visit Aptacious.com/register/.

New centers coming soon to Land O’ Lakes

July 6, 2016 By Kathy Steele

What the Great Recession took away, boom times are bringing back.

Three properties in Land O’ Lakes, along U.S. 41 and State Road 54, are poised to deliver new restaurants, retail and offices. All three sites languished as the economy tanked.

Now, Strategic Properties Group is ready to build the first of three new shopping centers on land that the real estate development firm held onto for nearly a decade.

Two more centers are in planning stages.

First up is Camp Indianhead Crossings, a triangular swath of land fronting State Road 54, at the corner of Camp Indianhead Road.

Camp Indianhead Crossings will open in early 2017 with Hungry Greek and OTB Delight Café among its tenants. An artist’s rendering shows the shopping center as a one-story building at State Road 54 and Camp Indianhead Road in Land O’ Lakes. (Photos courtesy of Strategic Properties Group) — Camp Indianhead Crossings will open in early 2017 with Hungry Greek and OTB Delight Café among its tenants. An artist’s rendering shows the shopping center as a one-story building at State Road 54 and Camp Indianhead Road in Land O’ Lakes.
(Photos courtesy of Strategic Properties Group)

Hungry Greek and OTB Café are the first announced tenants. Both restaurants also have locations at The Shoppes of Wesley Chapel on Bruce B. Downs Boulevard.

A groundbreaking will get dirt moving this week on the slightly more than 1 ½-acre site, according to Barry Jackson, managing member of Strategic Properties.

The swath, just west of Pep Boys, will be home to a one-story building with approximately 12,700 square feet of restaurant, retail and office space. Facades on both sides of the structure will match. Multiple driveways onto the site will include an entrance off State Road 54.

In addition to Hungry Greek and OTB, Jackson is negotiating with a national chain restaurant for a third dining spot at the center.

A nationally known hair salon also is anticipated at Camp Indianhead.

Exit Prime Realty and Jackson’s own company will relocate offices to the new center.

Another 6,500 square feet remains leasable.

Jackson said a nail salon likely could be another tenant.

“I’ve had several talking with me,” he said.

Jackson expects to have the building ready for occupancy by the end of the year. Tenants then will complete the build out for their individual spaces.

Some shops could open in February, with restaurants likely to open in March.

Barry Jackson is managing member of Strategic Properties Group. The real estate development company plans to build three shopping centers in Land O’ Lakes.

Visibility and traffic volume along State Road 54 made the location an attractive real estate buy in 2006. But, just as Jackson anticipated construction, the bottom fell out of the economy, and the project stalled out.

With the economy rebounding and development on State Road 54 humming again, Camp Indianhead finally is ready for its debut. Its attractiveness is still intact, Jackson said.

“Demographics in the area are terrific,” he said. “The county counts about 70,000 cars a day between Collier Parkway and U.S. 41. You pick up all the traffic going both ways from the two intersections.”

Strategic Properties is eyeing development of two more shopping centers in Land O’ Lakes that also had to wait out the economic downturn.

Though Wesley Chapel has been in the development spotlight with the opening of Tampa Premium Outlets, development at Cypress Creek Town Center — the Land O’ Lakes area is starting to share in the action.

“It’s not happening as fast as Wesley Chapel and Bruce B. Downs Boulevard are,” said Jackson. “But, it’s not far behind, probably a year behind.”

Land O’ Lakes Landings is in the planning stages, Jackson said. That center likely will begin construction in 2018.

It will be similar in size to Camp Indianhead at about 13,000 square feet, located on U.S. 41, more than a mile south of State Road 52. The site is next to an approximately 500-home master-planned community from Ryan Homes that will be built on land formerly part of the Lester Dairy farm.

Leases are not in place, but Jackson said he is in discussions with a national chain restaurant.

“We’re waiting on them (Ryan) to get stuff moving,” Jackson said. “We are the first commercial parcel outside of this development’s entrance.”

Another shopping center is in the planning stages, as well, Jackson said. That center, Lake Thomas Crossings, likely will begin construction in 2017.

It is a 16,000 square-foot shopping center on U.S. 41, about three miles north of State Road 54, and south of Ehren Cutoff.

“There is a desperate need for restaurants and retail up there,” Jackson said.

Connerton is another of Pasco’s housing developments that came to a standstill during the recession. But now, new homes are sprouting, and a McDonald’s restaurant is under construction at an entrance into the community.

Jackson said the draw to that area remains 100 percent the development of Connerton.

“If Connerton didn’t happen, we wouldn’t have bought the property,” he said.

Revised on July 8, 2016

Wesley Chapel: No. 1 job market

July 6, 2016 By Kathy Steele

Wesley Chapel is at the top of the list for “best job market” in Florida, according to a report from WalletHub on 2016’s Best & Worst Florida Cities for Finding a Job.

The Washington D.C.-based financial website ranked 130 cities in the state in three categories: job market, socio-economic environment and overall.

While Wesley Chapel came in first, Lutz and Land O’ Lakes ranked 16 and 17, respectively, as best job markets.

In this category, reviewers looked at job opportunities, employment growth, starting salaries and unemployment rates.

In ranking for socio-economic environment, they considered median annual income, average commute times, employee benefits, housing and transportation costs, crime rates and social life, such as things to do and places to go.

Wesley Chapel scored second in affordable housing and third for lowest unemployment for high school graduates.

Overall, Wesley Chapel’s scores earned a fourth place finish behind Sarasota in first place, Jacksonville Beach in second place and Pensacola in third place.

Still, average workdays and commute times were factors working against Wesley Chapel, which mustered only a 66th place on socio-economic environment factors alone.

Lutz ranked 27th on the socio-economic score and 11th overall, while Land O’ Lakes languished in 113th place in socio-economic rankings and 46th overall.

Tampa ranked 15th in the job market, ninth in socio-economic environment and sixth overall. Brandon came in second behind Wesley Chapel in job market, 68th in socio-economic environment and fifth overall.

Spring Hill was 126th overall, 121st in the job market and 125th in socio-economic.

Miami Gardens sat at the bottom of the list overall and in job market, and rose only to 124th spot on the socio-economic

scale.

The full WalletHub report is available at WalletHub.com/edu/best-cities-in-florida-for-jobs/21610.

Published July 6, 2016

Business Digest 07/06/2016

July 6, 2016 By Kathy Steele

Business expansion
Global Electronics Testing Services, LLC (GETS) broke ground on June 13 on a new 10,000 square-foot building at the West Pasco Industrial Park, in Odessa. This expansion is a first step toward qualification as a Defense Logistics Agency-laboratory for testing electronic components.

The Pasco Economic Development Council worked with the electronics testing services company’s representatives to obtain permitting for the project.

The company is one of only a few independent electronic component-testing companies in the global market. Clients served by the company from its Pasco County headquarters, and an office in China, include major industries such as automotive, defense/aerospace, medical and electronics. The company is at the forefront of efforts to eliminate counterfeit or substandard electronic components.

“The additional capacity will enable us to increase our output and allow for quicker turn times for our customers,” said Dan Tang, company president, in a Pasco EDC newsletter.

Grand opening
Buttermilk Provisions will have a ribbon cutting on July 6 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., and a grand opening on July 8 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., at 2653 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., in Wesley Chapel.

Enjoy samples and giveaways at the ribbon cutting at this bakery and coffeehouse. Try a tasty treat, sip delicious coffee and enjoy the comfortable environment on grand opening day.

For information, call The Greater Wesley Chapel of Commerce at (813) 994-8534, or email .

Grand opening
Intrinsic Wellness Clinic will have grand opening with Mocktails, “NECK”working and Nibbles on July 7 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., at 2808 Windguard Circle, Suite 101, in Wesley Chapel.

The event is free.

For information, email .

Central Pasco meeting
The Central Pasco Chamber of Commerce will have a general membership meeting on July 12 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Harbor Terrace Restaurant, at 19502 Heritage Harbor Parkway in Lutz.

Members and guests are welcome.

Guest speaker will be Bill Cronin, chief executive officer at the Pasco Economic Development Council.

The cost is $20 if you RSVP by July 8, and $25 after and at the door.

For information, call the chamber at (813) 909-2722, or email .

East Pasco networking
East Pasco Networking Group will have its monthly breakfast meeting on July 12 at 7:30 a.m., at Fresh Country Café, at 5518 Gall Blvd., in Zephyrhills.

Guest speaker will be Melinda Veldez, manager of Community Impact Initiatives of United Way of Pasco County.

For information contact Chairman Nils Lenz at (813) 782-9491 or . Or, contact Vice Chairwoman Vicky Jones at (813) 431-1149 or .

Tampa Bay Express wins a crucial vote

June 29, 2016 By Kathy Steele

A hard-fought, often passionate battle over Tampa Bay’s transportation future ended with a vote in favor of building the Tampa Bay Express.

The project calls for 90 miles of new toll lanes on Interstate 275 from St. Petersburg to Wesley Chapel, along Interstate 4 to Plant City, and south on Interstate 75 to Manatee County.

Vehicles stack up near ramps onto and off Interstate 75 in Pasco County. The interchange is near Tampa Premium Outlets and an active development area for new shops and restaurants. Supporters of Tampa Bay Express hope the transportation project will ease congestion. (File Photo) — Vehicles stack up near ramps onto and off Interstate 75 in Pasco County. The interchange is near Tampa Premium Outlets and an active development area for new shops and restaurants. Supporters of Tampa Bay Express hope the transportation project will ease congestion.
(File Photo)

The project is seen by many in Pasco County as key to propelling economic growth and easing traffic congestion.

“We’re happy it passed,” said Hope Allen, executive director of The Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce. “Common sense prevailed in that it will be moving forward. Further discussion will happen and that’s good.”

Advocates for and against packed the June 22 public hearing of the Hillsborough County Metropolitan Planning Organization. More than 160 people signed up for public comment during an 8-hour speaking marathon that lasted until almost 2:30 a.m. Most were from Tampa, but others came from St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Plant City and Pasco.

The Hillsborough MPO voted 12-4 to put the expressway project, known as TBX, as a priority on its five-year transportation plan. The plan must be submitted to the Florida Department of Transportation by July 15 for state and federal review.

Construction on phase one is slated for 2021 and would re-design the I-275 interchange into downtown Tampa.

Work on a new span of the Howard Frankland Bridge, between Tampa and St. Petersburg, however, is planned for 2017.

TBX will create new toll lanes adjacent to existing non-toll lanes at an initial cost of more than $3 billion, and potentially as much as $6 billion.

Toll fees would vary depending on traffic volume, with more expensive tolls applying at rush hour. No toll rates have been announced, but fees on existing toll systems, including on Interstate 95 in Miami, suggest they could be as high as $2 a mile.

A rapid bus transit service potentially could use the toll lane, but not pay tolls.

In the weeks leading up to the vote, the Wesley Chapel chamber joined with other area chambers and organizations in Pasco and the region, to publicly support and campaign for a favorable vote on TBX.

Four of Pasco County’s commissioners also signed a letter of support. Pasco County Commissioner Jack Mariano was the lone dissenter.

He objected to toll lanes, saying they would be unfair to people who can’t afford expensive toll fees.

Other options, including conversion of CSX rail lines for public transit, should be studied, Mariano said.

“To me, you are wasting capacity for a rich few,” he said. “There should be a big regional discussion on what is going on in the whole area.”

Opponents of TBX campaigned to block the project as a boondoggle that would benefit wealthy motorists, harm minority communities, lower air quality and crush ongoing revitalization of neighborhoods that suffered during highway widening projects in the 1960s and 1970s.

The project is expected to wipe out as many as 100 businesses and residences in historic neighborhoods of Tampa Heights, Seminole Heights and V.M. Ybor.

“This project is morally flawed on several levels,” said Beverly Ward, principal of BGW Associates, a company that studies effects of public policy decisions on communities.

But, supporters said TBX should be viewed as a regional project that would significantly decrease commute times, promote new development, and encourage more customers to visit existing businesses outside their neighborhoods.

“It’s going to hopefully expedite commuting up to us,” said Greg Lenners, general manager of The Shops at Wiregrass. “We’re still seen as a more rural area. It will be a plus.”

More than half of Pasco’s workers commute to jobs outside of the county, sometimes sitting for two hours in stalled traffic on interstates.

Others in St. Petersburg, Tampa and Plant City said they also want relief from congestion to spend more time with family, friends and children.

“This project will benefit everyone,” said Ken Roberts, an Apollo Beach resident and member of Citizens Organized for Sound Transportation. “We need to realize we are in this all together.”

Published June 29, 2016

Wildlife corridors map a pathway through Pasco

June 29, 2016 By Kathy Steele

A network of conservation corridors to provide safer pathways for wildlife in Pasco County finally is more than just lines on a map.

Still, it took a few tweaks at a June 21 public hearing before Pasco County commissioners could approve an ordinance stuck in planning limbo for years.

In the end, the corridors made some happy, others less so.

“This ordinance is scientific, viably provable and defensible,” said Mac Davis of the Gulf Coast Conservancy. He addressed the commissioners during public comment at the hearing.

B.C. Manion/Staff Photo Keith Wiley is Pasco County’s natural resources manager. He guided efforts to craft an ordinance to create wildlife corridors. (B.C. Manion/Staff Photo) — B.C. Manion/Staff Photo
Keith Wiley is Pasco County’s natural resources manager. He guided efforts to craft an ordinance to create wildlife corridors.
(B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)

“It is imminently fair to everyone,” he said. “It is so long overdue. If it needs some tweaking later, we can address that…but, let’s get this show on the road.”

Attorney David Smolker generally praised the hard work of county staff in rewriting portions of the ordinance to meet objections of landowners. But, he said concerns remained about property rights and the cost to landowners.

“You’re going to run into problems on a case-by-case basis,” Smolker told commissioners.

About 2,500 acres of approximately 7,000 acres needed for the corridors runs through private land.

In Central Pasco, corridors will link current and proposed development projects at Starkey Ranch, Crossbar, Connerton and Cypress Creek.

A letter submitted by the Bexley family declared the ordinance an unconstitutional burden on property rights for those with corridors crossing their land. The Bexleys own a large spread at the southeast corner of Suncoast Parkway and State Road 52, which will become part of a master-planned community.

Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore said landowners who contacted him worried about public access onto and across properties. Owners with small parcels are especially worried about loss of privacy, he said.

“People would prefer not to have people walking through their backyards, whether they are observing birds or taking a walk, or whatever it is,” Moore said.

Pasco County commissioners approved the creation of seven wildlife corridors meant to give animals such as bears, turtles, otters, ospreys, frogs and fox squirrels safe pathways within the county. (Courtesy of Pasco County) — Pasco County commissioners approved the creation of seven wildlife corridors meant to give animals such as bears, turtles, otters, ospreys, frogs and fox squirrels safe pathways within the county.
(Courtesy of Pasco County)

Staff added a graph outlining a process for the property owner to participate in decisions about access and what passive types of recreation could be allowed.

“Not every piece would be appropriate for any passive amenity,” said Keith Wiley, the county’s natural resources manager. “Every situation would be different. But, (the ordinance) would at least give citizens that are concerned an opportunity to provide input to the process.”

There are seven corridors countywide mapped out as natural pathways for diverse wildlife including spotted turtles, gopher frogs, ospreys, fox squirrels, bears and river otters. County officials also say the corridors help preserve water resources and wetlands.

Nearly 16 years ago, a court settlement mandated that Pasco create the corridors, also known as “critical linkages.” Previous commissions tried and failed in that mission.

Janice Howie of the Nature Coast Florida Native Plant Society told commissioners time was running out as new development gobbles up open land. As an example, she said 20 or so bears in the northwestern corner of the county are hemmed in by houses and U.S. 19, unable to migrate to more natural habitats.

“We will probably not be in a position to form corridors if we wait another 16 years, because there won’t be enough land,” she said.

County staff initiated new discussions on the corridors in April 2015. Meetings were held throughout the county to gather input, and portions of the ordinance rewritten.

Among adjustments were a process to negotiate the corridor’s width; a chance to reroute the corridor without filing an expensive rezoning application; and splitting maintenance costs for corridors and easements between the county and landowner.

The ordinance would apply only if a landowner sought to rezone property for land uses of greater density or intensity, and had some portion of the corridor within the property’s boundaries. There are exemptions for existing development approvals.

The county can buy corridor property outright or acquire use of the land, but not ownership. Landowners would be compensated. When disagreements arise over issues such as sales price, location or boundaries of the corridors, landowners can appeal to the commissioners.

“We made the process very fair, very clear,” said Matt Armstrong, the county’s executive planner for the Long Range Planning Group. “Every little nut and bolt must function properly.”

Published June 29, 2016

Pasco’s sludge will become fertilizer

June 29, 2016 By Kathy Steele

Pasco County’s sludge problem appears to have a solution.

Commissioners approved an agreement with biosolids management company, Merrell Bros. Inc., to build a facility that will dry out 23,000 tons of the county’s wet sludge annually and convert the sludge into saleable dry fertilizer.

In addition, Merrell can contract with other counties to dispose of their sludge, for a total of 50,000 tons each year.

Merrell Bros. made a workshop presentation to commissioners on May 17. Commissioners gave the green light on June 21 at their meeting in New Port Richey to construct the biosolids facility.

The agreement “allows us to control our own destiny for biosolids waste disposal,” said Flip Mellinger, assistant county administrator for utility services.

Under the agreement, Merrell will build and operate the facility, which would be owned by the county and located at the Shady Hills solid waste complex.

Construction costs cannot exceed $13 million. However, the county also would be responsible for about $1.2 million in contingency funds. Design and construction of the facility will take about two years.

Currently, much of the county’s sludge is composted or hauled to landfills in Georgia, or to St. Cloud. However, tipping fees are increasing, and disposal sites are decreasing as state regulations restrict new permits.

The annual cost for sludge disposal to the county is about $1.3 million a year. With the biosolids facility, the county could save $600,000 or more, partially based on sharing in a portion of fertilizer sales and fees paid by Merrell.

The county’s agreement with Merrell is for 15 years, with three, 5-year renewals.

The facility will have a greenhouse “pod,” a pasteurization building and an odor control system.

Published June 29, 2016

New shops coming to Wiregrass

June 29, 2016 By Kathy Steele

The Shops at Wiregrass is freshening up its retail lineup, and looking ahead to a spring 2018 opening for an adjoining retail center.

For now, the new shopping center is identified as the “connector site.”

New shops, restaurants, a grocery store and movie theater are planned.

Shoppers will have walkways to allow easy access into and out of both sites.

“We want to blend and separate it, but create its own identity at the same time,” said Greg Lenners, general manager at the Wiregrass shops.

Greg Lenners is general manager of The Shops at Wiregrass.

Developers are awaiting a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, but Lenners said the anticipated opening will be in the spring of 2018.

He spoke to about 30 people at a luncheon on June 23 sponsored by The Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce.

The chamber has economic development briefings, with invited guest speakers on the last Thursday of each month.

Forest City Enterprises, the developers of The Shops at Wiregrass, and NRP Group are partnering on the expansion adjacent to The Shops at Wiregrass.

About 250 upscale apartments are planned, as well as about 120,000 square feet of retail, Lenners said.

A 30,000-square-foot grocery and a 35,000-square-foot movie house will be built. “The idea is a dinner-type theater,” said Lenners.

Shops and restaurants could fill in the remaining 55,000 square feet of commercial space.

Lenners also gave a rundown on recent store openings at Wiregrass.

VOM FASS Oils Vinegars Spirits, which opened last week, is the newest retailer and joins other new additions: Rocket Fizz, Lola Perfume, Soleciety Sneaker Boutique and 3D Musketeers.

VisionWorks is slated for a fall opening. Vitamin Shoppe could open by the end of August. And, Irish 31 Pub & Eatery, Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt and Avalon Spa also are expected to open in coming months.

But, Lenners shot down rumors of a Cheesecake Factory.

At least in the near future.

Chains such as Cheesecake or P.F. Chang’s count on large lunch crowds, and the area falls a little short on that, Lenners said.

“You have a commuter demographic here so our lunch traffic goes down,” he said. “We’ll get there.”

As an example, Lenners said about 1,200 houses are under construction near The Shops at Wiregrass. Communities such as Estancia and The Ridge are adding to the local population and signaling continued growth in the area.

“We’re literally right on the 50-yard line,” Lenners said.

Published June 29, 2016

Company rewarded for its job growth

June 29, 2016 By Kathy Steele

Pasco County commissioners rewarded a Lutz startup pharmacy service for adding at least 26 full-time jobs to the local economy.

Crestmark Pharmacy Services LLC received an incentive payout of $104,000 through a jobs agreement approved by commissioners at their June 21 meeting in New Port Richey.

Since opening in 2015, the company has hired 24 employees.

That number could rise to 30 or more, according to Randall McElheney, company manager.

“We’re happy to be in Pasco County,” said McElheney.

Crestmark Pharmacy is located at 1860 Highland Oaks Blvd., in Lutz. The company provides prescription medications to long-term care patients at nursing homes. Services also include information technology solutions for caregivers, consultations, and infusion therapy.

The Pasco Economic Development Council reviewed the company’s application and found that it qualified for the incentive program.

Under county ordinance, companies must create a minimum of 10 jobs within a year. Salaries must be greater than the average wage in Pasco County, and at least 51 percent of products and services must be sold outside of the county.

County officials see the economic impact from jobs at Crestmark Pharmacy as a generator of additional jobs, indirectly. Estimates are for 17 more jobs locally at other businesses and 13 more jobs in other counties, for a total of 56 jobs.

Crestmark Pharmacy also is adding good paying jobs at an average annual salary of about $60,000 per employee. At 26 employees, total annual wages paid by the company would be about $1.3 million.

Annual sales for the company are about $12 million, according to county officials.

The pharmacy’s distribution area primarily is central Florida, as far north as Gainesville and as far south as Port Charlotte. McElheney said.

“The incentive had a lot to do with us deciding to come here,” he said. But, other factors also mattered.

Lutz is centrally located within the Tampa Bay region. There also is a good labor market for recruiting job applicants, McElheney said.

He also noted that Pasco is a growth area.

“People can be close to their home. It was attractive to them to work here,” he said.

Published June 29, 2016