Michael Hinman

West Winds in Zephyrhills sells to California group

October 8, 2014 By Michael Hinman

West Winds Assisted Living Facility is no longer locally owned.

The 75-bed for-profit facility, located at 37411 Eiland Blvd., in Zephyrhills, was sold Oct. 1 to Sabra Health Care Holdings III, which lists its address in Irvine, California, according to Pasco County property records.

West Winds Assisted Living Facility on Eiland Boulevard is now known as Rosecastle of Zephyrhills. (File photo)

West Winds Prime LLC was the seller. The Palm Harbor company’s ownership has essentially managed the facility through various companies since West Winds opened in 2008.

Sabra is a real estate investment trust that acquires senior citizen housing, memory care and skilled nursing facilities around the country. It purchased West Winds for $10.2 million, adding it to six skilled nursing facilities and three senior housing facilities Sabra purchased through the first half of 2014 for $141.5 million, according to its filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

It’s not clear how many facilities purchased recently, but a newspaper in Nashville reported the REIT closed on a facility there around the same time for $21.1 million.

Real estate investment trusts, or REITs, are financial securities that allow investors to buy ownership into a property or mortgage, rather than in a company like what would typically be found on the stock market. Investors in such projects usually earn a percentage of profit from rents or fees collected from tenants in those properties, and would receive a portion of any profits made when the REIT sells that project to someone else.

Through the end of June, Sabra already owned six skilled nursing facilities in Florida, according to the company’s website. That includes a 107-bed campus in Fort Pierce the company purchased last March as part of a two-facility, $24.5 million deal.

West Winds did not respond to a request for comment.

This is the third largest real estate transaction in Pasco this year, behind the $36.1 million sale of the Arlington at Northwood apartment complex in Wesley Chapel, and the $16 million sale of more than 330 acres of land in Wiregrass Ranch to make way for a proposed 550-home subdivision. Both of those transactions took place in May.

Fairfield Inn planning Wiregrass Ranch location

October 8, 2014 By Michael Hinman

Wiregrass Ranch has a mall, a hospital, a college campus, and in the near future — a new hotel.

Developers want to build a 92-room Fairfield Inn & Suites on State Road 56, on a 91-acre parcel east of The Shops at Wiregrass. It would be located less than a mile off Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, and be close not only to the mall, but also to Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel and Pasco-Hernando State College’s Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch.

Pasco County officials will meet with developers in a non-public meeting next week to hash out some of the details of the project, but it will be located on land that has been used for decades for grazing at Wiregrass Ranch. It’s not clear if developers plan to subdivide that tract of land on State Road 56, or to provide other outparcel amenities, since the 91 acres is far more than the typical 2 acres or so a hotel of this size would need.

The developer, who was not identified in documents filed with the county, has hired Hardeman-Kempton & Associates of Tampa to manage the project, which will include 54,500 square feet of commercial space.

It would be just the second Fairfield Inn in Pasco County, joining a 78-room hotel in Holiday. The chain is considered one of the lower-cost brands operated by the Marriott chain, and locations typically are franchised out.

Mariano to BP: Settle oil spill lawsuit

October 7, 2014 By Michael Hinman

Jack Mariano has one thing to say to BP: Enough is enough.

In a letter addressed to the British petroleum conglomerate, the Pasco County Commission chairman is urging company officials to drop its appeal of a potentially $18 billion verdict in a federal Clean Water Act lawsuit. Instead, Mariano pled BP to finalize claims from Pasco businesses, and allow all involved to finally move forward.

“The Tampa Bay region and Pasco County cannot afford a further delay in its recovery efforts,” Mariano wrote. “BP’s decision to appeal the ruling, and thus continue to delay the outcome of the trial, will result in yet another time delay in correcting and addressing the damage that occurred because of the spill.”

The Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico near Louisiana on April 20, 2010. Oil continued to spill into the water for nearly three months, in what the government estimated was 4.9 million barrels making its way into the ecosystem before the well was officially sealed in September 2010.

BP reportedly settled billions of dollars worth of claims, including $6.6 million worth in Pasco, according to The Legal Examiner. However, that’s just based on nearly 70 claims while a total of more than 1,100 exist in the county, demanding $105 million.

BP did not return a request by The Laker/Lutz News for comment, but released a statement last month saying it disagreed with the court decision that the company was grossly negligent for what happened on the Deepwater Horizon, and that evidence at the trial did not support the judge’s conclusion.

“The law is clear that proving gross negligence is a very high bar that was not met in this case,” BP said in its statement. “BP believes that an impartial view of the record does not support the erroneous conclusion reached by the district court.”

In the meantime, people and wildlife that call the Gulf home continue to suffer from the spill, Mariano said. He cited a University of South Florida study that found “injurious fish skin lesions” on animal life, which he said resulted from the spill.

“For a region that relies on its natural resources to help drive its tourism industry, such delays can have disastrous effects for us in the Tampa Bay region,” he said.

Proposed baseball complex could bring in sport’s biggest names

October 2, 2014 By Michael Hinman

Has Gary Sheffield done something the late Hugh Culverhouse never could?

The retired Major League Baseball star is excited about working with James Talton and Blue Marble Strategic in bringing a massive youth baseball complex to Wesley Chapel. But he is looking to bring in other big names too — especially those already associated with youth baseball — like former National Football League and professional baseball star Bo Jackson.

James Talton, the owner of Blue Marble Strategic, talks about his company’s idea to build a youth baseball complex in Wesley Chapel, while partner and retired Major League Baseball star Gary Sheffield listens in. (Michael Hinman/Staff Photo) — James Talton, the owner of Blue Marble Strategic, talks about his company’s idea to build a youth baseball complex in Wesley Chapel, while partner and retired Major League Baseball star Gary Sheffield listens in.
(Michael Hinman/Staff Photo)

The Culverhouse-owned Tampa Bay Buccaneers drafted Jackson, the 1985 Heisman Trophy winner, in 1986. But after a trip on Culverhouse’s private jet forced him to forfeit the rest of his collegiate baseball career, Jackson vowed he would never play a single down for the Buccaneers, and refused to sign when the team drafted him.

But 28 years later, Jackson could end up in the Tampa Bay area after all, as one of several sports stars participating in Blue Marble’s proposed 20-field complex at Wiregrass Ranch.

“Bo Jackson wants to be involved,” Sheffield told business leaders at a recent economic development event of the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce. “I just saw him two days ago, and they came down and met with us. All ex-athletes want to do is give back to kids.”

Jackson, who runs his own baseball program in Chicago, was one of several names Sheffield mentioned as interested in participating in some way or another at the $70 million complex, that will be built in part using $11 million in Pasco County tourist tax money. Another one tied to youth sports is former Baltimore Orioles shortstop and third basemen Cal Ripken, whose youth baseball program also has become quite popular in various parts of the country.

“It won’t be a Cal Ripken facility, or a Bo Jackson facility, but we can always integrate all of those things into what we’re doing,” Sheffield said. “What it does is give us the ability to probably have 20 to 30 MLB players that (at) any one time your kid might bump into, and that ups the brand.”

Talton wants to fill Pasco with 20 diamonds — baseball diamonds, that is. Many will have dimensions similar to Major League Baseball, but would include smaller fields as well for younger players. He wants to target teenagers, tapping into an amateur sports camp industry he says is currently worth $7 billion.

“We could make between $18 million and $20 million, and that’s just in the summertime alone,” Talton said. “If we took the 13- or 14-year-olds, and we did nothing else, I could pay down my debt service of $54 million.”

Several investors are ready to sign on the dotted line to fund the project, Talton said, but only after the county guarantees it will spend $11 million in collected tourist tax money from local hotels to help balance out some of the costs.

The return for the county could be extraordinary, according to Talton’s estimates. That includes the creation of an estimated 8,000 jobs, a $318 million annual economic impact boost to the county, and even $9 million in direct revenue from taxes and other costs, that would go directly back to the county.

“We’re already thinking we can make $53 million in revenue each year, and $16 million in net profit,” Talton said.

The more than 100 acres needed to construct the facility, not far from Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel, would cost about $5 million, Talton said. And it could create Wesley Chapel into a major destination, especially for families looking to spend the money they need to help their kids play better baseball.

The facility could have other benefits as well. Besides possibly expanding to include a small stadium to attract a Major League Baseball team for spring training, the new baseball complex would need plenty of nearby amenities, including hotels and restaurants — providing even more economic opportunities in the area.

“We don’t want this facility sitting out here by itself,” he said. “We don’t want people rushing to Busch Gardens or to Tampa because there is nothing here. We need to see this kind of growth in the immediate area.”

But a grand opening is still some time down the road. Talton has until next week to secure his overall financing, but then he’ll have to work with the county through the land development and permitting stage. If everything stays on schedule, the complex could be open to its first ballplayers in January 2017.

“We can’t predict how big this is going to be,” Sheffield said. “And I think it’s going to be 10 times bigger than what James is putting to paper right now.”

The county has essentially committed $11 million to the project, but Talton says some language in its legal documents need to be cleared up, so that the final amount doesn’t come in below $11 million.

Could the Atlanta Braves someday call Wesley Chapel its home? Click here to find out.

Published October 1, 2014

See this story in print: Click Here

Hotels, population growth highlight Starkey town hall

October 2, 2014 By Michael Hinman

Florida is a destination for tourists worldwide, and Pasco County has worked hard to try and get a piece of the billions of dollars that industry creates each year.

Some residents have been concerned the county is not keeping up — not just in providing attractions to bring tourist money here, but also amenities like hotels for those tourists to stay in.

A few dozen residents made it out to Seven Oaks Elementary School last week to find out what the county has been up to when it comes to roads, taxes and more. (Michael Hinman/Staff Photo) — A few dozen residents made it out to Seven Oaks Elementary School last week to find out what the county has been up to when it comes to roads, taxes and more.
(Michael Hinman/Staff Photo)

County commissioner Kathryn Starkey invited residents to come out to Seven Oaks Elementary School in Wesley Chapel last week, where she joined members of the county’s staff to talk about everything from new recreational development, to roads, to taxes.

One highlighted project was the new 20-field baseball complex planned for the Wiregrass Ranch area, which could bring in thousands of young baseball players and their families each year. One resident attending the meeting was worried where the hotels, motels, and other short-term stay facilities were.

However, while the county can try and encourage hotel growth in the area, it’s still something totally left up to the private market, said Ed Caum, Pasco’s tourism manager.

“There are certain triggers out there to bring in developers, and that is when your current hotel stock is 72 percent full,” he said. Once finding vacancy starts to become a problem — or it’s projected to become a problem — developers feel more confident to build hotels, and will do just that.

And hotels may be needed soon. Based on how much room tax is collected from the county’s hotels, they are having the best year since 2008, Caum said. At the same time, the average room rate has climbed $6, suggesting demand is starting to outpace supply.

“I talked to two developers that are bringing in hotels,” Caum said. “One is 72 rooms, and another one we just talked about is 75 rooms. We will start to see that carrying on.”

Pasco already has a need for some more hotels, especially when tournaments come in. The upcoming Dick’s Sporting Goods Tournament of Champions lacrosse event will see about 55 percent of hotel rooms go to New Tampa, and out of Pasco.

“That’s about a $3.2 million impact to our area,” Caum said.

Tourism is a big component of Pasco’s future, officials said, and while the county’s niche might not be theme parks like Tampa or Orlando, it could come by way of sports. Besides the planned $70 million baseball complex, Wesley Chapel also is set to get a major ice skating facility that could not only provide a local amenity to residents, but draw in hockey players and other ice-dependent athletes from outside the area.

Yet tourism is not the only way the county is going to grow. More and more people are making Pasco home, and that’s evident by a number of major community project still planned — especially along the State Road 54/56 corridor.

“My new indicator for projects is (home) model centers,” said county planning and development director Richard Gehring. “In the last two months, we have permitted and processed 28 model centers. It gives you an idea of how much demand there is out there for new homes.”

Although the west side of Pasco remains the most populated, it’s also built out, so much of the new growth will spread elsewhere in the county — primarily along State Road 54, Gehring said. In fact, population here is expected to rise from the current 130,000 to more than 300,000 in the next two decades, and be Pasco’s new population center.

“You are going to hear us talk a lot about compact growth and walkable growth,” Gehring said. “There is going to be a lot of discussions about better roads, better transportation, more transit, and walkability.”

Pasco already is struggling with transportation now that nearly 500,000 people reside here. Without appropriate planning, it’s only going to get worse, Gehring said, especially if the county meets its current population projects of 850,000 to 900,000 by 2040.

At the same time, officials want to make sure there are good jobs nearby, and not force residents to travel to neighboring counties to find them.

“That is one of the things that we did on the 54/56 corridor,” Starkey said. “We are incentivizing industry to move into that corridor. We do that by giving a carrot, and those are our mobility fees.”

Starkey and other commissioners have created a model that rewards businesses that build in areas expected to become population centers, by reducing or waiving the fees the county charges to cover costs for roads, water lines and other infrastructure. Much of that infrastructure already exists in areas like the State Road 54/56 corridor, officials said, so such funds won’t be needed as much as they would in, say, the northern part of the county, which is far more rural.

“The engineers in the room will tell you that makes a really big difference for them,” county administrator Michele Baker said.

One of the key ingredients in finding success, however, will come from government leaders, and even residents, taking a broader look at the county, and not just specifically what’s best for their area, said Dennis Esber, the owner of Point to Point Printing in Land O’ Lakes, and a past president of the Central Pasco Chamber of Commerce.

“People forget that we have to worry about the county overall, and not just our area,” he said. “Yes, we want to hear about what’s going on in Land O’ Lakes and Wesley Chapel, but if this whole county doesn’t grow, then nobody is going to grow.”

October 1, 2014

See this story in print: Click Here

Lopez-Cantera pulls no punches against Crist

October 2, 2014 By Michael Hinman

Carlos Lopez-Cantera is Florida’s second-in-command behind Gov. Rick Scott, but there are still pockets of the state he has only heard about.

Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera gives a campaign stump speech to members of the Conservative Club of East Pasco during an appearance Sept. 22. (Michael Hinman/Staff Photo) — Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera gives a campaign stump speech to members of the Conservative Club of East Pasco during an appearance Sept. 22.
(Michael Hinman/Staff Photo)

That included Zephyrhills, until he finally found his way to the City of Pure Water last week in a campaign stop in front of the Conservative Club of East Pasco. And while he might talk about how the governor has kept is word to the point that “even Democrats can’t deny it,” Lopez-Cantera had almost nothing good to say about who Scott succeeded and is facing again in the November election: Charlie Crist.

“When Gov. Scott took over, we had lost 830,000 jobs, and had an 11.1 percent unemployment rate,” all from the Crist administration, Lopez-Cantera said. “Since then, we have added 640,000 jobs, and the unemployment rate is 6.3 percent.”

Yet while some might point out the entire nation was in an economic crisis during a good part of Crist’s tenure as governor between 2007 and 2011, Lopez-Cantera accused the former governor of continuously abandoning his post when he was needed the most.

“He didn’t even want to be governor when he was governor,” Lopez-Cantera said of Crist. “The first two years, he was chasing the vice presidency and not focusing on the state. The second two years, he was running for a United States Senate seat. And he is the first governor in the history of Florida to not run for re-election. That is how much he cared about being governor.”

Lopez-Cantera was a member of the Florida House representing the Miami area during Crist’s time in the governor’s office, and said he withdrew support of the governor almost from the beginning, despite the two being members of the same political party at the time.

“I have known Charlie for almost 20 years, and I really got to know him when I was a new member of the Florida House,” Lopez-Cantera said. “That’s when I lost faith in him.”

The lieutenant governor said problems started for him when then House Speaker Marco Rubio wanted to pass a much more aggressive property tax bill that would provide larger exemptions on the first $200,000 of a home’s value, and then 15 percent beyond that. Crist, however, “wanted a simple property tax bill, and that is unfortunately what the citizens of Florida got.”

Lopez-Cantera and Rubio, however, would vote for Crist’s version of the bill in a special session, using a property tax exemption method still used today.

All of Scott’s decisions “have not been popular,” either, Lopez-Cantera said. “But they have been the right decisions for the state’s economy.”

If Scott is re-elected, Lopez-Cantera said residents can expect another $1 million in tax cuts, and another $120 million assessed through cellphone usage.

Lopez-Cantera assumed the lieutenant governor’s office in February following the resignation of Jennifer Carroll, Crist’s original running mate in 2010. She resigned last year after she was questioned about her alleged involvement in pushing money toward Internet cafes, which some say are fronts for illegal gambling in the state.

“I talk to the governor all the time about the turnaround here in the state,” Lopez-Cantera said. “I’ve only been here for eight months, but I get to take credit for all his hard work. This is the hardest-working governor that I have ever seen, and I served with three governors.”

Campaign speeches tend to just lightly touch on a number of different issues voters may care about, and Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera had a lot to say in Gov. Rick Scott’s re-election campaign against former governor Charlie Crist. But what’s the full story behind some of Lopez-Cantera’s statements? Go online right now, and reach our fact-check at tinyurl.com/LtGovCheck.

Published October 1, 2014

See this story in print: Click Here

Partisan politics infest county commission race

October 2, 2014 By Michael Hinman

It’s been four years since a Democrat has served on the Pasco County Commission, but Erika Remsberg hopes to change that with just one election in November.

However, she has a formidable opponent in the form of Republican Mike Moore, who not only has out-fundraised her 19-to-1, but seems to be the shoo-in to replace the retiring Pat Mulieri in District 2.

However, as the commission’s last Democrat, Mike Cox, learned in 2010 — dollars don’t necessarily equate to votes. Despite a nearly 20-to-1 fundraising advantage, he lost his seat to then newcomer Henry Wilson Jr.

Moore doesn’t want history to repeat itself, so it’s probably no surprise he spent a recent campaign speech distancing himself from Remsberg … by calling her the “L” word.

“We have a person running against me now that is a self-proclaimed liberal,” Moore said. “Typically, I don’t talk about my opponents as we had a very positive campaign in the primary, and we’ll continue to do that. But we are running against a liberal, something she has mentioned in the newspapers and in her talks. That is what we’re up against.”

To be fair to Moore, he was speaking in front of the Conservative Club of East Pasco, so such discourse would likely be welcomed in front of the audience. But what exactly Moore meant by “liberal” he didn’t get into.

Instead, Moore asked the political group during a recent meeting in Zephyrhills to help his campaign by going door-to-door and waving campaign signs.

In an email after the speech, Remsberg found the fact that she was even mentioned at all by a presumed frontrunner to be encouraging.

“Maybe I am getting somewhere if the stones are being thrown,” she said. “I am not interested in divisive politics. Not at all. I am interested in people, their rights, their ability to stay in their homes, retain their property, and as much of their money as possible.”

Although as a Democrat, Remsberg doesn’t deny the “liberal” label, she said her campaign is attracting the attention and support of some voters from across the aisle.

“I am finding more Republicans open to my ideas because they are Pasco resident-friendly ideas,” she said. They are “not politically driven ideas, not ideas motivated by outside interests, but ideas focused on helping our current residents.

“Residents in our county are being asked to pay more for the sake of growth, (and) I am concerned about this.”

Remsberg even included what she said was a dictionary definition of “liberal,” which was defined as “open to new behavior or opinions, and willing to discard traditional values.”

“Yes, I agree I am open to new ideas, seek to broaden my scope of knowledge, and acknowledge different interpretations and perspectives,” she added.

Moore later told The Laker/Lutz News that he didn’t want to get caught up in a label war.

“Our campaign has focused on the issues important to our community, including creating new jobs and new opportunities here in Pasco County,” he said, in a statement. “We’ve run a positive campaign, focusing on the issues which impact all of us, and the solutions which unite us. I am optimistic as each day we continue meeting with voters across our community, sharing our positive message, and working together to bring about a brighter future for Pasco County.”

But Remsberg wasn’t necessarily ready to accept that. She said it’s this kind of politics that have created some of the issues that have prevented good ideas from moving forward in the county.

“The commission should be nonpartisan, because the social issues that divide the (parties) are generally not a factor at the county level,” she said. “We need less divisiveness and more consensus building.”

Voters will decide between Moore and Remsberg in the Nov. 4 elections.

Published October 1, 2014

See this story in print: Click Here

Lutz on fast track to finally developing downtown center

October 2, 2014 By Michael Hinman

Hillsborough County wants to bring parts of the Lutz community — especially land along U.S. 41 — into the 21st century with county water and sewer. But some vocal residents in the community are still giving the idea a big no.

Officials want to make the Lutz Downtown Center Zoning District a reality, which would not change the development pattern or density of parcels along U.S. 41, but instead create the infrastructure necessary that might help business grow more on the popular corridor connecting Pasco County with Tampa.

“It’s the opportunity for parts of that area to receive water and sewer service,” said Yeneka Mills, a community planner for the Hillsborough County City-County Planning Commission. “We know that people there don’t want this to turn into a Dale Mabry (Highway), with traffic, and water and sewer. They think that this is going to be a lot of growth that will make roads congested.”

What it would likely create instead are amenities like restaurants and coffee shops, the kind of businesses that can’t operate off septic tanks without a huge financial investment, said William Payne, who owns some parcels of land in the proposed downtown district.

“The concept of public utilities brings fear to the local residents,” Payne, the owner of the engineering firm WSP Consultants in Lutz, said. “There is a very, very small group of vocal people, and they are very, very united. They oppose any potential development from County Line Road, all the way (south) to Avila. We could have downtown Lutz as a destination, and not just watch people go by us at 55 mph. Right now, those drivers have no reason to stop, and that’s hurting Lutz.”

However, Lutz has worked hard to maintain its small town atmosphere, despite the population explosion surrounding it. Some of the residents there have fought for decades to maintain the small-town character that has defined Lutz for so long, and feel improvements at this level could turn the community into just another retail district.

“There is this misnomer out there that our coalition is against growth, but we’re not against growth at all,” said Mike White, president of the Lutz Citizens Coalition. “We’re just against unplanned and bad growth that negatively impacts the community.”

Another misnomer, White said, is that it’s the lack of water and sewage infrastructure that’s preventing businesses like restaurants from finding their way into the Lutz downtown area along U.S. 41.

“What’s keeping the chain restaurant from coming into Lutz has nothing to do with infrastructure, and has everything to do with the market,” he said.

Mills and other Planning Commission officials met with a small group of residents in September to explore some of the ideas. But even if they do get approved, Payne says he doesn’t expect to see any actual work being done for at least another decade.

Septic tanks can be problematic beyond just wastewater disposal because it limits the number of parking spaces available on a property, Payne said. For example, his land on First Street Southwest that is currently home to a jazzercise center could be a great spot for the kind of business Lutz rarely sees.

“It’s a perfect spot for a coffee shop and drive-thru,” he said. “We’re in a high-income area, and the demographics suggest something like that can do well. But we can’t open something like that without sewer lines.”

The affected areas, according to Mills, include Lutz’s historic downtown area to Newberger Road, Crystal Lake Road to Sunset Lane, and the Crenshaw Lake Road area.

The way county officials talked, these pending upgrades already are a done deal, White said.

“Well, there isn’t much that we can do about it, to be honest with you,” he said. “Right now, the county is very pro-development, and we’ll just have to wait and see what comes down the pipeline.”

In the meantime, work crews are installing a water pipeline along U.S. 41, with businesses along the line able to connect if they are directly on it. Payne said he would connect his parcels to it as soon as the county allows.

“I look at it as positive development,” he said. “And this is what the zoning and planning commission are here for. They restrict what goes in there, so you can still keep a community protected, but welcome the amenities you need and want, too.”

Published October 1, 2014

See this story in print: Click Here

Businesses create new beginnings at Zephyrhills chamber

October 2, 2014 By Michael Hinman

As she read the long list of businesses and community leaders listed on a plaque in the main lobby of the Greater Zephyrhills Chamber of Commerce, Vonnie Mikkelsen had to smile.

“Many of these people are still around, and they’re still thriving in the community,” said Mikkelsen, the chamber’s executive director.

The new storefront for the Greater Zephyrhills Chamber of Commerce on Fifth Avenue, has a mixture of stucco and brick, as well as new front doors and windows provided by K&K Glass. (Michael Hinman/Staff Photo)

The plaque was erected nearly 15 years ago honoring those who helped move the chamber office from its small location on the railroad tracks on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Seventh Street, to its new home at 38550 Fifth Ave., which the chamber bought for $75,000.

“Cliff McDuffie was the director back then, and this was his idea to make it happen,” she said. “He did a capital campaign that involved so many people. And the first individuals who wrote a check were this year’s community service award winners, John and Diana MacDiarmid.”

Mikkelsen wasn’t here for that dedication back in 2000, but she will be on hand Oct. 1 when more than a month of renovation work is unveiled in the chamber’s grand reopening and ribbon cutting. Just like they did in McDuffie’s time, businesses and community leaders came together to make these much-needed changes happen.

Kevin and Kyle Ryman at Ryman Construction oversaw the $50,000 worth of work, with Jodi Wilkeson’s WDA Designs Inc., consulting on how the overall changes would look.

K&K Glass stepped in and replaced the dated front door and window, while Pasco Stucco worked with a jackhammer for days to remove the old stone façade, and replace it with stucco.

“Many of these guys came in and did it at no personal gain,” Mikkelsen said. “That saved us a lot of money, and allowed us to get a lot of this done that we might not have been able to otherwise.”

Instead of a capital campaign, Mikkelsen and the chamber board was able to work out a loan with CenterState Bank, structured in a way that the organization can easily pay it back over time.

“Maybe if we do a second phase, or a building expansion in the future, we might consider doing a campaign,” she said. “Our chamber members already contribute a lot throughout the years, especially through sponsorship. We wanted to find a way to do this without having to pass around the hat.”

When people visit the newly designed office, it might be hard to tell the building is 60 years old. Originally a Bell Telephone building, the chamber office is in the heart of Zephyrhills’ main street — and its history.

The Woman’s Club building is just across the street, its stone façade gracing Fifth Avenue for decades, while the Jeffries House — home of the founder of Zephyrhills — sits next door to it.

The entire stretch of Fifth Avenue, including the businesses along it, are part of a Community Redevelopment Agency district, where future tax revenues collected there will be returned to that district through various economic development improvements.

“For us, the scope is not just membership-based, but this is a community-centric chamber of commerce,” Mikkelsen said. “Not only are we servicing our members and the public at large, but we are working very closely with other groups on formulas that will support our existing businesses, and the kind of businesses we can attract here.”

Making it Happen
Businesses providing help — both paid and in-kind — to the building renovation project at the Greater Zephyrhills Chamber of Commerce included:

• CenterState Bank, construction loan
• Divine Concrete Coatings, entryway and emblem
• Imperial Painting & Wallpapering Contractors, display cabinet refinishing
• K&K Glass, front glass and doors
• Master Painting and Home Repairs, exterior paint
• Northstar Survey & Mapping, surveys
• Pasco Stucco, stucco siding and brick
• Ryman Construction, project management
• Sherwin-Williams, paint
• Skywatch Signs, sign design and build
• WDA Designs, renderings and design consultation

Published October 1, 2014

See this story in print: Click Here

Business Digest 10-01-14

October 2, 2014 By Michael Hinman

Grand opening in style
Kalista Sprague, left, along with Lilly Boudin and Kate Boudin of Land O’ Lakes show off some of their face painting creations at the grand opening celebration for ME Hobbies. The store is located at 1904 Oak Grove Blvd., in Lutz. To learn more about the store, visit MEHobbies.com.

The Laker/Lutz News wins national ad award
An advertisement featuring some happy feet and encouraging readers to keep “a step ahead” was honored by a national contest featuring three newspaper industry groups.

The ad, from Family Foot & Ankle Care, won second place in Small Space Ad-Black Ink Only, at the 2014 Advertising and Editorial Awards from the Southeastern Advertising Publishers Association, Community Papers of Florida, and Independent Free Papers of America.

Family Foot & Ankle Care is represented at the paper by Terri Williamson, and the ad was created by Stefanie Burlingame and Carolyn Bennett.

The annual SAPA-IPF-CPF conference took place in Orlando this year, and the competition itself received more than 1,400 entries, organizers said.

Wesley Chapel chamber hands out awards
The Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce honored its top businesses and leaders during its annual banquet recently at Saddlebrook Resort in Wesley Chapel.

The awards, according to chamber officials, acknowledge the accomplishments of small businesses, large businesses, volunteers, civic organizations, and business leaders, for the contributions they make to the regional economy.

The business awards were reviewed and scored by a panel of peers based on their demonstrated commitment to the advancement of the business community.

Winners included Stanley Giannet of Pasco-Hernando State College as Business Leader of the Year, Parks Ford of Wesley Chapel as Large Business of the Year, the New Tampa/Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News as Small Business of the Year, and American Cancer Society as Civic Group of the Year, and Kelly Mothershead of A Focus on Fitness as Volunteer of the Year.

In addition to those awards, Wendy Bechtelheimer was presented the president’s award for her contribution to the organization, while Jeff Novotny of American Consulting Engineers was named the board member of the year.

Grand opening for Flowers by Viktoriya
Flowers by Viktoriya will host a grand opening Oct. 3 at 9 a.m., at its new location, 5132 Land O’ Lakes Blvd., Suite 105.

The new store will offer silk flowers, cut flowers, plants, roses, vases and various arrangements.

Commission applauds CVS for tobacco stance
The Pasco County Commission publicly commended drugstore chain CVS Health recently for removing tobacco products from its stores around the country.

In a resolution, the commission cited a January surgeon general’s report that said smoking kills 480,000 people annually, and sickens millions more. It also costs the nation more than $289 billion in health care expenses and economic costs each year.

CVS had announced earlier this year it would remove tobacco products from its stores, but then decided to do it a month earlier than planned. That move, commissioners said, represents the “bold action needed from all segments of our society to accelerate progress against tobacco, and make the next generation tobacco-free.”

CVS operates more than 7,700 stores, including 11 in The Laker/Lutz News readership area east of the Suncoast Parkway.

October meeting for Women-n-Charge
Women-n-Charge will meet Oct. 3 at 11:30 a.m., at Pebble Creek Country Club, 10550 Regents Park Drive in Tampa.

Cost is $15 for members, and $18 for guests. It includes lunch, and speaker Rena Romano, a certified leadership coach.

For information, visit Women-n-Charge.com, or call (813) 600-9848.

Families returning to home market, Realtors say
Single-family homes remain on the rise for the greater Tampa Bay area, while sales of townhouses and condominiums continue to slip.

Just under 3,600 homes sold in the region that includes Pasco County last month, according to Florida Realtors, up nearly 4 percent from a year ago. That’s despite the median sales price staying the same at $160,000.

Condos dropped a little more than 1.5 percent to 1,170 units, while the median price there jumped more than 15 percent to $115,000, compared to 2013.

Statewide, single-family home sales are up 4.2 percent, while the median price rose 3.4 percent.

Short sales in the single-family home market dropped more than 49 percent from last year. Closed sales typically are occurring 30 to 90 days after sales contracts are written, according to the group.

Inventory was at a 5.5-month supply in August, while condos were at a 5.7-month supply. The interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.12 percent in August, according to Freddie Mac, down from the 4.46 percent average recorded a year ago.

Grand opening for Pulte at Country Walk
Pulte Homes hosted a grand opening recently for its new single-family homes in Country Walk, located off Meadow Pointe Boulevard south of State Road 54 in Wesley Chapel.

Pulte plans to build 32 three- and four-bedroom houses in the community, ranging in size from 1,827 to 2,443 square feet, according to north Florida regional vice president Sean Strickler. Prices will start at $220,000.

For information on the community, call (866) 230-3599.

HART offers text-based bus updates
Hillsborough Area Regional Transit, or HART, has launched a text message service to complement its app, OneBusAway.

The new feature will provide transit customers real-time bus arrival information via text message. This will provide some of the functionality of the OneBusAway app for riders who don’t have smartphones.

Those who wish to use it simply need to text “HART” and their bus stop number to 41411 to get back estimated arrival times. For example, someone wanting arrival information for stop 4804 would text “HART 4804” to 41411.