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Estancia

‘Wow’ Kitchen Makes New Model Top Seller For ICI Homes

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In late June, ICI Homes opened its new Costa Mesa model in Asturia, and already it has become the community’s best-selling floor plan for this premium builder.

“The reception to our new model has been overwhelming,” said Ron Ferguson, division manager for ICI Homes. “People absolutely love the huge kitchen and its extra-large island, which is a standard feature in this home. Plus, the model’s closet-size, walk-in pantry, that is cleverly hidden behind cabinetry, is a stand-out feature that everyone wants.”

The Costa Mesa’s closet-size, walk-in pantry is hidden behind this beautiful kitchen cabinetry.

The Costa Mesa model overlooks a tranquil lake not far from the entrance to Asturia, an award-winning, master-planned community in Odessa, located one mile west of the Suncoast Parkway on State Road 54.

Located in the community’s recently opened Phase III, this one-story home showcases 2,565 square feet of living area, with four bedrooms, three baths and a three-car garage. It is designed for all kinds of families — young professionals just starting out, those with young and school-aged children, and empty-nesters.

“The Costa Mesa’s open floor plan is perfect for entertaining,” said Ferguson. “Its gathering room, gourmet kitchen and dining room are one expansive space highlighted by lots of windows that capture tons of natural light.”

Costa Mesa’s ‘hidden’ walk-in pantry.

ICI Homes has a second model, the Serena, in Asturia’s second phase. This beautiful home has recently become available for sale, and can even include the model’s professionally decorated, high-end furnishings for families wanting a turn-key home that is ready now.

The builder has 38 homesites available in Asturia’s Phase III, and a few remaining in Phase II, with many lots backing up to conservation and water. Prices begin in the high $300s, which include the home, lot and design center options.

ICI Homes has over a dozen distinctive floor plans to choose from, all which are easily customized. For families not wanting to build, the builder has several quick inventory homes available now or within the next few months.

Amenities in this 550-home community include a unique trails system that winds through wetlands, parks and neighborhoods, and an award-winning Amenity Center that includes a zero-entry pool, contemporary community center and state-of-the-art fitness center.

Coming Soon – Wesley Chapel
The next ICI Home community in Tampa Bay will be in Wesley Chapel in the prestigious Wiregrass Ranch area. This new community will be called Persimmon Park, and is located behind The Shops at Wiregrass, and south of the Estancia entrance off of Bruce B. Downs Boulevard and Chauncy Road.

“This is our first project in Wesley Chapel, and we are very excited to be in this vibrant community” said Ferguson. “We will be introducing our first neo-traditional homes in Persimmon Park, with all-new floor plans that feature front porches, and garages at the back of the home.”

Construction on the community’s infrastructure is underway, and model homes and sales are expected to open in the spring of 2020. ICI Homes prices are expected to begin in the mid $200s, with larger homes selling in the $400s.

Persimmon Park is being designed as a walkable community with a downtown park and trails that lead to shopping and dining at The Shops of Wiregrass, to AdventHealth Wesley Chapel, and to neighborhood schools.

Final Homes In Bexley
If you’re looking for a new home in Land O’ Lakes, this is the last chance to buy an ICI Home in Bexley, an award-winning community next to the Suncoast Parkway with thousands of acres of preserved wetlands, miles of recreational trails and unique amenities, including a bike shop and café.

ICI Homes is building its final three homes in Bexley, all on large 70-foot lots. A Costa Mesa quick move-in home will be ready in September, and the slightly smaller Egret VII will soon be under construction. Both homes have very open floor plans with lots of windows and natural lighting.

Since ICI Homes was established in 1980, the company has built over 4,000 single-family homes in Florida, including the Tampa Bay area, and has earned several prestigious awards for design and innovation.

The sales center for Asturia and Bexley is at 2112 Secret Cove in Odessa, (813) 359-0264. Models are open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday.

Published August 28, 2019

Pasco County’s outlook is bright, panel says

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Panelists speaking at a real estate conference in Wesley Chapel last week said Pasco County has been making strides and is expected to continue to do so.

For decades, Pasco County has been considered a bedroom community — with residents making a daily commute to jobs in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties.

That picture is changing, said Heidi Tuttle-Beisner, an expert in commercial real estate.

“The excellent thing for Pasco County is that we now have jobs being created right here. We have big national companies that have chosen to build their developments here and hire the people that we have living in our community.

“Whoever thought companies like Mettler Toledo would be here?” Tuttle-Beisner said.

“Lots of people are paying attention to Pasco County,” she said.

She also gave high marks to the Porter family for the work they’ve done to manage the development of Wiregrass Ranch, in Wesley Chapel.

“People like the Porters have really done an incredible job of keeping the quality up. I don’t think we’re ever going to see (State Road) 54 be (like) U.S. 19. They set the standard,” she said, noting they have been strategic not only in building relationships. But also “building buildings that are attractive.”

Mark Metheny, division president of Lennar, said he spends a lot of his time trying to find locations for new Lennar communities.

A good example of the range of Lennar’s offerings can be found in Wiregrass Ranch, he said. Estancia is a multigenerational community, with a number of product lines, he said. There are homes exceeding $1 million, but there are also high-end townhomes coming in, he said.

“It’s really exciting to see the growth that’s going on in Pasco County,” Metheny said.

Clarke Hobby, a land use attorney based in Dade City, said his family has deep roots in Pasco County.

“We are very interested in the long-view of the county — building a great community, great places to live for our families and for many generations beyond us,” Hobby said.

“We’ve watched the Porter family and have seen their vision play out. It’s a wonderful thing they’ve done at Wiregrass – more than anything else, they’ve tried to create a balanced community. It’s so easy to just focus on the residential.

“The harder part is to bring the employment side and the institutional side, making sure that places like the building we’re in today, are here. Without their guidance, that wouldn’t have happened,” Hobby said.

He’s optimistic about the outlook in Pasco County.

“There’s a bright, bright future ahead of the county,” said Hobby, who has been involved in the effort to extend State Road 56 from Wiregrass Ranch over to Zephyrhills.

The four-lane extension, which covers 6.7 miles, is expected to open up within a few months.

He expects that extension to generate new activity, leading eventually to the construction of about 10,000 houses and millions of square feet of development.

J.D. Porter, another panelist, told the crowd that he, too, anticipates continued growth — as well as new employment.

He expects the long-awaited Raymond James office park to “start turning dirt by the end of the year.”

“It’s very exciting to have one big user like that, and we are waiting for somebody to come out of the ground,” Porter said.

That being said, he noted, “we are talking to two names that are bigger than Raymond James right now, in the immediate area adjacent to that.”

“The Raymond James announcement, once they finally go, that will be a drop in the bucket versus what actually comes down the pipeline shortly after.”

Porter also noted the family wants to be sure to have a mix of development, so the community doesn’t become too reliant on big users.

Published May 16, 2018

Compark 75 sold to Atlanta investors

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Compark 75, a Class A industrial park off Wesley Chapel Boulevard, is under new ownership, according to a news release from Cushman & Wakefield.

Rick Brugge, executive director of Cushman & Wakefield

The real estate services company negotiated the sale of five buildings at the park to MDH Atlantic Acquisitions LLC. The Atlanta-based real estate investment company has more than 11 million square feet of properties in the southeastern United States.

Rick Brugge, executive director of Cushman & Wakefield; Mike Davis, vice chairman; and Michael Lerner, executive director, negotiated the sale as part of Cushman & Wakefield’s Capital Markets team. They represented HR Pasco LLP, and closed the deal in November.

The sales price was not made available.

According to the news release, Compark 75 is the only Class A facility currently serving the northeast Tampa Bay area, including north Hillsborough and south Pasco counties.

“It tends to attract very good leases and a high quality of tenants,” said Brugge, president of Cushman & Wakefield.

Compark 75 has about 286,000 square feet in five small-bay, light industrial buildings.  The buildings are about 91 percent occupied, with about 26,000 square feet available for lease.

The space could be suitable for two to three new tenants, said Brugge.

Current tenants include the Pasco County Tax Collector, U.S. General Services Administration, Ortho Technology, Morgan Auto Group and Streetside Classics.

The 165-acre site is zoned industrial, and is suitable for warehouse, manufacturing and office uses. About 105 acres is a wetlands and conservation area.

The five buildings were built between 2007 and 2016, using “tilt-wall” construction, where concrete panels are poured on site and later tilted into place. Suites range from 3,300 square feet to more than 41,000 square feet. Features include rear-loading docks, 18-foot to 24-foot clear heights, early suppression fire sprinkler systems and 118-foot truck courts.

Compark 75 recently sold to an Atlanta-based investment company, MDH Atlantic Acquisitions LLC. The park has five industrial buildings that are close to fully occupied. (Courtesy of Cushman & Wakefield)

While the park is largely leased to tenants, two industrial condominiums under private business ownership are located at Compark 75. They weren’t included in the sale.

The Pet Lane mailing address for Compark 75 puts it in Lutz, but the 165-acre site is located off County Road 54 (Wesley Chapel Boulevard), about halfway between the interchanges of State Road 54 and State Road 56, with Interstate 75.

Suncoast Parkway is about 12 miles to the west. And, the Tampa Aero Park is on the park’s northern boundary.

The park provides diversity to the central Pasco area, which is booming with residential and retail development, such as The Shops at Wiregrass, Estancia, Bexley, and Tampa Premium Outlets.

In 2014 owner Larry Morgan launched a $15 million expansion of the privately-developed park. Morgan is the founder of Tires Plus, and his family-owned business has several automobile dealerships. Gov. Rick Scott attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the expansion.

The construction marked the first major investment in commercial office construction in Pasco County since the real estate crash in 2008.

Published January 10, 2018

2016 marked by rapid growth, touching moments

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The national election captured headlines and attention, but 2016 was an eventful year in many other ways, as well, across The Laker/Lutz News coverage area.

The big story is the region’s growth.

Eighty-eight-year-old Angel Torres, center, a veteran from Puerto Rico and a resident of the Baldomero Lopez State Veterans Nursing Home, is being positioned to have his photograph taken by Mark Fosket, of Valrico, during the ‘Honor Flight’ ceremony at the nursing home. Gabrielle Perrella, a volunteer from Baltimore, Maryland, who is dressed in a uniform costume, posed with each veteran for their portrait.
(File Photos)

New houses are popping up all over the place, with developments such as Long Lake Ranch, Estancia at Wiregrass Ranch, Connerton, Bexley and Asturia, just some of the residential communities beckoning to buyers.

Pasco County is on the move in many other ways, too.

A futuristic, technology-based network of communities across 7,800 acres in northeast Pasco County is in its planning stages.

Raymond James Financial has closed on a deal to buy 65 acres across from Pasco-Hernando State College’s Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch, with the financial services giant expected to have hundreds of workers in Pasco County at some point.

Florida Hospital Center Ice — a new 150,000-square-foot hockey arena and sports complex — is nearly set to open, and that is expected to be a big draw for both tournaments and tourists.

And then, there’s the commercial development that continues to transform the State Road 54/State Road 56 corridor, especially near the Interstate75/State Road 56 interchange.

Just in that vicinity alone, there’s Tampa Premium Outlets, Longhorn Steakhouse, BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, Chick-fil-A and Culver’s.

A 186,000-square-foot Costco Wholesale is expected to open in February, with an estimated 200 employees.

A historic photo of a baptism of members of the First Baptist Church of Lutz.

Just across the road, on the north side of State Road 56, Cypress Creek Town Center — another shopping development — is being built.

There are also plans for a new cinema, grocery store, apartments, shops and restaurants next to The Shops at Wiregrass, off State Road 56.

Of course, all of this growth is compounding traffic problems on area roads — and numerous projects are underway or are expected to begin work in coming years.

Improvements are expected to begin near the I-75/State Road 56 interchange. Wesley Chapel Boulevard is slated to be widened. An extension of State Road 56 is planned between Wesley Chapel and Zephyrhills, and discussion continues about the best solution for reducing congestion at U.S. 41 and State Road 54.

Growth is putting the squeeze on schools, too.

Pasco County Schools can’t keep pace with growing enrollments.

The district opened Wiregrass Elementary School, in Wesley Chapel, in August, to reduce crowding at area schools.

In the coming school year, it plans to open Bexley Elementary and Cypress Creek Middle/High.

Bexley is being built in a new subdivision off State Road 54. Cypress Creek Middle/High is going up on Old Pasco Road.

School board members gave preliminary approval for boundaries for Bexley and Cypress Creek at a contentious public hearing on Dec. 20. A final vote is expected on Jan. 17.

But, school board members and Superintendent Kurt Browning said the new schools fall far short of addressing district needs. They want the Pasco County Commission to require new residential construction to pay higher impact fees to support school construction.

Paramedic John Ward helps Sister Helen Lange blow out the candles that lit up her 103rd birthday cake at a party at Heritage Park in Dade City.

While growth and its ripple effects clearly dominated the news, there were plenty of other notable moments within the region during 2016.

For instance, there were heroics in everyday life.

On June 3, a fire claimed the life of a tiny black Chihuahua named Peanut, but not until after the dog’s persistent barking saved the life of three generations of a Lutz family.

Later that same week, quick actions by a student at Saddlebrook Preparatory School in Wesley Chapel averted potential tragedy at the international boarding school for aspiring golf and tennis players.

A student smelled smoke, investigated, pulled the alarm and help to ensure that all 28 students and two adults got out of the dorm safely.

It took 55 firefighters more than 1 ½ hours to put out the blaze.

This past year also was one of milestones and celebrations.

The First Baptist Church in Lutz celebrated its 75th anniversary, The San Antonio Rattlesnake Festival turned a half-century, Cox Elementary School turned 90 and the Town of St. Leo marked its 125th anniversary.

On a more personal note, Sister Helen Lange, of Dade City, received a surprise cake to mark her 103rd year on Sept. 28 in Dade City, and Nellie and Gain Hughs Bailey Sr., of Lutz, celebrated 70 years of married life on March 31.

There were inspiring moments, too.

Hundreds of people turned out for the “Honor Flight” celebration on Aug. 20, at the Baldomero Lopez State Veterans Home in Land O’ Lakes. The event provided a virtual tour of the nation’s war monuments because these veterans are unable to make the trip to Washington D.C.

The stands were also filled at Ron Allen Field at Gaither High School, in North Tampa, to attend the June 15 vigil to honor Christopher Joseph Sanfeliz, one of 49 people killed during a mass shooting on June 12 at Pulse nightclub in Orlando.

There was the inspiring message, too, from Immaculee Ilibagiza, a survivor of the Rwandan genocide, who spoke at two days of gatherings at St. Timothy Catholic Church in Lutz.

Ilibagiza’s family, friends and other members of her tribe were brutally murdered in Rwanda, but through her faith, she was able to forgive the killers.

Forgiveness, the genocide survivor said, brings freedom.

Published December 28, 2016

A gift for shoppers: Two malls within 2 miles

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As Black Friday approaches, shoppers will scour advertisements for deals and map out a strategy to make the most of savings.

And this year, for the first time in Pasco County history, consumers will be able to shop at an outlet mall and a traditional mall within 2 miles of each other.

Greg Lenners, general manager at The Shops at Wiregrass, said the shopping mall expects to benefit from the nearby location of Tampa Premium Outlets. The outlet center will bring more people into the area, and some will likely visit his mall, he said. (B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)
Greg Lenners, general manager at The Shops at Wiregrass, said the shopping mall expects to benefit from the nearby location of Tampa Premium Outlets. The outlet center will bring more people into the area, and some will likely visit his mall, he said.
(B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)

There was a time when the prospect of having a new mall so nearby would have been a cause for concern, said Greg Lenners, general manager at The Shops at Wiregrass.

But, that was when plans called for a traditional mall on the land where Tampa Premium Outlets opened on Oct. 29.

The landscape of Wesley Chapel has changed dramatically in the seven years since The Shops at Wiregrass opened, Lenners said.

Back then, State Road 56 ended at the mall’s entrance to Dillard’s, and Bruce B. Downs was a two-lane road.

Now, the area is popping.

State Road 56 has been extended to Meadow Pointe Boulevard, with a proposal to make it four lanes all the way to Zephyrhills. Bruce B. Downs is now a six-lane road.

Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel opened 3½ years ago, is undergoing a $78 million expansion, 2 ½ years ahead of schedule.

Plus, Lenners noted, there’s an 85,000-square-foot medical office building going up next door, Pasco-Hernando State College opened its Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch down the street, and there are about 1,000 homes under construction within a 3-mile ring of the mall.

“You’ve got Estancia. You’ve got The Ridge. Seven Oaks has got a lot of development. You’ve got Arbor Woods. Standard Pacific has a couple of developments on Meadow Pointe, as well, and you’ve got all that coming by the mall,” Lenners said.

“All of this is happening in our backyard, everything east of (Interstate) 75,” he said.

The primary customers at The Shops at Wiregrass are between the ages of 25 and 44, Lenners said. The average annual household income ranges from $85,000 to $90,000. And, the mall’s annual performance has improved every year since it opened, Lenners said.

The general manager doesn’t view Tampa Premium Outlets as competition to be feared.

Instead, he said, “it’s a perfect complement to what we have.”

An outlet center typically draws customers from roughly a 50-mile radius, Lenners said, His mall draws from a 10-mile ring.

The retail expert expects Tampa Premium Outlet’s longer reach to bring more people into the area, with some of those people deciding to check out The Shops at Wiregrass, at State Road 56 and Bruce B. Downs Boulevard.

“The benefit for us is that customers that wouldn’t have come typically all of the way up here to visit — from Tampa, or some outer-lying areas — now they’ll come to the outlet (mall),” Lenners said.

The Shops at Wiregrass, just 2 miles away from Tampa Premium Outlets, will likely serve customers who want to eat at its restaurants or explore additional shopping options, he said.

The addition of Tampa Premium Outlets has not prompted The Shops at Wiregrass to rethink its game plan or amp up its events, Lenners said.

“We’ve established ourselves as a staple of the community, and that’s because of the events that we do,” he said. For example, this is the eighth holiday season that The Shops at Wiregrass has hosted “Symphony in Lights.”

This year, the show, presented by Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel, has been revamped.

But, that’s not because of the new outlet mall, Lenners said.

The old tree wouldn’t work with current technology, and problems cropped up when it rained, Lenners said.

The new tree is 54 feet tall, including the star, and is about 27 feet in diameter.

“The presentation is much more dramatic,” Lenners said. There are four shows a night, with music from the Trans-Siberian Orchestra for two shows and a mix of holiday songs — that were suggested by mall shoppers — for the other two.

In between the sound and light shows, local groups give live performances on a stage in the mall’s center court, in front of the giant Christmas tree.

That’s been a tradition for years.

“Every night, there’s a different group. They’ve got their 45 minutes of fame,” Lenners said.

The mall will continue to have assorted events, including the Suncoast Arts Festival, car shows, fresh markets and charity walks for various causes, Lenners said.

It also continues to consider new possibilities.

“We’re constantly evolving things. We’re massaging. We’re constantly looking at events: What works? What doesn’t? What’s starting to get stale?” Lenners said.

Having the Tampa Premium Outlets and The Shops at Wiregrass in such convenient proximity adds to the Wesley Chapel area’s growing cache, Lenners said.

“We’re turning into a shopping mecca, destination. You can pretty much make a day of it,” Lenners said.

Published November 25, 2015