Kartik Goyani

Connected City vote on Pasco’s agenda

February 1, 2017 By Kathy Steele

A final decision on an ambitious technology-driven community in eastern Pasco County – known as Connected City – is at hand.

The Pasco County Commission will have a final public hearing on the project on Feb. 7 at 1:30 p.m., in Dade City.

The Meridian Autonomous vehicle, known as the World Bus by Mobi-Cubed, will be the first self-driving vehicle tested in the Connected City. The ‘city of the future’ is being developed by Metro Development Group in partnership with Pasco County.(Courtesy of B2 Communications)

The first public hearing on Jan. 24 offered a review of the project and an opportunity for public comment.

Pasco County and Metro Development Group are partnering on a 10-year pilot project, authorized by state law. About 7,800 acres were set aside for development projects that encourage advanced technology and high-wage jobs.

The area is bordered by Interstate 75, State Road 52 and Curley and Overpass roads.

Metro is the first to offer a development project for the area. More developers are expected to take part in Connected City in the future.

“This project arguably is one of the leading technology designs in the country right now,” said Kris Hughes, the county’s planning and development administrator. “It sets new standards for physical development. It makes Pasco highly competitive and attractive as a place to live and work.”

Several people spoke during public comment on Jan. 24. Most supported Connected City.

“I feel the benefits outweigh the concerns brought up,” said resident Dawn Newsome. “I’m excited to see the opportunities that Connected City offers us.”

Too many younger Pasco residents leave home to find good-paying jobs, but that could change with Connected City, she said.

Hope Allen, president of The Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce, offered a letter of support from the chamber’s board. She said the project would bring jobs, new housing, economic development and entrepreneurship to Pasco.

Resident Jennifer McCarthy had concerns about property rights of people who have lived in the area for generations. She also worried about increasing traffic congestion.

At build-out in 50 years, Connected City is expected to have a population of about 96,000 residents, living in about 37,000 homes and apartments. About 7.2 million square feet of space will be available for job creation.

“At best, Connected City is going to generate jobs that aren’t just retail and construction,” McCarthy said. “At worst, it adds to the urban sprawl that already plagues the area.”

During a video presentation, Metro developers provided new details on their plans.

A groundbreaking for the manmade Crystal Lagoon at Epperson Ranch will be on Feb. 2. The mixed-use, master-planned community is within Connected City boundaries.

The 7-acre lagoon, with crystal blue waters, is creating a buzz with companies that want to locate within the Epperson community, said Kartik Goyani, vice president of operations with Metro.

To meet demand, Metro now is planning a second and larger lagoon on the northern portion of the site, Goyani said.

Metro previously announced partnerships with Saint Leo University for an education center within Connected City. In addition, Florida Hospital and Tampa General Hospital plan to set up a new medical partnership in Connected City.

Meridian Autonomous Systems will provide support for self-driving and electrical vehicles.

“We are going to be at the forefront of this technology,” Goyani said.

Metro also is developing technology to operate street lights on solar and wind power.

The Museum of Science & Industry (MOSI) will partner with Metro to integrate learning activities into Connected City. Goyani also said the nonprofit is planning a $1 million exhibit on Connected City in 2017.

And, job creation already is coming into focus.

On Jan. 30, Metro Places had a job fair at Pasco-Hernando State College where more than 400 jobs were available.

“We hope to make this an annual event,” Goyani said.

Published February 1, 2017

Connected city concept draws mixed reviews

October 5, 2016 By Kathy Steele

Pasco County is the epicenter for a 10-year state-approved pilot program to create a “connected city” corridor of master-planned communities — built from the ground up with technology innovations.

State lawmakers carved out about 7,800 acres in central and eastern Pasco as a special development district that will foster residential and commercial projects.

The district’s development plans will be locally controlled, with a minimum of state or regional oversight.

The anticipation is that the district during the 10-year pilot program, and another 40 years of build-out, will be a national model for how to spark job creation, reduce urban sprawl, enhance environmental protection, provide alternative transportation, and interconnect neighborhoods through cutting edge technology.

At build-out, the district could have 96,000 employees, and about 37,000 homes and apartments.

But, some residents within the district are pushing back.

They prefer “rural enclaves” to the more urban development of a connected city.

“At best it’s the same sprawl most of us moved out here to escape,” said Tim Dolan, who lives within the district. “What’s gone is gone for good.”

Dolan spoke at a Sept. 15 public hearing in Dade City where the Development Review Committee considered approval of a land use amendment establishing an overlay district for the connected city.

The borders are Interstate 75, State Road 52, Overpass Road and Curley Road.

Committee members postponed a vote on the amendment until Oct. 13.

In addition to the land use amendment, approval is also needed for transportation, financial and utilities plans.

The Pasco County Commission has the final word.

At the hearing, committee members listened to presentations from county staff members, and participated in a tele-conference with Ken Hays, president of the Enterprise Center of Chattanooga.

Hays discussed that city’s experience as the first gigabit city in the nation, and technology’s role in reviving its downtown.

Pasco County officials are looking to the connected city corridor as a major economic driver for the county, and potentially for the 4.5 million residents of the Tampa Bay area.

It could be a northern gateway for Tampa Bay, and a second alternative to the shops, restaurants and jobs being generated in Wiregrass Ranch and Wesley Chapel, said Richard Gehring, Pasco County’s strategic policy administrator.

To push projects along, the county would boost mobility fee credits to developers willing to create about 272 acres of “service-ready” land, within 660 feet of a constructed road. The goal is job creation and economic development that is innovative and technology driven.

An estimated 7.2 million square-feet could be generated for job creation, Gehring said.

That is about half the size of Westshore, which has about 13 million square feet of office space and about 93,000 employees.

“This could be a second Westshore,” he said.

Dirt within the connected city corridor already is flying.

Metro Development Group is partnering with Heidt Design and the county to shepherd initial development projects from vision to building permits.

Among Metro’s initial projects are a mixed-use community at Epperson Ranch with about 2,000 homes, and another at Cannon Ranch, known as Mirada, that will have about 4,000 homes.

Metro’s newest communities, including Union Park, Waterleaf and Sereno, feature UltraFi, a broadband system capable of delivering gigabit-fast Internet connections.

But, a conceptual map by Heidt Design that sketched what might happen in the connected city corridor within the next 40 to 50 years raised concerns among some residents at a neighborhood meeting.

“My property was going to be a parking lot in 50 years,” said Jennifer McCarthy.

Tonya Riddlesworth doesn’t want to be crowded out by urban development.

“We want to keep our neighborhood as quiet and rural as possible,” she said.

Representatives of Metro Development Group emphasized the map was visionary and long-range, not a true representation of any building plans.

Others at the meeting understood that and expressed support for connected city, said Kartik Goyani, vice president of operations with Metro Development Group.

One concern about the Epperson Ranch project, raised by an attorney representing residents of Palm Cove of Wesley Chapel, appears resolved.

Construction is underway on the Crystal Lagoon, a 7-acre man-made lake with about 16 million gallons of crystal blue water. The lagoon will be the first in North America.

But, the lagoon’s initial need for massive amounts of water has some Palm Cove residents worried about sinkholes on their properties.

It is unlikely that would happen, said Goyani. But, Metro has agreed not to pump well water for the lagoon even though permits were approved by the Southwest Florida Water Management District.

Instead, water will be purchased from the county’s existing resources.

“It costs us more to do that, but we think it’s the responsible thing to do,” Goyani said.

Published October 5, 2016

Union Park offers super-fast Internet speeds

September 7, 2016 By Kathy Steele

Union Park is delivering the lickety-split Internet connections that homebuilders say homebuyers are increasingly putting at the top, or near the top, of their desired list of amenities.

Along with the clubhouse, swimming pool, trails and green space, homebuyers are putting greater emphasis on new technology and what it adds to quality of life, homebuilders say.

Mike Lawson, right, director of operations for Metro Development Group, and Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore discuss the unique features of Union Park, including the one-gigabit Internet connections available at the Wesley Chapel community. (Kathy Steele/Staff Photos) — Mike Lawson, right, director of operations for Metro Development Group, and Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore discuss the unique features of Union Park, including the one-gigabit Internet connections available at the Wesley Chapel community.
(Kathy Steele/Staff Photos)

From Day 1, Union Park residents are connected to UltraFi, a fiber-based delivery system with connecting speeds as fast as one gigabit. Starting speeds generally are 100/100 megabits per second as part of a standard package included in homeowner association fees.

But, Bright House Networks, in partnership with Metro Development Group, is ready to boost speeds to the maximum.

Turning lights on and off, cooling or heating the house and setting alarms — is a tap away, at home or remotely.

Besides that, videos, photos, data can be downloaded in seconds, not minutes, and uploads are just as fast.

“It’s a requirement if you are building here,” said Mike Lawson, director of operations for Metro Development Group. “You contract to prewire. Every builder is embracing this.”

In the future, Metro developers expect other developers to consider this new technology as a staple of homebuilding, the same as water, utilities and electricity. For now, they feel like pioneers in a cutting-edge concept to provide these connections from the ground up, not as an add-on after move-in day.

“We’re trying something radically different,” said Kartik Goyani, vice president of operations for Metro Development Group.

At build-out, Union Park could have a maximum of 1,800 homes. Home prices range from $200,000 to $500,000.

When construction began there in 2014, Union Park was the first Metro development to install UltraFi. Since then, three more UltraFi communities have opened in Hillsborough County — Park Creek, Waterleaf and Sereno.

But, Union Park also has been a testing ground for an even grander vision for a master-planned “Connected City” development within about 7,800 acres in central and eastern Pasco County. The site is designated as a state-approved special district, bordered by Interstate 75, State Road 52, Curley Road and Overpass Road.

The district is a 10-year pilot program, but the plan, in total, will evolve over 50 years as several mixed-use development projects emerge.

“This (Union Park) is the platform that will help launch Connected City and take the development of its technology to the next level,” Lawson said. “We were the first in the nation to come up with this idea.”

UltraFi is what sold Russ Griggs and his family on Union Park.

Griggs, his wife, Donna, and their three children moved into Union Park nearly a year ago.

They had checked out other Wesley Chapel area subdivisions first before making their choice.

Turtle statues squirt water at a splash pad outside the Florida-style open-air clubhouse at Union Park.

“I work from home. I have a software company, so a high speed connection is very important,” said Russ Griggs, product development manager for Osprey Compliance Software. “I do a lot of video conferences with people around the world.”

People often comment on the download speed and crisp screen shots, he said.

The super connectivity also is a plus for leisure streaming on tablets, computers or televisions for the Griggs and their three children, ages 7 to 13.

In addition to its Internet connectivity, Union Park also boasts outdoor common areas; miles of multi-use trails; a dog park; a Florida-style, open-air clubhouse; a birdhouse village; a zen garden; and, a shaded “tot lot.”

This is all part of creating a sense of community at Union Park, with technology as the common unifier, Goyani said.

In most cases, urban areas are the focus of companies seeking to deliver faster Internet speed and WiFi connections, but Pasco is proving to be the exception to the rule.

Pasco has an advantage with its large swaths of rural landscape where retrofitting isn’t required, and costs for new infrastructure are less expensive, Lawson said.

Google Fiber, for instance, has a 30-city initiative with plans to provide one-gigabit speeds. Recently, the company announced a delay in moving forward, including a project in Tampa.

“It is extremely expensive to retrofit, dense urban environments,” Lawson said.

The next step for Connected City is a public hearing of the county’s Local Planning Agency on Sept. 15 at 1:30 p.m., at the Pasco County Historic Courthouse in Dade City.

For information on Union Park, visit UnionPark.metroplaces.com.

Published September 7, 2016

Pasco is real estate ready

March 9, 2016 By Kathy Steele

The real estate market in Pasco County is thriving.

And, evidence of that was on display at “Meet the Developers: The Future of Real Estate.”

The annual breakfast meeting, hosted by the Pasco Economic Development Council, brought together developers, real estate brokers, investors and community leaders at the Residence Inn on March 2.

Four examples of Pasco’s current and future development initiatives were highlighted: Compark 75, Starkey Ranch, Connected City and the Duke Energy Site Readiness Program.

Compark 75 defied conventional wisdom that building on speculation in the midst of an economic meltdown would be a bad idea. The initial developer in 2008 abandoned the project.

Tom Ryan, economic development manager for Pasco Economic Development Council, standing by the podium, moderated a panel on the future of real estate in Pasco County. On the panel, from left, were: Danielle Ruiz, economic development manager for Duke Energy; Kartik Goyani, vice president of operations for Metro Development; Heidi Tuttle-Beisner, broker with Commercial Asset Partners Realty; and Matt Call, project director for Starkey Ranch/Wheelock Communities. (Kathy Steele/Staff Photo) — Tom Ryan, economic development manager for Pasco Economic Development Council, standing by the podium, moderated a panel on the future of real estate in Pasco County.
On the panel, from left, were: Danielle Ruiz, economic development manager for Duke Energy; Kartik Goyani, vice president of operations for Metro Development; Heidi Tuttle-Beisner, broker with Commercial Asset Partners Realty; and Matt Call, project director for Starkey Ranch/Wheelock Communities.
(Kathy Steele/Staff Photo)

But, Larry Morgan of HR Pasco LLC, and Ross Kirk, of KVR Development LLC, joined forces as owner and developer, respectively, to take on the challenge.

The industrial park is next to Interstate 75, about halfway between State Road 54 and State Road 56 interchanges. Suncoast Parkway is 12 miles to the west. The Tampa North Aero Park is along Compark 75’s northern boundary.

In 2014, a $15 million expansion of the industrial park broke ground. It was the first major investment in commercial office construction in Florida since the 2008 recession.

More expansion is under way, with the ongoing construction of a new 65,000-square-foot building. It will be the fifth building at the 165-acre site.

Every building has gone vertical without signed tenants. But, the park is nearly filled to 100 percent capacity. Plans also are are under way for a new building that can be designed as a multistory office, or built-out for light industrial or manufacturing.

“As fast as we can build them, we are finding quality companies to go in them,” said Heidi Tuttle-Beisner, a broker with Commercial Asset Partners Realty who handles leasing for the park.

Starkey Ranch is a master-planned community of more than 5,500 homes under development by Wheelock Communities in Odessa, off State Road 54.

Groundbreaking on the first model homes took place in 2014. Homes are now selling in Whitfield Park. The welcome center opened in spring. And, Taylor Morrison anticipates a grand opening in April for its model home center for the Esplanade subdivision at Starkey Ranch.

The interest in the ranch is evident in the 2,400 visitors on average who click onto the community’s website each week, said Matt Call, project director for Starkey Ranch/Wheelock Communities.

Interest also is high on the proposed business park and retail sites planned at State Road 54 and Gunn Highway.

Call said announcements would be made on an anchor grocery store, likely in June. And, an apartment complex also is coming at that location, with an announcement expected soon.

“We’ve had a lot of interest in this opportunity,” Call said.

A one-of-a-kind gigabit community and a crystal lagoon are the centerpiece attractions for Metro Development’s “connected city” corridor.

State lawmakers created a special development district for about 7,800 acres in central and eastern Pasco County as a 10-year pilot program. Interstate 75, State Road 52, Curley Road and Overpass Road border the district. Development in the district will be able to bypass the typical state reviews in favor of local control in the hands of Pasco County commissioners.

Metro Development is developing master-planned communities on the former Epperson Ranch within the special district. One town center feature will be a 7-acre man-made swimming pool, known as a crystal lagoon.

“We want that to be integrated into the community,” said Kartik Goyani, vice president of operations for Metro Development.

But, Metro Development also will create the first planned gigabit community, or Connected City, in the nation. Residents and business owners will live, work and play in an environment linked by Ultra Fi, a broadband system with speeds so fast that photos can be downloaded in seconds, not minutes.

Assistance in its development will come from US Ignite, a nonprofit group founded by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the National Science Foundation.

Future development on property adjacent to Zephyrhills Municipal Airport is getting a boost from Duke Energy through the Duke Energy Site Readiness Program.

In 2015, Duke Energy representatives worked with the city of Zephyrhills on a study of about 440 undeveloped acres around the airport.

The site is centrally located in Florida, and is in proximity to such highways as State Road 54, I-75 and Interstate 4. In addition, there is the bonus of a CSX rail line in the area.

Duke Energy has reviewed nearly 190 sites in six states in the southeast during the past 10 years.

Information from these reviews serves as a guide for local communities that want to create pad-ready sites for development.

One obstacle is expansion of the site’s wastewater capacity at an estimated cost of $1.7 million, said Danielle Ruiz, economic development manager for Duke Energy.

However, she said tax revenues from the Penny for Pasco program could provide funds for this project.

Pasco County recently launched a revolving loan program, with up to $15 million available to make sites pad-ready or to build shell buildings for potential industrial, manufacturing or flex-space. The deadline to submit proposals to the county is April 11.

Published March 9, 2016

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