The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Lutz since 1964 and Pasco since 1981.
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Marianna

Superb Location and Lutz Schools at Lakeshore Preserve

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Close to the Veterans and St. Joseph’s North

 Lakeshore Preserve by Mattamy Homes is a new townhome community in Lutz that is ideal for homebuyers looking for affordable new construction, maintenance-free living, excellent neighborhood schools and fast access to the Veterans Expressway.

Sales have excelled at the community of 102 homes, located on Van

Dyke Road and Lakeshore Road, less than a half mile west of Dale Mabry Highway. Four beautifully decorated models are open daily, and several quick move-in homes are available.

The newest furnished home, the Marianna, was just completed in November and is ideal for first-time homebuyers. Its base price starts from an affordable $199,990, and offers three bedrooms, 2.5 baths and a 1-car garage.

In October, Mattamy celebrated the completion of its 13,672 square-foot outdoor activity area, which was ready for the Lakeshore Preserve’s first residents.

This outdoor area comes equipped with a 780-square-foot covered cabana with breeze fans, an outdoor kitchen, hammocks, shaded seating areas and a games area. It surrounds the 1,424-square-foot resort-style pool.

“Lakeshore Preserve’s superb location and thoughtfully designed townhomes make this community unique to the north Tampa area,” said Lisette Minnick, director of sales for Mattamy Homes.

The community is situated in a desirable Lutz location, just minutes from St. Joseph’s Hospital-North, and convenient to shopping, dining and entertainment venues in Carrollwood, Lutz, Land O’ Lakes and Wesley Chapel.  Its close proximity to the Veterans Expressway makes it an easy commute to Tampa, the airport and area beaches.

Schools zoned for the community are top-rated Steinbrenner High, Martinez Middle and Schwarzkopf Elementary.  Charter school Sunlake Academy of Math and Science opens this fall, and several private schools are close-by, including Academy at the Lakes and Carrollwood Day School.

Lakeshore Preserve offers five townhome plans that feature Mattamy’s signature design style and distinctive architectural features.  Meticulous attention was paid during the architectural design process to ensure that all usable living space is optimized and enhances any lifestyle.

Townhomes range in size from 1,667 to 2,608 square feet, and have 2 to 5 bedrooms, 2.5 to 4 baths, and 1- or 2-car attached garages. Base prices range from $199,900 to $304,990. A wide array of quick, move-in townhomes are available for move in now and through this Spring.

Some of the interior features that are included with every home are granite kitchen countertops, hardwood 42-inch upper cabinets, 9’4” ceilings on the first floor, and sod with lawn irrigation. In addition, a first-year builder warranty and 10-year transferrable structural warranty are included.

On select homes, options are available such as an expanded kitchen island and a second owner’s suite, which combines the space of two smaller bedrooms and creates a second private retreat. A limited number of one plan is available that offers the owner’s bedroom on the first floor.

The community encompasses 20 acres, and several of the buildings have conservation views.

To learn more, please visit Mattamyhomes.com or call Melanie Sikorski at (813) 659-5854.

Mattamy Homes has proven excellence by being North America’s largest privately owned homebuilder with over 90,000 homeowners. Founded in 1978, it is the largest privately owned homebuilder in North America and has sold more than 90,000 homes in hundreds of communities, including the metropolitan areas of Tampa, Sarasota, Naples, Orlando, Jacksonville, Charlotte, Phoenix and Tucson.

Published November 22, 2017

State funds sought for forensic training center

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State legislators will try to secure about $4.3 million in state funds to build a forensic anthropology training center – also known as a body farm – next to the Land O’ Lakes Detention Center, off U.S. 41.

A local campaign also aims to raise about $200,000 for a tactical training program on-site for Pasco’s K-9 unit. Those efforts will be spearheaded by the Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel.

Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco outlined details for the Florida Forensic Institute for Research, Security & Tactical Training, or F.I.R.S.T., at a Feb. 27 press conference.

The campus has the potential of becoming the “Silicon Valley” of forensic anthropology research and an economic boost for Pasco, Nocco said.

“This is really going to be a forensics hub,” he said. “It is a unique opportunity.”

State Rep. Danny Burgess, Pasco County Commission Chairman Mike Moore, and Erin Kimmerle, associate professor of anthropology at the University of South Florida and director of the Florida Institute of Forensic Anthropology & Applied Science, were among those attending the press conference.

Burgess and State Sen. Wilton Simpson plan to request state funding for the project during the upcoming legislative session. The Pasco County Commission gave its approval to the project in January, and donated county land next to the jail.

The indoor and outdoor facility would be the seventh in the nation to study body decomposition as an aid in solving crimes, and identifying victims of murder or other trauma.

It also would bring together research and practical applications of crime solving, forensic anthropology and criminal prosecution in a single location.

Partners in the project are Pasco-Hernando State College and the IFAAS, with Kimmerle leading the anthropology team.

Kimmerle and USF are well-known for their work in identifying bodies found in unmarked graves at the former Dozier School for Boys in Marianna.

The campus in Pasco would include a laboratory for research and forensic casework, classrooms, a morgue and evidence storage. The educational focus would be on forensics, anthropology, geochemistry, legal medicine, forensic intelligence, aviation reconstruction and cyber forensics.

Technology will be a major part of the research, including virtual autopsies with 3-D scanning and chemical isotope analysis, Kimmerle said.

The K-9 portion of the project would be the first time Pasco has had a dedicated facility for tactical training for the K-9 unit, the Pasco Unified SWAT team, and sheriff’s deputies.

The new research center, called F.I.R.S.T. for short, would be a resource for universities, forensic scientists and law enforcement in the entire state. It can aid in tactical training and quick response to active shooter situations, missing person investigations, homicides and terrorist attacks.

Nocco said the recent attack at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando showed the need for greater preparedness and communications between local, state and federal law enforcement.

It also could help build a statewide database of an estimated 16,000 cold cases in Florida, Nocco said.

And, he added, it will provide career opportunities for college students through internships, as well as professional certificates and degrees.

The University of Tennessee in Knoxville was the first to establish a forensic training and research center in the 1970s. Others are at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Western Carolina University, Sam Houston State University, Texas State University in Carbondale, Southern Illinois University and Colorado Mesa University.

The “body farm” label came into use after crime novelist Patricia Cornwell wrote “The Body Farm” in 1994. Her protagonist, Kay Scarpetta, solves a child’s murder with help from a secretive research facility in Tennessee known as the Body Farm.

In 2015, USF proposed a forensic training center in Hillsborough County’s Lithia Springs. Nearby residents objected, and USF dropped the project.

Residents had concerns about safety and security with a “body farm” near their neighborhood.

The proposed site will be fenced off, and Moore said, “There’s no chance of anyone getting in here and disturbing the site. It’s a great opportunity not just for our people, but for people nationwide to come here and participate.”

Published March 8, 2017