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Suncoast Trailside Bicycles To Open Shop In Bexley

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Pasco County is a well-known destination for cyclists, so it’s no surprise that Bexley, one of the county’s most popular housing communities, is attracting bike lovers from all over the region.

The master-planned community by Newland Communities is located in Land O’ Lakes, just east of the Suncoast Parkway on State Road 54. It has earned numerous awards, including Best Master-Planned Community and Best Recreational Facility by the Southeast Building Conference, and Best in American Living Award for the Best Single-Family Community by the National Association of Home Builders.

In addition to its many awards, what sets Bexley apart from other communities is its miles of trails for cycling, walking and jogging (which may one day link to the 42-mile Suncoast Trail), its BMX pump track and soon, an on-site bike shop.

This spring, Odessa-based Suncoast Trailside Bicycles will add a new location within the Bexley community. The full-service shop, which will be open seven days a week, will offer tune-ups, sales and rentals, for residents and visitors.

“From the very beginning, we wanted Bexley to be a community that encouraged an active lifestyle where residents enjoy the beautiful scenery and acres of nature preserves,” said Pam Parisi, vice president of marketing for Newland Communities. “Having a bike shop within the community is a natural fit, and we couldn’t have found a better partner than Geoff Lanier and Suncoast Trailside Bicycles.”

“Once I saw the plans for Bexley and learned what the community was about, I was all in,” said Suncoast Trailside owner Geoff Lanier. “We can’t wait to open.”

Lanier is excited to be offering bike rentals for adults and children. “We’ve always had requests for rentals, but we never had enough space at our Odessa location. Now in Bexley, we can offer this service.”

In addition to renting traditional bicycles, the Bexley Suncoast Trailside store will offer battery-powered e-bikes, which Lanier said have become very popular over the past few years. Users can turn off the battery and pedal, or turn it on when they need some extra assistance.

Lanier is also looking forward to offering cycling and BMX clinics at Bexley for bikers of all skill levels. And, he’s already teamed up with Chef Ashley Davis, who runs Bexley’s Twisted Sprocket Café, for Bike and Brew events within the community. The café, which is open to the public, serves breakfast, lunch, desserts, smoothies, wine, craft beer and coffee drinks.

The bike shop will be located right next door to The Bexley Club, the community’s lakefront amenity center with its two resort-style pools and screened-in game room. Residents also enjoy other amenities in Bexley, including several open spaces for sports fields, a large event lawn for community events and festivals, custom-built playgrounds, and two dog parks.

Bexley’s prime location in central Pasco County provides direct access to the Suncoast Parkway and is convenient to many areas of Tampa Bay. The community consists of 1,825 acres of pastoral ranch lands, mature woodlands and cypress wetlands, with Newland dedicating 1,200 acres to remain in its pristine natural state.

In the 18 months since Bexley opened, it has distinguished itself as one of Tampa Bay’s top-selling properties with over 300 new homes sold. Homes begin in the low $200,000s and include single-family, luxury, and low-maintenance townhomes, courtyards and villas.

“Bexley is a vibrant community for people at all stages of life, especially those who are looking for an active lifestyle, and greater connections with each other and the outdoors. It’s just a wonderful community to live in, whether you’re a family with kids, just starting out, or looking to downsize,” Parisi adds.

Bexley is the fourth master-planned community for Newland in the Tampa Bay area, joining FishHawk Ranch, MiraBay and Waterset in south Hillsborough County. For information, visit BexleyFlorida.com.

Published March 28, 2018

The Bexley Difference Where miles of trails lead you home

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What a difference a year makes.

Since Bexley by Newland Communities debuted in Land O’ Lakes 10 months ago, this outstanding community has already distinguished itself as one of the Top 10 selling communities in the Tampa Bay market, and has been recognized as the best master planned community in the Southeast.

“We couldn’t be happier with the response we’ve received to Bexley,” said Pam Parisi, vice president of marketing for Newland Communities, the developer behind Bexley. “Our residents love the uniqueness of Bexley. It’s just a wonderful community to live in, whether you’re a family with kids, just starting out, or looking to downsize.”

Centrally located in Land O’ Lakes, at State Road 54 and the Suncoast Parkway, Bexley is an 1,825-acre community with significant conservation areas, that offers residents a sporty, social lifestyle that maximizes its pristine natural surroundings.

No doubt, people are taking notice of Bexley. The Southeast Building Conference recognized Bexley as the top master-planned community in the Southeast, awarding the community its highest honor, a Grand Aurora.

Central, Accessible Location

Bexley’s prime location next to the Suncoast Parkway offers fast, convenient access to many areas of Tampa and area beaches.

Bexley Village Drive has been open since the spring providing direct access to the Suncoast Parkway. It connects Tower Road to State Road 54, allowing residents to bypass Ballentrae Road for State Road 54 access.

Several commercial businesses have announced development plans in the area, including a convenience store and hotel. Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel is also building an emergency department within the Bexley community, which is scheduled to be complete in 2018.

Welcome to the Club

The Bexley Club, an award-winning lakefront clubhouse, is the hub of the community, with the popular Twisted Sprocket Café, a gathering place that is open to the public. Guests can enjoy a delicious menu of breakfast items, gourmet lunches, dessert, smoothies, wine, craft beer and coffee drinks served by Chef Ashley Davis and her team.

The second phase of The Bexley Club opened earlier this summer. It includes two resort-style pools, cardio-focused fitness center, screened-in game room, outdoor fire pit and an event lawn for community festivals and gatherings.

Best Schools

The newly constructed Bexley Elementary School opened its doors to students in August to help accommodate the many families that are moving to Bexley. Located within the community, the new elementary school features a state-of-the-art media and computer center. For upper grades, top-rated schools assigned to Bexley are Charles S. Rushe Middle School and Sunlake High School.

Trails and Parks

Spanning Bexley’s 1,200 acres of preserved wilderness are exceptional trails to hike, bike and run. Designed by outdoor-living pioneer Avid Trails, several outdoor Fit Stations are located throughout the trail to keep workouts interesting and fresh. The community also offers open space for sports fields, a BMX pump park bicycle course and custom-made playgrounds, as well as two dog parks (one for large breeds and the other for small).

About Newland

Bexley is the fourth master-planned community for Newland in the Tampa Bay area,

joining other award-winning communities of Fishhhawk Ranch, Mirabay and Waterset in south Hillsborough County.

For information, visit BexleyFlorida.com. • 16950 Vibrant Way ∙ Land O’ Lakes, FL 34638

 

Published September 27, 2017

Newland wants Bexley Ranch to be next FishHawk

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People have driven by construction work on State Road 54 east of the Suncoast Parkway and wondered what might be happening there.

A lot of those details were unveiled last week when Newland Communities vice president Tom Panaseny presented some of the first details of the recently resurrected Bexley Ranch project that will include about 1,700 homes over the next five years.

Construction already has begun on the retail portion of Bexley Ranch, part of a massive new community moving forward on State Road 54 just off the Suncoast Parkway. (Michael Hinman/Staff Photo)
Construction already has begun on the retail portion of Bexley Ranch, part of a massive new community moving forward on State Road 54 just off the Suncoast Parkway.
(Michael Hinman/Staff Photo)

The massive development, which will stretch north past Tower Road, was put on hold several years ago after the housing market crashed and new home construction came to a halt. But with the market on the rebound, and people still looking to move to Pasco County, Panaseny said this was as good a time as any to get started.

“We’ve got our plans in review at Pasco County right now, and we think we’ll break ground in March or April next year,” he told a small crowd that gathered at the Residence Inn at NorthPoint across the street from the project. “We haven’t even announced any of the builders yet. But the builders really almost come in last, once we develop the community and figure out what type of homes that we want to build. Then we’ll match up the builders to the type of home.”

Homes will start close to $200,000, and run as high as $400,000, Panaseny said. While most of the development will be single-family houses, the front part of the development close to State Road 54 will include townhouses, attached villas, commercial and retail, and even a new hotel.

The retail portion is where most of the land is being cleared right now, Panaseny said. That will likely be up and running by the time that work crews start prepping the land behind it for residential development.

“We are talking to several retailers right now to come in there, one of which has never been in Pasco before,” Panaseny said. Past that on Bexley Boulevard will be about 5 acres devoted to office, as well as a business class hotel.

“The hotel here does very well,” Panaseny said, about the Residence Inn. “Hopefully, there is room for another one.”

This will be Newland’s first project in Pasco County. It has had a lot of success with other high-profile projects in Hillsborough County, most notably with FishHawk Ranch near Brandon, as well as MiraBay and Waterset in Apollo Beach. FishHawk Ranch has more than 5,000 homes, and is near completion after more than a decade of development work.

While the initial plans bring about a third of that volume of development to Bexley Ranch, the longer-term goal is to be just as big as the project expands east toward Sunlake Boulevard. Initial plans also include an elementary school, and Newland’s contribution to the construction of Tower Road to Sunlake Boulevard.

The project also will include a network of trails that would provide miles of both paved and dirt pathways for residents. The idea is to eventually connect with the Suncoast Trail, possibly by going underneath the highway.

The trails, Panaseny said, would show off the nearly 1,000 acres of conservation land the Bexley Ranch project already has set aside. And in a sales pitch to some of the potential buyers in the audience, the developer said views of those pockets of nature won’t be limited to the highest bidders.

“I look at things like wetlands, and you’ll see developers who will try to price those views so that only an individual home can look at a wetland,” Panaseny said. “You won’t see a lot of that with us. We try to make that public space, because we don’t just want to have individuals look at that, we want the community to be looking at that.”

The entire project, once all the phases are completed, could go as high as 6,000 homes, Panaseny said. However, that all depends on how Pasco County does in the future when it comes to attracting new residents.

“You’re talking about 20 years-plus, and that’s really hard to even speculate on that right now,” he said. “We have to start with what we know, and what we know right now is that there are 1,700 acres there that will keep everybody busy for four or five years.”

Published September 24, 2014

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