The Laker/Lutz News

Raymond James

Pasco County ‘hottest county around,’ commission chairman says

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When Pasco County Commission Chairman Mike Moore moved to the county in 2007, it was a different place.

When he arrived, the State Road 54/56 corridor — with it shopping malls, restaurants, car dealerships, hotels, residential subdivisions, medical offices, state college and industrial development — looked nothing like it does today.

The Shops at Wiregrass wasn’t even there yet, recalled Moore, who had made the move from nearby New Tampa for a larger home in Seven Oaks.

“They just built the JCPenney, without the mall. When I first moved here, we were still going to Hillsborough County and to New Tampa for a lot of things,” he said.

That was then.

“You think about how hot Pasco County is right now. We’re the hottest county around,” said Moore, now serving in his second term, and recently named county commission chairman.

Pasco County Commission Chairman Mike Moore is bullish on Pasco County. He sees bright prospects for 2020, and said the county’s pro-growth attitude is creating more opportunities for its residents. (File)

“Wesley Chapel has the highest income in the Tampa Bay region.

“New restaurants and businesses are coming every single day.

“I do so many ribbon cuttings my fingers are tired,” Moore said.

New businesses are bringing jobs to the county, and there’s even some Class A office space popping up.

“That’s what’s amazing, you look at the growth and opportunity that we have in this area now, compared to what we had when I first moved here in ’07.”

Now, he said, “I don’t need to leave Pasco County, unless I need to go to the airport.”

Statistics paint a favorable picture of the county.

The number of homeless is down; job growth is up. Tourism hit the million-visitor mark for the first time this year, and numerous companies have set up shop in Pasco, or have announced plans to do so.

Moore said a strong economic development team, a streamlined approval process and a pro-growth board have combined to create more interest in Pasco.

County staff and the private Pasco Economic Development Council, Inc., work together to recruit new businesses, he said.

“There are certain things that (Pasco) EDC can do — being a private entity,” Moore explained.

“A lot of companies don’t want to make it public beforehand. People have employees who might have to relocate. There are investors involved, if they are public companies.”

“The EDC can work behind the scenes.”

The county also has focused on reducing bureaucracy, Moore said.

“One of the things that we have encouraged — as a commission, as a whole — is to make it as easily navigable as possible, to come here and start from the ground up,” Moore said.

“Our economic development group needs to make sure that when they (prospects) come here and they’re ready to do business, that it’s a smooth process,” he added.

The economic development team’s job is to make the area enticing, but it goes beyond that Moore said. They also need to help the companies through the county’s process.

Public support for economic development has played an important role, Moore said, noting that a portion of the Penny for Pasco tax proceeds is earmarked for that purpose.

The county has a number of tools it uses to entice businesses: It waives mobility impact fees and permit fees. It rewards job creation. It supports work force training. It forgives loans. It uses tax and job creation incentives.

The commission’s Dec. 10 meeting — where two companies announced intentions to locate in Pasco — offered a glimpse of how such strategies are paying off.

Encompass Health Corporation, based in Birmingham, Alabama, announced plans to bring 179 jobs to Central Pasco. Rooker Properties, LLC, a company based in Atlanta, Georgia, unveiled plans for an industrial park on a site off Old Pasco Road, expected to generate hundreds of jobs.

Meanwhile, financial services company Raymond James — also receiving a number of incentives — is expected to break ground in 2020 for a campus expected to have hundreds of employees, in the Wiregrass Ranch area of Wesley Chapel.

“That will be significant for our area. We’ve all been waiting for it,” Moore said.

Aside from the economy, the county is making strides in efforts to improve its quality of life, Moore said.

Numerous road construction projects are in various stages of progress.

Most recently, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a permit to extend Ridge Road, initially from Moon Lake Road in New Port Richey to the Suncoast Parkway, but ultimately it will extend to U.S. 41 in Land O’ Lakes.

The county has pushed for the east-west corridor for 20 years, and securing the permit marks a major milestone. As of last week, it remained unclear if opponents — who object to the project’s path through the Serenova Tract of the Starkey Wilderness Preserve — will wage a legal challenge.

Meanwhile, over in Wesley Chapel, construction continues on the diverging diamond, a project aimed at easing congestion at the Interstate 75/State Road 56 interchange.

And, in another significant development, the extension of State Road 56 between Wesley Chapel and Zephyrhills was wrapped up in July, creating a new east-west corridor between the two communities.

The county also has been making strides on civic projects, Moore noted.

Four voter-approved bond issues are supporting the construction of additional fire stations, the renovation of libraries, improvements at county parks and a jail expansion.

The county also recently announced a record-breaking $22 million acquisition of environmental lands, to preserve ecological corridors.

And, within recent months, the county opened its first barrier-free playground.

Moore championed the idea, after noticing there wasn’t a place where children with disabilities could play at Wesley Chapel District Park.

Keith Wiley, who oversees the county’s parks departments, got involved — and the Wesley Chapel Rotary Club, Lennar Foundation and AdventHealth Wesley Chapel stepped up to help pay for the project.

The barrier-free playground was a first for Pasco, but Moore expects that it won’t be the last.

Six things to watch in 2020

The Laker/Lutz News asked Pasco County Commission Chairman Mike Moore to identify the top things to watch in 2020. He provided these six, along with some observations:

  • Wiregrass Ranch Sports Complex: The 98,000-square-foot Wiregrass Ranch Sports Complex will open, creating a new destination for amateur and youth travel teams. It also will have programs during the week for local youths. The facility is expected to boost county tourism, as teams travel to Pasco from around the country and even internationally. The facility also will add to the local economy, as visitors stay at hotels, shop at stores, eat at restaurants, buy gas and so on.
  • Interstate 75-Overpass Road interchange: Work will begin on a design-build project to create a new interchange at Interstate 75 and Overpass Road, 3.5 miles south of State Road 52. The new diamond interchange will include a flyover ramp for westbound Overpass Road access to south I-75. To accommodate the new interchange, Overpass Road will be widened from two lanes to four lanes between I-75 and Old Pasco Road and to six lanes between I-75 and Boyette Road. Blair Drive will be realigned to connect with Old Pasco Road; and, McKendree Road will be realigned to connect with Boyette Road.
  • U.S. 41 Redevelopment: Redevelopment and revitalization along U.S. 41/Land O Lakes Boulevard is expected to occur, as U.S. 41 is widened, south of State Road 52 to alleviate backups at State Road 52/U.S. 41. There also will be increased efforts to improve the corridor’s appearance, through landscaping projects and redevelopment.
  • Job growth in Pasco County: The county is attracting more companies because of its policies that support growth and that is expected to continue. Quality of life improves when citizens can work closer to home, and new developments, such as Raymond James, which is expected to occur in early 2020, offers one example of increasing job opportunities in Pasco.
  • Improved quality of life through public projects: New looks for Centennial Park Library and New River Library will be unveiled in 2020, with modernized interiors and makerspaces. The county is also engaged in more than 30 projects in its parks, ranging from new roofs and gutters on buildings to updating playground equipment.
  • Ridge Road Extension: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a permit to Pasco County on Dec. 20, to begin on Ridge Road Extension, initially to connect Ridge Road to the Suncoast Parkway. Plans also call for eventually extending the road to U.S. 41. The project will provide a new east-west corridor, giving motorists another travel option and providing another evacuation route during emergencies.

Editor’s note: These observations were edited for brevity.

Published January 01, 2020

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

Wiregrass Ranch still practices patient approach to growth

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Since the outset of the development of Wiregrass Ranch, the Porter family has used a patient approach to assembling the building blocks of a community.

Over time, land once occupied by cattle and orange groves has been transformed.

Developments including The Shops at Wiregrass, Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel, Pasco-Hernando State College’s Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch, North Tampa Bay Behavioral Health Hospital, Beach House Assisted Living & Memory Care at Wiregrass, and public schools, subdivisions and apartments are just some of the projects that have popped out of the landscape.

The Porter family is choosy about the types of projects it brings into Wiregrass Ranch, to protect the quality of the development. (B.C. Manion)

And, there’s more to come, J.D. Porter told a crowd at the North Tampa Bay Chamber’s April economic briefing at Hunter’s Green Golf & Country Club.

“The demographic that is moving into the area right now is younger, dual income, dual college education,” Porter said.

That lends itself to high-quality housing, upscale restaurants, specialty grocers and other sought-after development, he said.

The Porter family is choosy about the types of new projects it brings into Wiregrass, to protect the quality of the development, he said.

“There are users out there that aren’t a good fit for Wiregrass,” Porter explained.

And, even when a project is a good match for Wiregrass, the family paces the development to make sure that ongoing projects can be successful before introducing new ones.

Porter takes particular pride in the area’s job creation.

“Right now there are 2,500 jobs that have been created,” Porter said. “We’ve created more jobs than we have homes.”

That’s a statistic that would be hard to match in other Pasco or Hillsborough developments, Porter said.

He also noted that it’s important to have a mix of large and small users, so there’s not too much reliance on large users — in case they go away.

Having the proper mix of development is important, too, he said.

“It’s nice to have boutique restaurants, shops, locally owned businesses and stuff like that. To make that work, you have to have people around it, and you have to have people around that during the day,” he said.

The family envisions a town center, with increased residential density, as it gets closer to the town center, Porter said.

The town center — which would be a walkable Wesley Chapel downtown — will include retail, office space, residential, a school, light rail or bus rapid transit stops, a park and ride, a hotel, a fire station, a sheriff’s office, an indoor sports facility, playgrounds, a walking trail, a hotel, a county office building and other amenities, according to the Wiregrass Ranch website.

Porter also addressed the big user side of development, during the economic briefing.

Wiregrass Ranch is “currently shortlisted for two Fortune 200 companies. One for 600,000; one for 1.2 million square feet,” Porter said. “It’d be nice to have another big one. Both of them are ranked higher than what Raymond James is, on the Fortune 500 list.”

Raymond James, which has long been expected to have an office park in the Wiregrass Ranch development “will be turning dirt before the end of the year,” Porter said, in response to a question from the audience. “They’re going to be taking steps towards getting site-ready for construction.”
He also offered his thoughts on some transportation issues.

The diverging diamond, a project to retrofit the Interstate 75-State Road 56 interchange, should help, Porter said.

“The upside is, it really will help that traffic problem quite a bit,” he said. But, he predicts there will be accidents, and even deaths, as people learn to negotiate it.

The $40 million diverging diamond project is expected to begin this summer and could take two years to three years to complete, according to officials with the Florida Department of Transportation.

Porter also predicted that rapid bus transit is more likely to happen than light rail, and noted that Wiregrass Ranch already has 3 ½ miles to 4 miles dedicated for either option.

In general, Porter said, “you have got to have good connectivity on roadways, regardless where they’re at.”

Published May 2, 2018

Tampa Bay housing market has solid outlook for 2018, experts say

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Tampa Bay’s housing market is looking strong for 2018, but changes are expected, as the market evolves, according to experts featured at the 2018 Economic Forecast meeting presented by the Tampa Bay Builders Association.

Buck Horne, vice president for equity research, housing and real estate for Raymond James, presented an analysis featuring three key findings during the Feb. 6 meeting at Tampa.

Buck Horne, vice president — equity research, housing and real estate, for Raymond James & Associates, provided a look at key trends in the housing market. (B.C. Manion)

The first involves a deluge of new apartments expected soon.

“We see what we’re calling a wall of new supply in multifamily rental apartments, which is going to be delivering into the front half of 2018, and it could spill into the back half of ‘18, as well,” said Horne, who specializes in the housing and real estate sectors.

“In the latter half of last year, we were doing our data digging and what we found were just surprising levels — how widespread pervasive construction delays started to mount.

“Labor shortages, permitting issues, entitlement delays — all of it really started to mount. And, we saw an incredible backing up of supply in multifamily that was supposed to deliver last year, which is now scheduled to deliver this year,” he said.

The scheduled new supply in 2018 could be as much as 50 percent higher than either 2017 or 2016, according to figures on one of Horne’s charts.

“We think it’s going to start to affect multifamily rental markets, mainly in the big urban core coastal cities — that’s where it’s going to be most acutely felt. But, it’s in a lot of places. It’s not just New York and San Francisco and L.A., although those are the worst.

“But, you’re going to see it in Charlotte. You’ll see it in Nashville. You’ll see it in Tampa, in the second and third quarters, as well,” he said.

Lots of new homes are going up in the Bexley subdivision, off State Road 54, in Land O’ Lakes. Housing experts expect the Tampa Bay housing market to have a solid outlook in 2018.

There has also been a shift within the composition of household formation, which has started to tilt to the single-family side, said Horne, who has been a regular guest on CNBC, offering insight into the housing sector, and has also been widely quoted in major media outlets, such as Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal.

“Last year was the first in 10 that we saw multifamily renter households actually decline, rather than growing. We saw accelerations in new single-family household formation,” Horne said.

Dearth of homes for sale
As the spring selling season begins, there’s a historically tight inventory, Horne said.

Listed inventory for sale, as measured as a percentage of total housing stock, is at its lowest recorded level in more than 30 years, according to Raymond James data.

Horne also observed: “We’ve got reliable data going back to the late 1980s, and we haven’t seen anything like this. Anything that’s even affordable and that’s in reasonably good condition gets snapped up very quickly.”

When it comes to housing starts, Horne said, “we’re looking for basically good, but not great, growth. We’re forecasting another year at a low double-digit growth in single-family housing starts and new home sales.

“But, you’ll see we are projecting that multifamily starts will begin to come down. We think that’s a function of the supply issues that are coming this year, as well as possibly some demand that starts to tail off,” he said. He also expects rent levels to begin to stall.

Horne also expects to see growth in single-family housing, both owner-occupied and rental.

There are a lot of factors at play, he said, but he noted: “We are seeing evidence that the push into single-family and away from multifamily is beginning to gain some momentum,” Horne said.

Older millennials are beginning to make the move from apartments into single-family dwellings, he added.

One of the fastest-growing housing types in America is the single-family renter household, Horne said.

“We’ve also got for the first time, in a long time, real household income growth: 2016 household income got up to about a little over $59,000.

“That is driving some better demand, but it’s also driving higher and higher household prices,” he said.

Concerns about affordability
“The cost to build a new single-family house just is relentlessly going higher,” Horne said.

“The under-$200,000 single-family house is becoming an extinct species. It’s harder and harder to build, unless you go way out to the periphery, to actually make that math work.

To build the same house as five years ago, it’s 36 percent more today, he said.

Many new homes have been built in the Long Lake Ranch Community in Lutz and more are being built there, as new home construction continues to create new housing options in Pasco County.

Most of that was labor and lot costs, but rising material costs now are compounding cost issues, he added.

“The point is, it’s not going to get any better anytime soon,” Horne predicted.

“We know there’s a tremendous amount of pent-up demand for entry level, but increasingly fewer and fewer — particularly smaller builders — are able to meet the cost required to build at that price point.

“You’re finding the larger builders, who can get the efficiencies and the scales needed to build in high volumes and production efficiencies, that can acquire the land in large enough chunks and develop it, those are the guys that are soaking up that entry land demand.

“The smaller guys — it’s harder and harder to compete for that entry-level buyer,” Horne said.

Lesley Deutch, a principal for John Burns Real Estate Consulting, said the affordability issue is her greatest worry.

While Tampa is one of the most affordable markets in the state, it is getting more expensive to buy a house, she said.

In Tampa, there’s a two months’ supply of resale housing inventory, she said.

“So, that’s really driving people to the new home market, and we expect to drive up prices of resale homes,” she said.

Deutch offered a forecast for 2018 for Tampa’s housing market.

She expects employment to be up by 2 percent, adding 26,600 jobs. She expects income to increase by 5 percent.

She’s projecting total construction activity to rise by nearly 12 percent, up to 20,000 permits.

Most of that growth will be in the single-family sector, she said.

She expects the median price of new homes to increase by 4.3 percent.

“(It’s) not a booming, doubling of growth, but a very, very strong growth market. One of the strongest, actually, in Florida,” Deutch said.

John Burns Real Estate Consulting is based in California. The company spends a substantial amount of time looking at demographics across the country, and doing consumer research.

Its research reveals a high demand for communities that allow residents to walk to destinations, such as restaurants, grocery stores and coffee shops, Deutch said.

“I think that having housing that’s close to something walkable — people will pay a premium for it because that’s what they’re looking for,” she said.

She also sees a shift coming for Tampa’s housing market.

“It’s going to be a different world over the next 10 years,” she said, as households grow substantially in the 65-plus age category (+142,000), grow modestly in the 25 to 44 age group (+14,000), as they decline in the 45 to 64 age group (-14,000). The 45 to 64 age group is typically the move-up buyer.

“So, where is the opportunity here? It’s really a different strategy than we’ve been using in the past. It’s a different buyer. It’s a young buyer and an older buyer,” Deutch said.

Buck Horne, vice president for equity research, housing and real estate for Raymond James & Associates, and Lesley Deutch, principal for John Burns Real Estate Consulting shared their insights at the Tampa Bay Builders Association’s 2018 Economic Forecast breakfast.
Here are some of Buck Horne’s key points:

  • A supply surge in multifamily could disrupt rent pricing.
  • Apartment occupancy has been falling noticeably on a year-to-year basis.
  • Investors should shift their focus more significantly in favor of single-family homes.
  • Inflation-adjusted median household income in the United States hit a new record high of $59,039 in 2016, breaking a previous high mark set in 1999.
  • The cost to build a like-kind single family home has increased 36 percent over the past 5.5 years.
  • Luxury markets continue to grow. New home sales priced above $750,000 was the strongest growth category in 2017, increasing 32 percent, year on year.
  • Listed housing inventory for sale, both new and resale, as measured as a percentage of total housing stock, is at the lowest recorded levels in 30 years.

Here are some of Lesley Deutch’s key points:

  • Median housing resale price in Tampa market is expected to be up 7.6 percent in 2018.
  • Single-family permits in Tampa market are expected to be up 11 percent in 2018.
  • Tampa’s employment is expected to be up 2 percent, which is more than 26,600 jobs.
  • There’s a two-month supply of resale inventory, which is virtually none.
  • Tampa is ranked No. 2 in the United States for people moving into the area, based on U-Haul truck rental pricing.
  • A consumer preferences survey by John Burns Real Estate Consulting reveals that three community features important to buyers are safety, location and street appeal.
  • The John Burns survey also shows that important home features are design, price and function.
  • The vast majority (84 percent) of buyers desire a detached, single-family home, and 62 percent expect to pay $250,000 to $450,000 for it.

Published February 28, 2018

Growth continues to transform Wiregrass Ranch

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Once known for its cattle and citrus groves, the Wiregrass Ranch area of Wesley Chapel is now being viewed as a place where people can live, work, shop, learn and receive medical care.

During the past decade:

  • Pasco-Hernando State College opened Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch, giving Wesley Chapel students their first opportunity to seek a four-year college degree in their own backyard.
  • Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel opened, and the demand was so great that the hospital expanded — well ahead of expectations.
  • Florida Medical Clinic opened, on land situated near the hospital.
  • North Tampa Behavioral Health opened, and has been so successful that it is already undergoing an expansion.
  • Financial services giant Raymond James closed on the purchase of 65 acres of land and is expected to break ground later this year on a satellite campus, across from the college.
J.D. Porter, president of sales and development for Wiregrass Ranch, talks over projects that have been completed, or are on the horizon — at Wiregrass Ranch, a development of regional impact that covers thousands of acres in Wesley Chapel.
(B.C. Manion)

And, that’s just part of the story, according to J.D. Porter, president of sales and development for Wiregrass Ranch, in Wesley Chapel.

Besides the health care, education and commercial projects, residential growth is going strong, too, Porter said.

Wiregrass Ranch — with 340 housing starts — was No. 1 in housing starts in the period ending Dec. 31, 2016, according to a report by MetroStudy.

FishHawk Ranch, in southern Hillsborough County, was second on the list with 324 starts.

Other Pasco County developments among the top five were Long Lake Ranch, at fourth place, with 227 starts; and, Starkey Ranch, at fifth place, with 219 starts.

Porter expects residential growth to continue to flourish in Wiregrass Ranch.

He pointed to a contract on a large tract of land for a new active adult community that’s expected to close this year.

The development, which will have around 1,000 units, will fill a niche in the market, Porter said. “Nowhere in Wesley Chapel is there really an age-restricted community,” he said.

It will be “highly amenitized,” he said, and will be designed for people who are 55 and older.

Another residential development will offer row houses, and will appeal to people who are looking for a maintenance-free lifestyle, he said.

More commercial growth is on the horizon, too, Porter said.

North Tampa Behavioral Health, on State Road 56, is in expansion mode.

A 15,000-square-foot medical office is going up next to Florida Medical Clinic, he said, noting the bottom floor will be occupied by an orthodontist.

He expects that to open within the next seven months to nine months.

“They’re turning dirt like crazy right now, which is fantastic,” Porter said.

The medical office market is hot, Porter added.

“We probably get five to 10 calls a day,” he said.

It’s possible that another 100,000 square feet to 150,000 square feet of medical office could be added, he said. “It’s going to be limited by size.”

Porter also noted that his family is actually doing a strip center of its own on State Road 54, which will include restaurants and businesses which cater to local needs.

And, while there’s been a considerable amount of interest about when Raymond James will break ground and bring new employment opportunities, Porter said other major players are also eyeing the Wiregrass Ranch area.

Wiregrass is also on the shortlist of a couple of other companies that have equal, if not greater, name recognition as Raymond James, Porter said.

“Now that we have these foundations, it just ramps up to a different level, which is exciting,” Porter said.

Published March 8, 2017

Permit granted for Raymond James

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Raymond James is a step closer to building a campus in Wesley Chapel, according to J.D. Porter, whose family has a pending contract on a land sale to the financial services giant.

Last week, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approved the permit needed for the project last week, Porter said. “It covers the entire Raymond James project,” he said.

The project, which would be built near State Road 56 and Wiregrass Ranch Boulevard, ultimately could have 1 million square feet in office space.

J.D. Porter addressed members of the Pasco Alliance of Community Associations in March, talking about various projects in Wiregrass Ranch, including a campus for Raymond James, the financial services giant (File Photo)
J.D. Porter addressed members of the Pasco Alliance of Community Associations in March, talking about various projects in Wiregrass Ranch, including a campus for Raymond James, the financial services giant
(File Photo)

“The process from here on out is that we’ve got to go back before the Board of County Commissioners and ratify the deal, update timelines, because it took a little while to get the permit in. And then, after that, per their contract, they have 30 days to close,” Porter said.

Steve Hollister, a spokesman for Raymond James, offered no timetable for when the project will proceed.

“Raymond James continues to evaluate occupancy needs as part of the firm’s long-term growth strategy. We believe the Wiregrass Ranch property is a good future development opportunity and expect to close on the property within the next three months, but cannot commit to a specific construction schedule at this time,” Hollister said, via email.

Still, the Corps’ approval is a significant milestone for a project, which has been described by leading Pasco officials as “a game changer” for the county.

The Pasco County Commission enticed Raymond James to locate in Wesley Chapel by providing about $10 million in roadwork and tax breaks. The state also provided about $4 million in incentives.

Before the county approved the deal in 2011, the Pasco Economic Development Council commissioned an independent analysis of the potential economic impacts.

That analysis, conducted by Impact DataSource, of Austin, Texas, estimated that the Raymond James campus would lead directly or indirectly to 1,200 jobs, providing total salaries of more than $600 million and would yield approximately $135 million in additional taxable sales within the county.

Raymond James is a diversified financial services holding company, with subsidiaries engaged primarily in investment and financial planning, in addition to investment banking and asset management, according to the company’s website. Its stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

The company has more than 6,700 financial advisors who serve more than 2.7 million client accounts in more than 2,700 locations throughout the United States, Canada and overseas, the website adds. Its total client assets are approximately $500 billion.

The company’s name came from merging companies run by Robert A. James and Edward Raymond, the website says.

Published July 20, 2016

Expert offers free advice on how to build your wealth

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When it comes to becoming wealthy, most people have more power over their financial situation than they realize, Miranda Reiter, a financial advisor for Raymond James told an audience at Pasco-Hernando State College’s Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch.

And the good news is, that no matter how old you are, there are specific actions you can take to build your wealth, added Reiter, who worked in the banking industry before she became a financial advisor.

Miranda Reiter, a financial advisor for Raymond James, shared her expertise on wealth building at a community seminar hosted by Pasco-Hernando State College’s Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch. (B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)
Miranda Reiter, a financial advisor for Raymond James, shared her expertise on wealth building at a community seminar hosted by Pasco-Hernando State College’s Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch.
(B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)

While she was working at the bank, she observed there were some people who always seemed to be financially fit.

“There are five things that I’ve noted that, if you can keep these five going, you can be on a

good path, a solid path, to building your wealth,” she said.

Before they can build their wealth, people need a clear picture of their financial situation, she said.

Knowing your net worth is a good starting point, she said. To determine that, add your assets and subtract your liabilities.

“Law No. 1 for building your worth is knowing how much it costs to be you,” Reiter said.

“I had two clients come in a few weeks ago. Married couple. Husband, 65, and wife is a little

older.

“Together, they bring home $150,000 a year. They’re both looking to stop working sometime

soon. They came in with $400,000 in their 401-k. The husband looked at me and he says, ‘Miranda, are we going to make it? Is this enough?’

“I couldn’t answer that question.

“People want to know this all of the time. Are we going to be OK, can I make it?

“I can’t answer that question because there’s a piece of information about him that I don’t

know yet. This information was, ‘How much does it cost to be you?’

With today’s technology and medical advances, people may live to be 100.

The question is: “When you think about the next 35 to 40 years, how much money will it take for you to live?”

Unfortunately, people often don’t establish savings goals based on how much it costs them to live.

“If you want to know how much it costs to be you, the bank statements that you get will

normally not lie. I tell people, print three out.

“There are some fixed costs that you know,” she said, listing off rent or mortgage payments, car payments and insurance.

“There’s other things that are more difficult to know, like how much you spend at restaurants?” she said. Check your credit card or debit card statements to get a general idea, she said.

In some cases, Reiter said she has to tell people: “Given the situation, there’s some changes that we need to make because what you have saved does not support how much it costs to be you, right now.”

“Law No. 2 for building your wealth: Eliminate your debt,” Reiter said.

This can be challenging, she said.

“If you’re looking to tackle your debt, what’s missing in most people’s lives is a strategy,” Reiter said.

“Most of us have debt. I’m not going to stand here and say that debt’s bad. As a matter of fact, most of us have used debt to bring ourselves up in the world.

“When we think about debt, we have to think, what’s a good debt and what’s a bad debt?” Reiter said.

Good debt, she said, “are debts that elevate you.”

“Credit cards are bad — if they’re being used irresponsibly,” she added.

“If you’re paying off your credit cards every month I generally think that you’re in a good

place,” she said.

“Here’s how you know, if perhaps you have a problem with debt: If you have credit cards and

you can’t pay them off every month,” she said.

That’s a sign that you need a strategy, Reiter said.

She recommends writing down your debts, writing down the balances and the interest rates.

Then, work to pay down debt with higher interest rates, first, she said.

Once you minimize debt, you’ll have more to save, Reiter noted.

To help avoid the temptation to spend more than you have, she recommends: “Why don’t you try not using your credit card, and using your debit card?

“It’s the same money, but there’s something psychological with us that credit card money is like

not real money, and debit card money is real.

“I know personally, it (using a debit card) helps me,” Reiter said.

Law No. 3 for building wealth, she said, is “spend less than you earn.”

“If you’re feel like you’re spending more than you’re earning, I’d say, ‘Take a moment to do

some conscious spending,’” she said.

Law No. 4 for building wealth, she said, is to “save and grow your money as early as possible.”

“I want to address something that people often ask: Should I save more or should I pay off my debts?

“Usually, it depends upon your specific situation. But I can tell you, doing both is possible.

“Every penny saved on credit cards, is a penny earned,” Reiter said.

To truly build wealth requires investing your money.

You can save $1,000 a year for 40 years and end up with $40,000, she said. “But investing that $40,000, assuming a rate of about 6 percent, will yield $164,000.”

Law No. 5 for building wealth, Reiter said, is to “get a plan.”

People don’t become wealthy by accident. They have a road map for putting themselves on the path to wealth, she said.

“I wholeheartedly believe that we have to be intentional about our money and our finances if

we want to change it, if we want to grow our wealth,” Reiter said.

Miranda Reiter’s five laws for building wealth
No. 1: Know how much it costs to be you.
No. 2: Eliminate your debt.
No. 3: Spend less than you earn.
No. 4: Save and grow your money as early as possible.
No. 5: Get a plan.

Published June 29, 2016

 

Porter to doubters: Raymond James is coming

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J.D. Porter said he knows there are a lot of people who doubt that Raymond James will ever have a location in the Wiregrass Ranch community of Wesley Chapel.

And, he said he knows that the decision by T. Rowe Price not to locate in Pasco County has helped to fuel those speculations.

But, at a March 10 meeting of the Pasco Alliance of Community Associations in Land O’ Lakes, Porter told the crowd: “I’ll tell you straight up, let’s dispel the myth right now: Is it going to happen? Are they going to close?

J.D. Porter, whose family owns thousands of acres in Wiregrass Ranch, talks about future plans for the area near The Shops at Wiregrass and Pasco-Hernando State College’s Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch. (B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)
J.D. Porter, whose family owns thousands of acres in Wiregrass Ranch, talks about future plans for the area near The Shops at Wiregrass and Pasco-Hernando State College’s Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch.
(B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)

“It’s going to happen. Raymond James will close,” said Porter, whose family owns the sprawling Wiregrass Ranch, which includes thousands of acres of ranch land and citrus groves.

Porter expects Raymond James to get their permits within the next 45 days or so, and that will trigger closing within 30 days of that, he said.

“Once they close, you’ll start seeing dirt being moved to the site,” Porter said.

“It’s exciting. Right now, they’re in for permitting for a million square feet,” he said, estimating that the site will be occupied by 4,000 to 5,000 employees.

“I imagine we’ll have even more interest on the office side, once Raymond James closes,” Porter said.

“We’re currently talking with about four other office users that are Fortune 250 companies, anywhere from 400,000 square feet to another 1.2 million square feet of office,” said Porter, whose family has already sold the land now occupied by The Shops at Wiregrass and Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel, and donated 65 acres for Pasco-Hernando State College’s Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch.

Porter is also enthused about progress being made for a performing arts center on the state college’s campus. The project received $15. 5 million in funding last year from the Florida Legislature and there’s $11 million earmarked for the project in this session’s proposed budget.

It could be vetoed by Gov. Rick Scott, but Porter doesn’t think it will be. If that money comes through, about half of the funding needed for the first phase of the project would be available, he said.

Porter envisions a facility that can seat between 5,000 and 8,000 people and could be a venue for plays, concerts, graduations and other events.

With the performing arts center, Pasco County high school students would be able to have their graduation ceremonies within the county instead of having to use venues elsewhere, Porter said.

He also talked about other projects that are under way or being planned in the Wiregrass Ranch development. Those include high-end apartments, a hotel, an assisted living facility and a specialty grocer, although he didn’t name which one.

Porter said his family entertains many proposals coming from people who want to open restaurants, gas stations and other uses.

The area’s demographics are enticing, Porter noted.

“You’ve got a median age that’s about seven years younger than the Florida average and about 11 years younger than the national average. You’ve got a median income that’s about $11,000 more than what the national average is and about $14,000 to $17,000 more than what the Florida average is,” he said.

When the family sells land, it’s more interested in how the sale affects the overall quality of the community than whether they can get top dollar, Porter said

The specialty grocery store is an example of this, he said.

“We’re going to take a price hit on that,” Porter said. “But, I think it’s something that will have value. I think it is something that will flourish within the community.”

“You can’t play the short game. You’ve got to play the long game,” he said.

Published March 16, 2016

 

Wiregrass Sports Park on new path?

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The future of the Wiregrass Sports Park is in play, again.

A new call for proposals will be issued within the next month seeking developers who want to partner with Pasco County in building and operating a field house for indoor sports such as basketball, wrestling and volleyball.

The project also envisions the potential for four or five outdoor ball fields. And, eventually there could be tourist attractions such as an indoor zipline, indoor skydiving, and a driving range.

But, even as the county puts the project out for bid, negotiations are under way on a new proposal from the Porter family, who have played a considerable role in influencing the development of the area.

The family previously owned the land now occupied by The Shops at Wiregrass, Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel, Pasco-Hernando State College’s Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch, as well as residential subdivisions and public schools.

The Porters donated more than 200 acres to Pasco County in 2012 with a stipulation that if a sports complex didn’t happen, then a park would be developed.

Since then, the county has sifted through one proposal after another, but none has panned out.

The family is eager to see work starting at the site.

It came down to one question for them.

“What can we do as a family to get this off the ground and make it a reality?” J.D. Porter asked.

Within the past two weeks, they presented county officials with a new vision for a town center-style community at Wiregrass with homes, hotels and retail. The proposal incorporates the field house, but also draws a grander vision for a wetlands area with trails, a convention center and/or performing arts center at PHSC’s Porter Campus, a public park and green space for Wiregrass residents.

It would all be pedestrian-friendly, interconnected space linking to Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel, the college and a public park. The future Raymond James commercial site, with 1 million square feet of office space within six buildings, also is plugged into the plan.

The Porter’s proposal could lead to a land swap agreement returning a portion of the donated land to the family to accommodate their town-center project and also allow for a public park. The land could be split re-divided along several geographic patterns.

It was a lot to digest as county commissioners met on Oct. 27 in a public workshop with the Tourist Development Council.

Pasco County Strategic Policy Administrator Richard Gehring clicked through a slide show of changing scenarios on how development could proceed, and meet everyone’s expectations.

Discussion with the Porters is ongoing.

“There are moving parts,” said Gehring. “The geography is not fixed at this time. We’re trying to make it a win-win for as many people as possible.”

Gehring said it would take about three weeks to write a proposal for the field house. Bidders would have 60 days to submit their plans.

The recommendation to build a field house emerged from a study by Chicago-based Johnson Consulting Co.

The facility would be between 85,000 and 100,000 square feet, built on five to seven acres. There would be up to eight basketball courts, four to six multi-purpose rooms and lockers. It would operate under a private/public partnership agreement.

By the fifth year of operation, about 100,000 people a year would use the facility, said Charlie Johnson, the company’s president.

In future, outdoor ball fields could be added, he said.

“You can start with indoor, and grow from there,” Johnson said.

The field house and the Porter’s future development project is a sound one, said Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore.

“To me, we’re getting everything the (Johnson Consulting) report stated but above and beyond,” he said. “I’m excited…looking at it.”

Porter said the proposal allows the family to “control our destiny,” while also providing park space to county residents.

He anticipates consulting with Pasco parks and recreation officials to determine how to develop the park.

“We’ll ask them what they are lacking there,” Porter said.

If the land swap is done, he added, “We’d start immediately laying it out as amenities, not just for Wiregrass but everybody.”

Published November 4, 2015

Hospital CEO details expansion plans

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It’s less than three years old, but Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel is already experiencing growing pains.

Denyse Bales-Chubb, president/CEO of Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel shared details of the hospital’s $78 million expansion plans at the April 7 breakfast of the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce meeting.

Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel is expanding to meet the needs of a growing community. This rendering shows what the hospital will look like, after expansion. (Courtesy of Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel)
Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel is expanding to meet the needs of a growing community. This rendering shows what the hospital will look like, after expansion.
(Courtesy of Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel)

Wesley Chapel’s growth is fueling the need for the hospital’s expansion, Bales-Chubb told the gathering at the conference center at Pasco-Hernando State College’s Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch. About 90 people were registered for the breakfast.

The hospital executive cited six new housing developments going in, totaling more than 5,000 houses.

“I’m hearing that Raymond James is going to be building here,” she added.

She continued ticking down the list.

“We had the Super Walmart that went in, since I’ve been here. The outlet mall is coming. The ice and sports complex — which we are a part of — the Mercedes Benz dealer, several hotels, some assisted living (facilities) that are coming in; there’s tremendous growth in the community.

“We need to make sure that we are growing and meeting the needs of this community,” Bales-Chubb added.

To prepare for increased demand, the hospital began last November to start developing plans for expansion.

The project that is set to begin construction in August will add 62 new private patient rooms, 17 emergency rooms, four surgical suites, 16 prep and observation rooms, and ancillary services to support patient care.

The hospital’s current three-story center wing will grow taller — becoming a six-floor building when the expansion work is done. A new three-story building will be constructed, to connect the hospital’s two existing wings.

When finished, the expansion will add nearly 112,000 square feet of new construction and nearly 11,000 square feet of renovated space to the hospital at 2600 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., in Wesley Chapel.

“We expect to have actual ground crews here in August, and we will be doing a groundbreaking Aug. 5,” Bales-Chubb said. “We hope to get their certificate of occupancy in November 2016, with a grand opening of December 2016,” she said.

The hospital also plans to add 160 parking spaces for employees and staff.

The larger hospital will need more staff, too. Bales-Chubb predicts the hospital will hire the equivalent of 300 full-time employees.

The larger quarters and increased staff will enable the hospital to handle the growing demand for hospital beds and increased emergency visits.

Even with the current demand, “if you came and tried to find a bed, you’re going to have a wait before that bed is available,” Bales-Chubb said.

“We really do have patients that are literally waiting in our ED (emergency department) to get into an inpatient bed, because not everybody checks out at 11 o’clock, like you do at a hotel. It is a constant moving of patients, in and out,” she said.

The hospital’s emergency room is busy, too.

The emergency room has 18 beds, and as of December, year to date, each of those beds had 1,880 visits.

“So, that’s busy,” Bales-Chubb said. “We have a lot of patients going through our ED.”

Stan Giannet, provost at the Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch, said the college already enjoys a solid relationship with the hospital, and the expansion will likely provide even more opportunities for students at his campus.

The hospital donates to the college’s scholarship fund for students in health occupations, he said. It also provides opportunities for clinical placements.

“Clinical placements are incredibly important for our students to apply the theoretical classroom knowledge to the real world,” Giannet said. “Having clinical placements already at Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel has been very fruitful for students, and we’re grateful for that.”

The hospital’s expansion bodes well for graduates from Porter Campus, Giannet added, because it creates more employment opportunities for students graduating from its nursing, surgical technology and pharmacy technician programs.

Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel is part of the Adventist Health System, a nonprofit health network that has 23 hospitals throughout the state.

Published April 15, 2015