The Laker/Lutz News

Roy T. Hardy Trailhead

Bicyclists have a new spot to relax, in Dade City

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A Dec. 15 ribbon-cutting ceremony officially christened the new bike hub/visitor’s information center in downtown Dade City. From left: Dade City Commissioners Normita Woodard, Knute Nathe and Scott Black; Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore; Dade City Mayor Camille Hernandez; Pasco County Commissioner Ron Oakley; and, Experience Florida’s Sports Coast president/tourism director Adam Thomas. )Courtesy of Experience Florida’s Sports Coast)

East Pasco’s rolling hills and curving countryside attract avid bicyclists from far and wide.

And now, these cyclists will have a spot where they can rest, relax and refuel.

The Spoke —  designed to offer respite for cyclists and other exercise enthusiasts — also features a visitor’s center.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony on Dec. 15 celebrated the new amenity, at 37800 Church Ave., across from the Roy T. Hardy trailhead.

The Spoke features covered porches, restrooms, and places to refill water bottles and tune up bicycles.

Inside the 1,100-square-foot welcome center, guests can check out information about the county’s other tourism amenities through mobile exhibit space, which includes printed information and videos.

The space also is eventually expected to host a local retail shop and satellite food vendor on weekends and during the evening.

“We have some very special things that we’re working on,” Dade City Mayor Camille Hernandez said, during the ribbon-cutting.

From the initial idea to its final build out, the project has been some six years in the making.

The Spoke is Dade City’s new bike hub/visitor’s information center in downtown Dade City, at 37800 Church Ave., across from the Roy T. Hardy trailhead. The Spoke is an 1,100-square-foot public space for cyclists, families and outdoor enthusiasts to stop, refill water bottles, grab a snack, tune up their bicycles, and learn more about what the city and county have to offer in terms of events, activities and entertainment.

Hernandez quipped: “I didn’t think that it was going to take that long to birth a baby, because I feel that this is like a baby to me.”

She went on: “This has been a project that I have cradled and that I have hugged, and that I have worked so closely with the TDC (Pasco County Tourist Development Council) and the BOCC (Pasco County Board of County Commissioners).”

The facility’s moniker represents a combination of the city’s rich railway history and its modern trail movement.

Melanie Romagnoli, Dade City’s community and economic development director, is credited with dreaming up the facility’s name.

The Spoke was funded with a $250,000 grant from the Pasco TDC and its official destination marketing organization, Experience Florida’s Sports Coast, which promotes the county’s varied outdoor and recreational offerings.

The amber-colored visitor center reflects the architectural style of the surrounding Church Avenue neighborhood, which commonly features homes with wood siding, columns and brick embellishments.

“The Spoke is going to be something that brings tourism to Pasco County,” said Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore, who also chairs the county’s TDC. “You know, (Dade City) is a bike hub, it really is. There’s people from all over the world that come to Dade City to ride here, and we want to continue to do what we can do to promote it. …We look forward to more great things to come from this beautiful city.”

Commissioner Ron Oakley, whose district represents East Pasco, underscored the importance of having designated outdoor exercise-friendly recreational features — amid the booming population growth, and increasing traffic.

“More people will need this kind of (amenity) where they can walk and ride their bikes, and make it safe,” Oakley said.

The Spoke represents the first phase of a larger 2.23-acre city park site that’s anticipated to include a splash pad, all-inclusive playground, nature trail, and possibly an amphitheater.

Its completion will otherwise complement the city’s nearby downtown restaurants and shops, while offering another recreational outlet for youth, residents and visitors alike.

“This whole vision, this beautiful piece of land, it’s just a huge asset to Dade City,” Hernandez said.

The city originally purchased the property for the park site in December 2019 from the family of local businessman Otto Weitzenkorn.

Officials have said the park fits with the city’s vision of fostering a healthy and age-friendly community.

The Spoke also represents Pasco County’s first official tourism welcome center.

Published December 22, 2021

Pasco seeing tourism gains, road improvements

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Tourism is ramping up in Pasco County and considerable roadwork is underway, too, to make it easier for motorists to get around.

Those were the main messages delivered by Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore at a meeting of the East Pasco Networking Group.

Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore was a featured guest speaker during an April 27 East Pasco Networking Group meeting at IHOP in Dade City. (Kevin Weiss)

Moore, chairman of the Pasco County Tourist Development Council, described how well the 98,000-square-foot Wiregrass Sports Campus of Pasco County has been performing, even amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

The sports complex, at 3211 Lajuana Blvd., in Wesley Chapel, has been attracting youth and amateur sporting events year-round since its August 2020 opening.

The indoor space can accommodate up to 17 different sports — including basketball, volleyball and cheerleading, or pickleball, futsal, wrestling, mixed martial arts, karate and others.

This widespread flexibility has seemingly been put to good use, with weekdays set aside for residents and weekends generally reserved for large-scale tournaments that can become family affairs, as parents and siblings road trip together.

Moore observed the complex is “constantly full.”

“Every single weekend there is a tournament there where people are coming from somewhere else,” he said. “There’s weekends where we get over 2,000 room nights for those tournaments. So, what happens? Hoteliers are obviously happy, supplying those jobs for our hotels. Those small businesses, restaurants, retail, gas pumps – everybody’s benefiting when you bring those people here.”

Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore expressed optimism about the county’s tourism future, given amenities such as the 98,000-square-foot Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County, in Wesley Chapel. (File)

Moore also pointed to AdventHealth Center Ice, which has continued to be a major draw since opening in January 2017, at 3173 Cypress Ridge Blvd., in Wesley Chapel.

At 150,000 square feet, it’s the largest ice sports facility in the southeastern United States, with four full-size rinks and one kid-size rink.

It’s regarded for being the training grounds of the 2018 U.S. women’s national hockey team that went on to win an Olympic gold medal in PyeongChang, South Korea.

“The ice rink is incredible,” Moore said. “They have tournaments on the weekends, international tournaments, and people coming from Canada, South America, people coming from over in Europe to literally play hockey right here at Center Ice.”

Moore posited that such youth, amateur and community-focused facilities can yield very similar — if not greater — economic impact as a major professional sports franchise, such as the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which plays eight regular season home games, plus a few preseason and postseason contests.

“Those (facilities) have just as large of an impact as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers playing on Sunday, when you think about how many people are (cumulatively) traveling for those events, and especially when they’re every single weekend.

“Personally I think it’s so much better to have these types of facilities than a pro sports team, because it’s a year-round benefit for the businesses in Pasco County, not just eight times a year or 10 times a year.

“These people, they’re traveling with their families, too. These kids aren’t typically driving on their own, their whole family’s coming (to Pasco).”

Moore addressed a number of roadway infrastructure projects, like the State Road 54 widening from east of Curley Road to east of Morris Bridge Road in the Wesley Chapel and Zephyrhills areas. (File)

Moore addressed other recreational and tourism developments, as well, such as the ongoing construction of a visitor’s center/bike hub in the heart of downtown Dade City, across from the Roy T. Hardy trailhead, at the corner of Church Avenue and Eighth Street.

The $250,000 project — expected to be complete in June — was funded by the county’s tourist development tax dollars.

The amenity is set to further motivate beginner and avid cyclists alike to stop in Dade City.

It also may serve as a driver for more organized road cycling races to the surrounding East Pasco area, too.

“We know how big biking is in this area,” Moore said. “You’ve got people coming from all over the country to Dade City, to ride those hills.”

Further on the tourism and recreation front, Moore mentioned an 18,000-square-foot indoor recreation center at Wesley Chapel District Park will be complete in July. The public-use facility will offer programming for basketball, volleyball and other activities for all ages. There’s meeting room space for clubs and other organizations, also. “That’s going to be beautiful,” Moore said of the forthcoming center.

Regarding road construction, Moore pointed out that many of the roads that traverse the county are state roads — and a considerable amount of work is being done to improve those roads.

Among them are construction projects on State Road 52, State Road 54, and an interchange improvement at State Road 56 and Interstate 75.

There’s also a new diamond interchange that will include a flyover ramp for westbound Overpass Road access onto southbound I-75.

To accommodate the new interchange, Overpass Road will be widened from two lanes to four lanes between the interstate and Old Pasco Road, and six lanes between the interstate and Boyette Road. Blair Drive will be realigned to connect with Old Pasco Road. McKendree Road will be realigned to connect with Boyette Road.

The $64 million design-built project aims to provide more relief to other exits off I-75, Moore said.

“When you think about people living in Dade City and San Antonio, and coming and living in that area, they’ll be able to get off that new overpass interchange and go right through Epperson Ranch and Connected City, and get right into Dade City, if they don’t want to take the next Dade City exit.”

Moore added the project’s contractor, The Middlesex Corporation, “is moving really fast,” with an estimated completion of summer 2023.

Meanwhile, the commissioner mentioned the county has another $6 million in state funds to support connection and widening projects along the U.S. 98/U.S. 301 corridor.

These “important” roadway upgrades should help alleviate freight truck traffic and allow for the movement of goods without jumping major highways, he explained.

Combined with the proximity to the Zephyrhills Municipal Airport, CSX Transportation Railroad, and an emerging light industrial manufacturing hub, the roadway plan “really helps when you think about the economy in this area,” he said.

Published May 19, 2021

June opening anticipated for Dade City bike hub

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Bicyclists and fellow exercisers alike will soon have an idyllic spot in Dade City to relax and take a breather — thanks to a new visitor’s information welcome center and bike hub that’ll help anchor a forthcoming downtown park site.

The visitor’s information welcome center/bike hub concept — aptly referred to as “Spoke” or “Hub” — will be situated in the heart of downtown Dade City, across from the Roy T. Hardy trailhead, at the corner of Church Avenue and Eighth Street.

The visitor’s center/bike hub is just one aspect of a grander 2-acre-plus downtown park site in Dade City, to eventually include an inclusive/ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act)-accessible playground, amphitheater for outdoor venues and children’s splash pad, among other amenities. (Courtesy of City of Dade City)

Project construction officially kicked off following a March 10 groundbreaking ceremony. Since then, footers have since been set and concrete poured.

Dade City officials anticipate a June grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony, according to a presentation from the city’s community and economic development director Melanie Romagnoli, during a March 24 Pasco County Tourist Development Council meeting.

The tourist-friendly project is multi-faceted.

The roughly 1,500 square-foot welcome center takes on an open space interior concept that will house brochure kiosks for other countywide tourism partners to promote upcoming activities and attractions, museums, art exhibits and places of interest.

The city also is seeking sponsorships to incorporate digital displays, additional outlets and internet connectivity capabilities at the center.

Romagnoli explained of the concept: “We want to be able to have a mobile area for our partners in the tourism industry to be able to display what’s going on in their areas, so it can be anything from, let’s say, like the Dade City Heritage (and Cultural) Museum, or even the West Pasco (Historical Society) Museum, if they want to bring something over and put it in.”

The facility also will include two outdoor covered porch areas with seating options, as well as an exterior bike shelter, with parking stations and repair stands for traveling bicyclists. Two public restrooms also will be included.

The welcome center/bike hub is being funded with the help of a $250,000 grant from the Pasco County Tourist Development Council (TDC) and its official destination marketing organization, Experience Florida’s Sports Coast, which promotes Pasco’s varied outdoor and recreational offerings.

Pasco County TDC chairman Mike Moore during the meeting said the welcome center/bike hub will be “a great addition to the community and county, as a whole.”

The facility is a corner part of the quaint East Pasco town’s multi-use downtown park concept —  to eventually feature an inclusive/ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act)-accessible playground, amphitheater for outdoor venues, and children’s splash pad and other amenities.

The city originally purchased a 2.23-acre property for the park site in December 2019 for $800,000 from the family of local businessman Otto Weitzenkorn.

From there, the bidding process, construction contracts and permitting on the visitor’s center/bike hub alone wrapped up in February.

Other elements of the planned park may not come to fruition for some time, as the city collects public input, and establishes specific design and engineered plans.

Total investment of the entire downtown park could exceed $3 million, officials previously have estimated.

The city is seeking grant opportunities and other funding sources to help pay for the multi-use park.

Dade City leaders have said the park project is designed to help revitalize the downtown business district, while also offering another recreational outlet for local youth, residents and visitors.

Officials also say that the park fits with the city’s vision of fostering a healthy and age-friendly community.

Published April 14, 2021