The Laker/Lutz News

Zephyr Commons

More residential and commercial growth coming to East Pasco

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Zephyrhills is hitting its stride as growth and development gain momentum along the traffic corridors of what is now Pasco County’s largest city.

The signs of new growth are everywhere along Zephyrhills’ major corridors including U.S. 301/Gall Boulevard, and State Road 56.

Construction is changing the city’s landscape.

Heavy equipment prepares land for the construction of a new Radiant Gas Station and other retail on the west side of Gall Boulevard, in Zephyrhills. (Fred Bellet)

New developments include The District at Abbott Square, a master-planned community behind the Sarah Vande Berg Tennis & Wellness Center, and Abbott Park, a residential community off Dean Dairy Road.

The Zephyrhills Municipal Airport is expanding and there’s new retail at Zephyr Commons shopping complex.

These signal the city’s increasing population.

It grew from more than 13,000 residents in 2010 to more than 17,000 residents in 2020, according to data from the 2020 U.S. Census.

In addition to Abbott Square and Abbott Park, Hidden River and the Links at Calusa Springs also are adding rooftops to Zephyrhills.

“The fact is that the need for housing is just exploding statewide. Tampa is running out of space,” said Todd Vande Berg, Zephyrhills’ planning director. “We were the next logical location.”

The view from the exit of Tropical Acres on Blue Lagoon Drive will soon change as ongoing construction site preparation will transform the east side of U.S. 301.

The widening of State Road 56 to four lanes opened Zephyrhills to more development, Vande Berg said.

He also noted that city officials have worked to ensure that residential projects were not “cookie-cutter.”

Abbott Square, as an example, will offer one-story villas, two-story townhouses, and will feature three different lot sizes.

“I think people appreciate that. Not all residential is on 40-foot-wide lots like every other development,” he said.

Preserving trees, installing sidewalks and adding trails are highlights of new residential development.

Zephyrhills is building on Pasco’s countywide efforts to attract tourism through an emphasis on sports facilities such as the Sarah Vande Berg Tennis Center.

In coming months, Vande Berg said the tennis center will add dormitories to accommodate increasing interest in tournaments and training opportunities.

The facility also is attracting new residential including the Abbott Square project. The Lennar Homes development, on Simons Road behind the tennis center, will build about 700 residential units of single-family houses, townhouses, and apartments.

West of Dade City on State Road 52, a new residential development, Abbey Glen, is under construction.

Abbott Park, off Kossik Road near Zephyr Commons, is a new residential community by Metro Places.

Summerstone is a new single-family and townhome development, off State Road 56, west of Morris Bridge Road. It is located in Wesley Chapel, just a short distance west of Zephyrhills.

Chipotle’s restaurant recently opened at Zephyr Commons. Planet Fitness had a recent ribbon-cutting. Chick-Fil-A opened, too, on an outparcel of the shopping center on the northeast corner with Pretty Pond Road.

More retail is anticipated. And plans for the site include about 400 residential units.

The Pretty Pond intersection is becoming a hub for Zephyrhills shoppers, who are adding Zephyr Commons to their destinations along with established plazas along Gall Boulevard (U.S. 301), including Merchants Square, Towne View Square Shopping Center, and North Town Center.

On the west side of Gall Boulevard, at Pretty Pond, the former site of Rainbow Court and Brightside Manor mobile home park, is being prepped for new commercial development. A sign planted at the site advertises a coming Radiant gas station and convenience store. A car wash also is anticipated at the site.

Zephyrhills’ downtown, on Fifth Avenue, is enjoying its own commercial revival.

The opening of Zephyrhills Brewing Company in 2016 set the stage for renewed interest in downtown, said Melonie Monson, president, and chief executive officer of The Greater Zephyrhills Chamber of Commerce.

“It has been an economic driver,” she said. “It’s brought traffic in on weekends.”

New shops opening within the past year include Vintage Chix, a boutique clothing store; A.O.K., a sports bar featuring axe throwing; and Your Turn, a board game café that serves coffee, sandwiches, pastries, and a choice of hundreds of board games to play.

A site preparation worker makes his way through a parcel of land on Gall Boulevard, just south of North Town Center on Gall Boulevard in Zephyrhills.

Tina & Joe’s Café opened recently in the historic Jeffries House, built in 1910 for Zephyrhills’s founder Captain A. B. Jeffries. The café serves salads, sandwiches, lobster rolls and desserts.

Also, Planet Jupiter, a hookah lounge, is “coming soon” to a storefront on Fifth Avenue.

“Our downtown is really growing,” said Monson.

On Gall Boulevard, near downtown, Jerry’s Crystal Bar reopened after being ravaged by fire in 2020.

Checkers on Gall and Culver’s on Eiland Boulevard are new additions to the quick service food options.

The chamber recently hosted a ribbon-cutting for Hoops Heaven, on Chancey Road along the city’s industrial corridor. The indoor training facility offers basketball training for youth in the Zephyrhills and Wesley Chapel area.

Hoops Heaven adds to both Zephyrhills’ and Pasco County’s goal of advocating for sports and ecotourism to build economic growth and bring jobs, Vande Berg said.

“Someone came from out of town and saw a need for youth basketball,” the planning director said.

By Kathy Steele

Published January 05, 2022

Zephyrhills adapts to growth, economic shifts

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If 2020 demonstrated anything, it was the necessity for area communities to have economic resiliency — that is, the ability to prevent, withstand and quickly recover from shocks to its economic base, whether that’s in response to a pandemic, natural disaster or stock market volatility.

In Zephyrhills, it’s something city planning director Todd Vande Berg and other city officials are actively balancing and preparing for, as the East Pasco municipality experiences a wave of growth and development, as well as transportation and infrastructure improvements.

Zephyrhills Planning Director Todd Vande Berg outlined how the city is setting itself up for future economic windfall during the annual Zephyrhills Economic Summit. (Courtesy of Todd Vande Berg)

Vande Berg provided an in-depth look at the city’s ongoing efforts during the annual Zephyrhills Economic Summit that was held this fall.

One key moving forward, he said, is reevaluating, updating and incorporating some “best practices” into the city’s comprehensive plan and land development code.

This includes taking a harder look at density bonuses and floor area ratios, as well as stream-lining permitting processes and broadening permitted uses, he said.

Prioritizing municipal investments in transportation (multi-modal, pedestrian-oriented, public transit) and infrastructure (water, sewer, communication networks), and recreation is important, too, he said.

Ripe for industrial manufacturing
The city is banking on diversifying its local economy and bringing high-wage jobs to town via a regional industrial/manufacturing buildout.

Local leaders believe this can be achieved through leveraging approximately 9.76 square miles (6,248 acres) of land in the southeast portion of the city around the State Road 39/Chancey Road corridor and Zephyrhills Municipal Airport. There is 3,000 acres to 4,000 acres available for potential industrial development.

Roughly a third of the entire property is within city limits and the remainder in unincorporated Pasco County — representing the largest aggregation of industrial lands in the county.

Within the area is 442 divisible acres of what’s known as the Zephyrhills Airport Industrial Park, a build-ready site equipped with water, sewer and electric utilities, and accessible to natural gas.

As industrial space along the Interstate 4 corridor begins to fill up along Tampa, Lakeland and Orlando, Zephyrhills “might be a next logical location for industrial manufacturing to come to,” Vande Berg said.

He reasoned the city’s vast land offerings is ripe to someday be home to a mix of light and heavy industrial and commercial uses — such as building spaces large enough to house semi-trailer truck bays.

The City of Zephyrhills and other local partners are working to bring industrial manufacturing to several thousands of acres of aggregate vacant land in the southeast portion of the city situated around the Chancey Road/State Road 39 corridor and Zephyrhills Municipal Airport. (Courtesy of Pasco Economic Development Council)

The planning director explained it makes sense now more than ever to prepare for a long-range industrial plan, as Central Florida is following national trends of heavier investment in warehousing than retail construction.

The COVID-19 pandemic expedited this trend as more people and business are working and providing services remotely, in addition to the rise of Amazon and other e-commerce companies, Vande Berg said.

The city also enjoys north-south and east-west state and county road connections that support the long-term vision for industrial development, the planning director said. The city’s municipal airport, CSX main line rail access and close proximity to Port Tampa Bay and Central Florida markets are among its selling points.

“We’re pretty unique in that we have a pretty good roadway network being developed. That’s going to benefit the industrial corridor, to again make us very resilient, but we’ve got to continue to work on that,” he said.

The planning director acknowledged one challenge involves finding a way to widen the U.S. 301 corridor to four lanes from Fowler Avenue in Hillsborough County up through Zephyrhills. The roadway presently stretches four lanes from Port Tampa Bay to Fowler, but transitions to two lanes north through Pasco.

Vande Berg acknowledged that the Hillsborough Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) hasn’t been on board with widening the road further north.

To resolve the impasse, the Pasco MPO needs to gather and collaborate with Hillsborough, Vande Berg said, “and really emphasize the importance of getting that segment of road, four lanes.”

He continued: “That four-lane corridor, I think, will pay off huge dividends for manufacturing and just overall betterment of our transportation network.”

Aside from stated transportation improvements to supplement an industrial corridor, Vande Berg also emphasized the importance of having a mechanism that provides workforce training opportunities, as people look to transition to manufacturing jobs.

“I feel like we need to look at identifying, and supporting and incentivizing all those things to provide for more of a diverse workforce,” he said.

Some next steps in the measured industrial corridor planning process include meeting with large industrial property owners; coordinating additional stakeholder meetings; having more discussions with industrial brokers; making airport and railroad improvements; and, continuing with various citywide master plan updates, Vande Berg said.

Growth already ramping up in Zephyrhills
While efforts continue to shape a future industrial hub, plenty is already happening in Zephyrhills in the way of new development, particularly residential construction.

A slew of new housing communities set to come online — such as Abbott Square, 700-plus units surrounding the new Sarah Vande Berg Tennis & Wellness Center off Simons Road; and Abbott Park, 500-plus units tucked behind the Zephyr Commons Publix Shopping Center, off Gall Boulevard.

Other notable homesites include the Link at Calusa Springs, north of Silverado Golf & Country Club; the Oaks at Pasco, southeast of Silverado Golf & Country Club; and Skybird Properties, off Alston Road near the municipal airport.

Various roadway improvements are paving way for new commercial development, too.

Most notable is the $2.3 million state-funded U.S. 301/Pretty Pond Road intersection project, now under construction.

The project calls for new traffic signals on U.S. 301 at Pretty Pond and at Medical Arts Court/ Townview Avenue, along with other median and roadway improvements.

The 442-acre Zephyrhills Airport Industrial Park is a build-ready site equipped with water, sewer and electric utilities, and is accessible to natural gas. It’s adjacent to the city’s municipal airport and CSX railroad. (Courtesy of Pasco Economic Development Council)

The addition of signalized intersections at these locations is designed to make it easier to move about the area, and to be an economic driver for the northeast and northwest corners of Pretty Pond.

Once construction is complete, the area is poised to land Chick-fil-A and Chipotle chain restaurants, and other businesses.

Vande Berg joked he frequently gets asked about when Chick-fil-A is coming aboard — and said the popular franchise was waiting until the intersection project received the OK to move forward.

“I’m happy to share that they’re still on board,” the city official said.

He also mentioned enhancements coming to a 1.31-mile stretch on County Road 54, east of U.S. 301, east to 23rd Street.

The city is splitting the cost of the $6.5 million project with Pasco County, which will include the addition of intersection turn lanes; a traffic signal at 23rd Street; and multi-use paths and trails on the north and south sides of the road, among other improvements.

The project is addressing one of the city’s “bigger areas of need” to improve traffic capacity along a busy and sometimes dangerous roadway, Vande Berg said.

Elsewhere, the planning director highlighted a slew of other forthcoming projects and goals, further giving a look inside the booming activity in the city:

  • Mixed-use properties along the Zephyr Commons gateway
  • New Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic off Eiland Boulevard
  • Upgrades to Hercules Park, at U.S. 301 and County Road 54, adjacent to Zephyrhills High and Woodlands Elementary schools.
  • Implementation of form-based building codes from North Avenue to C Avenue, between Sixth Street and Seventh Street
  • Efforts to have more designated complete streets throughout the city, designed to enable safe access for all users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and transit riders of all ages and abilities. (This may include adding sidewalks, bike lanes ,or wide paved shoulders; special bus lanes; comfortable and accessible public transportation stops, frequent and safe crossing opportunities; median islands, accessible pedestrian signals; curb extensions; narrower travel lanes; roundabouts and so on.)

Published December 09, 2020

Officials express guarded optimism through COVID-19

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As Florida slowly lifts stay-at-home orders — caused by concerns about potential spread of  coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19)  —  local leaders and officials are taking a positive, yet guarded, outlook.

They are hopeful that the regional and state economy can rebound sooner than later.

Pasco County Commissioner Ron Oakley (File)

Many retailers and restaurants have announced plans to reopen to modified dine-in and foot traffic, while more parks and beaches are reopening with restrictions.

Signs of optimism are beginning to show, state Rep. Randy Maggard, R-Dade City said, during an April 28 virtual town hall meeting presented by The Greater Zephyrhills Chamber of Commerce.

“A lot of people feel we’ve crossed the high point of (COVID-19) and we’re on the downward slide. We hope so,” Maggard said.

In the same breath, he urged people to continue to take necessary safety precautions and “use common sense” in public gatherings.

“It will be good to get our economy going. It’s been tough for a lot of businesses here, it’s been tough for a lot of individuals,” he said.

Maggard also addressed “the 800-pound gorilla in the room” during the speaking engagement. And, that’s the fact that the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) is having trouble managing the massive volume of people filing for unemployment benefit claims.

The state representative pointed out roughly 40% of the 1.8 million claims filed have been either bogus or scams. That has led to further delays in legitimate applicants getting their unemployment benefits, he said.

“The process just takes long when you have to deal with things like that,” Maggard said, adding the DEO is expected to have those issues resolved soon.

Pasco County Commissioner Ron Oakley, like Maggard, has an optimistic view of the future of the local economy and markets, overall.

“Things will get better. There is a light at the end of that long tunnel we didn’t think we’d have,” Oakley said.”

He said Pasco government activities have not slowed, in the midst of COVID-19.

Oakley noted that neighboring counties haven’t been so lucky as to keep operations moving along when it comes to handling regular tasks, such as reviewing building permits.

“We’ve continued to work, as we do normally,” Oakley said, “except most of our people are working from home instead of our offices.”

Oakley, 74, is still taking the virus quite seriously, however.

He reported the county had 241 positive coronavirus cases and six deaths, as of April 28. One place particularly “hit hard” is the Royal Oak Nursing Center in Dade City, with 20 positive COVID-19 cases, he said.

The commissioner acknowledged most of the people who’ve died from the disease have had pre-existing conditions. But, he added: “This is not the flu. It’s a little more infectious than the flu is.”

So, while businesses start opening with some semblance of normalcy, Oakley said he’s not yet  comfortable to enter a restaurant or other public spaces.

“You probably won’t see me out in a restaurant, that’s just my feeling,” said Oakley. “Of course, I’m of the age that the virus will treat me a lot worse than it would for younger people, but I think there’s probably a pretty large percentage of young people, middle-aged people that will do that, they’ll go right back out, they’re not fearful of any of that, and hopefully they’re taking precautions.”

Like Oakley, Zephyrhills Police Chief Derek Brewer remains concerned about the serious nature of COVID-19 and feels it isn’t going away anytime soon — witnessing the virus’s impact on the frontlines.

Brewer said there’s an expectation the county’s coronavirus cases could peak sometime around mid-May, based on joint conversations with the Pasco Sheriff’s Office and Pasco County Emergency Management.

“We may be getting close to opening the state,” Brewer said, “but, I don’t think we’re going to be ready yet to open it up completely yet.”

The police chief reported Zephyrhills has 25 positive COVID-19 cases as of April 28, representing more than 10% of all cases in the county. Additionally, the department is tracking a total of 48 addresses under investigation as possible COVID-19 cases as of that date.

Meanwhile, Brewer said the local law enforcement agency has observed spikes in domestic violence and disturbance cases, as well as increased juvenile problems, during the course of the pandemic.

On the other hand, the department has seen fewer accidents and total calls for service overall.

With fewer service calls, Brewer said officers have placed more focus on performing spot checks on local businesses that may not be in compliance with state executive orders.

He also noted the department has enacted an “extensive screening process” to determine whether someone absolutely needs to be sent to jail after an arrest. That approach is being taken to try and limit the spread of COVID-19 within the local criminal justice system.

He said the pandemic “has been a been a unique challenge for law enforcement.”

City of Zephyrhills pushing through COVID-19
Zephyrhills City Manager Billy Poe also offered an update on some of happenings within the East Pasco municipality throughout the town hall discussion.

Despite the COVID-19 outbreak, Poe said the city is “open for business, so there are still a lot of projects that are going on.”

The Greater Zephyrhills Chamber of Commerce organized an April 28 virtual town hall meeting featuring a panel of area leaders and representatives, discussing the various impacts of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. (Courtesy of The Greater Zephyrhills Chamber of Commerce)

For instance, work is progressing on multiple subdivisions and communities that will bring hundreds of new homes to the area. Those projects include the Oaks at Pasco and Links at Calusa Springs located on both sides of Simons Road; District at Abbott’s Square near the forthcoming Sarah Vande Berg Tennis & Wellbeing Center; and Abbott Park, situated on the former Gore’s Dairy property that wraps behind the Publix Super Market at Zephyr Commons on Gall Boulevard.

Several commercial developments are moving along, too.

A couple notable projects under final site plan review include a new Veterans Administration clinic along Eiland Boulevard, as well as the Crystal Bar rebuild on Gall Boulevard, a longtime community staple destroyed in a fire last May.

Poe said a Chipotle Mexican Grill franchise at Zephyr Commons “is projected to come here in the next few months.” Also, the Chancey Partners industrial park project continues its build out with “a lot of businesses going in at that location.”

Poe touched on various city-related projects, as well:

  • Relocation of the U.S. 301/Pretty Pond Road traffic signal should get underway in August, spurring development in that area, which he said will eventually include a Chick-fil-A franchise
  • Sarah Vande Berg Tennis & Wellbeing Center construction “continues to be strong” and should be complete around July or August
  • Road paving and resurfacing has been ongoing at various city streets the past several weeks

Elsewhere, the city manager encouraged residents to continue to support local businesses “either by takeout or gift cards or anything that you can do.”

He also noted he’s in conversation with Zephyrhills High School Principal Dr. Christina Stanley to “plan something special” for graduating seniors, such as a parade or other community-wide gathering at some point.

Other speakers during the town hall included Zephyrhills Mayor Gene Whitfield and Zephyrhills City Council president Ken Burgess.

Published May 06, 2020

Aldi grocery store set to open on U.S. 301

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A busy section of U.S. 301 will get even busier as developers move forward with plans to build a small shopping plaza with an Aldi grocery store at the intersection of Pretty Pond Road.

Demolition crews began razing Rainbow Court and Brightside Manor mobile home parks in March. MQ Pretty Ponds LLC, a subsidiary of MQ Partners of Dallas, bought the two parcels in 2014, and gave notice to residents they would need to relocate to make way for the plaza.

No construction date has been announced.

This Aldi store is in a shopping plaza off of U.S. 41 and Bearss Avenue. A new store is planned for Zephyrhills. Company officials have said they want to open 650 new stores in America by the end of 2018. (B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)
This Aldi store is in a shopping plaza off of U.S. 41 and Bearss Avenue. A new store is planned for Zephyrhills. Company officials have said they want to open 650 new stores in America by the end of 2018.
(B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)

For the moment, city officials and developers are grappling with how to get approval for a new traffic signal at Pretty Pond.

A traffic signal currently operates at the Townview and Merchant’s Square Shopping centers, directing traffic flow into and out of their parking lots on opposite sides of U.S. 301. But Florida Department of Transportation officials say a light at Pretty Pond can only be considered if the existing signal comes down. Two traffic signals so close together don’t meet national highway standards for safe road design, state road officials say.

Commercial and residential growth justifies installing a traffic signal at Pretty Pond to accommodate the anticipated increase in traffic volume, said Zephyrhills City Manager Steve Spina.

Zephyr Commons, a shopping center anchored by a Publix grocery store, is in the same area as the proposed Aldi. And, about 230 new apartments are due for construction, Spina said.

“Its (traffic) all got to come out somehow,” Spina said. “We have to come up with something,”

Spina said he intends to meet with owners of the shopping center to discuss options.

Aldi is a leading international retailer in the discount grocery market. Shoppers bag their own groceries and are encouraged to bring their own reusable bags. Stores are stocked with about 1,400 quick-selling food items including fresh produce, meat, dairy, wine and beer. In contrast, a typical grocer might stock as many as 30,000 items. The goal is low overhead expenses, which Aldi representatives say translates into major savings for its shoppers.

The company was founded in the mid-1940s in Germany and today operates more than 9,000 stores in 18 countries. The United States division is headquartered in Illinois.

In a news release issued this year, Aldi announced the goal of opening 650 new stores in America by the end of 2018. That represents more than a $3 billion investment in land, facilities and equipment.

Aldi was named the nation’s top discount grocery store for four consecutive years, and also one of the top three favorite grocery store chains in America, based on consumer surveys by Market Force Information Inc.

Published May 6, 2015