The Pasco County Commission has given a greenlight to a rezoning that clears the way for the Pasco Town Center — a development planned on 997 acres at the southeast corner of Interstate 75 and State Road 52.
Project plans call for 4 million square feet of industrial space; 725,000 square feet of office space; 3,500 housing units, 400,000 square feet of retail and 300 hotel rooms.
The development has been the topic of numerous discussions during the past several months, with conditions and details being worked out at meetings.
The Pasco County Commission voted 5-0 to approve the rezoning, at its Aug. 24 meeting.
During that session, Rob Park, who lives on Ehren Cutoff, raised concerns about how the project’s traffic on State Road 52 will be addressed.
Joel Tew, an attorney whose client owns the property, told the county board that extensive efforts have been underway to work out plans for his client’s property and adjacent properties to gain access on and off State Road 52, at the I-75 interchange.
“Everyone is collaborating. They’ve formed basically a task force to try to get DOT (Department of Transportation) to approve a better way of access on and off of (State Road) 52, east of that interchange.
“We think it’s very close to being resolved. The good news is thanks to the input of your county administration and all of the different stakeholders, it seems to be headed in what all of the parties think is the right direction, at DOT,” Tew said.
Commissioner Ron Oakley wanted to make sure there are no plans to change the name of McKendree Road to Boyette Road, as has been shown on some plans.
Tew assured Oakley: “Pasco Town Center was not trying to rename McKendree to Boyette.
“We received an edict from the county administrator’s office that that (McKendree Road) will continue to be McKendree Road, so we stated that on the record (at the Pasco County Planning Commission meeting).
“Obviously, we’re going to call it what the county tells us to call it. And, we’ve been told to call it McKendree. We love McKendree. We’re going to call it McKendree,” Tew said.
Oakley responded: “Well, that will make my citizens very happy.”
The board previously approved an economic incentive deal related to Pasco Town Center with Columnar Holdings.
Terms of the agreement, approved on June 7, provide a $55.8 million package for Columnar, funded mostly through property tax rebates, as specific milestones are met.
The development company also will install key roads and utility connections beyond the Pasco Town Center Property – providing $70.1 million in public infrastructure, with no direct cost to taxpayers, David Engel, the county’s director of the office of economic growth, said the day the agreement was approved.
Published August 31, 2022
