Not too long ago, Tampa mayor Bob Buckhorn called Pasco County a bedroom community, doing nothing more than supplement the economic engine of his county, Hillsborough.
Whether Buckhorn’s observation of Pasco is accurate or not now is not what J.D. Porter is focused on. Instead, he wants to make sure that’s not the Pasco County of tomorrow.
“Bedroom communities are not the future,” Porter recently told members of the Pasco Alliance for Community Associations.
Porter represents his family in the expansive Wiregrass Ranch project that is converting thousands of acres of grazing and agricultural land into sustainable residential neighborhoods and corporate parks in the greater Wesley Chapel area.
The land is part of more than 14,000 acres the Porter family picked up in 1941 at $1.73 an acre when their previous land holdings in Zephyrhills were grabbed to create what would become the municipal airport there.
Porter’s uncle would be the first to flip his land, doubling his money in just four years in what would later become Meadow Pointe. But J.D.’s grandfather James and father Don would hold on for decades.
“We could’ve easily sold out to a bunch of different developers, but none of them represented the legacy that my dad and my grandfather really embraced,” J.D. Porter said. “They wanted to do all the things they didn’t have growing up. That is why you see a college and a hospital, something other communities don’t have after 35 years. Here, you see them in before there is even a rooftop at Wiregrass.”
Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel far exceeded any of the initial expectations, and already is running at capacity, Porter said.
Pasco-Hernando State College’s Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch opened in 2013 already saw its enrollment jump more than 22 percent in its second year.
The Shops at Wiregrass, which opened in 2008 at the corner of State Road 56 and Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, makes more money per square foot — about $15 more — than Tampa’s International Mall, Porter said.
Property nearby along the east side of State Road 56 is planned for more of a mixed use, including the possibility of constructing apartments up to five stories tall.
“It would be for young professionals working at the hospital, at the college, or even with Raymond James, they might be able to catch some of those buyers,” Porter said. Rents there could run as high as $1.25 a square foot — or $1,375 for a 1,100-square-foot unit — well above some of the typical prices of about $1 per square foot.
Porter doesn’t want to just start and stop with young professionals, however. Instead, he envisions having a community that serves all walks of life, from birth to retirement. That’s why that particular area also includes plans for a 300-unit active adult community that could save families having to drive to places like Zephyrhills or the University of South Florida area to see older relatives.
Pasco has not had tremendous luck in attracting big-name employers to the county, but Raymond James Financial is still at the table, Porter said. The St. Petersburg-based financial company announced in 2011 plans to build two 100,000-square-foot buildings that could bring 750 jobs to the area by 2024. The county and state even kicked in $15 million in tax incentives to help make it happen.
Raymond James, however, missed its 2012 target date to start construction. Making matters worse, the company says it will likely delay that project up to five years simply because they’re not ready to expand.
“We think it’s a great site over time,” Raymond James’ chief executive Paul Reilly said during an October symposium. “But right now, we don’t need the space, and when we need the space, we’ll look at expansion there, or see what happens to our other facilities.”
But it’s just not the economy holding that project up, Porter said. It’s the federal government.
“We have all the permits from Pasco County, and all the permits from Swiftmud,” Porter said, referring to the Southwest Florida Water Management District. “What we’ve been waiting for over the past 16 months is the Army Corps of Engineers. There are a lot of things I’d rather do than deal with these people. It is disgusting.”
Although there are a lot of hands in the Wiregrass Ranch pot when it comes to development, Porter refuses to take a backseat.
“So much blood, sweat and tears go into this,” he said. “But you only get one shot to do it right.”
Published December 3, 2014
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