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Developer Seeks Bids For S.R. 54 Widening

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By KEVIN WIATROWSKI, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 15, 2007

Updated: 11/14/2007 09:55 pm

LAND O' LAKES - The developer of Cypress Creek Town Center announced Wednesday that it's seeking a contractor to begin county-ordered improvements to State Road 54.

According to its 2004 deal with Pasco County, Cleveland-based Richard E. Jacobs Group is committed to widen S.R. 54 from four lanes to six between U.S. 41 and the junction with State Road 56.

Jacobs also must widen S.R. 56 between S.R. 54 and the Interstate 75 interchange.

The project is expected to cost about $21 million, with Jacobs paying the lion's share and the county contributing $4 million, said Tom Schmitz, who is overseeing the mall project for Jacobs.
Cypress Creek Town Center is going up in the southwest corner of the junction of S.R. 56 and I-75. Jacobs has been tight-lipped about its tenants, but county records show plans for Costco, SuperTarget, Kohl's and Sports Authority, among other retailers.

Speaking Wednesday, Schmitz promised to reveal more of the mall's tenant mix in the coming weeks.

The Sierra Group of Tampa is developing a related mix of "big box" retail, hotels and apartments on the northwest corner of the interchange. Sierra owns the 510-acre site straddling S.R. 56 and recruited Jacobs to develop the regional shopping complex.

Jacobs hopes to have its regional mall open by October. It wants the road improvements finished by Sept. 1.

Jacobs must make the improvements to compensate for the increased traffic its 1.3 million-square-foot regional mall is expected to generate.

The extra lanes on S.R. 54 will be added along the grass median between the eastbound and westbound lanes to avoid the expense of buying private property along the road, Schmitz said.

The developer and its engineering firm, Tampa-based Wilson Miller, will review bids next month and pick a winner. Construction could start by January, Schmitz said.

Jacobs also plans to extend County Road 54 (Wesley Chapel Boulevard) south from its junction with S.R. 54 and S.R. 56 to provide access to the mall. Less clear, however, is the status of the company's plans to extend C.R. 54 farther south to County Line Road.

That plan calls for bridging Cypress Creek and crossing King Ranch.

So far, ranch owner Hank King has been reluctant to provide right of way for the road.

Jacobs still has the option of paying the county $6 million to buy right of way from King if it can't strike a better deal with him, Schmitz said.

King said he will meet in early December to talk again with Jacobs and the county about extending C.R. 54 across his ranch.

Reporter Kevin Wiatrowski can be reached at (813) 948-4201 or kwiatrowski

@tampatrib.com.

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