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Wiregrass Growing To Fruition

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By KEVIN WIATROWSKI

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 31, 2008

WESLEY CHAPEL - From outside the Shops at Wiregrass, it's hard to see the anthill-like scurry under way as the mall approaches its Oct. 30 opening.

But inside the fence that surrounds the mall, Pasco County's next major shopping venue bustles with activity as concrete trucks roll and stone masons and other tradesmen work, the mall more than 70 percent done.

Retail space is more than 80 percent leased, said Jim Richardson, vice president for Cleveland-based Forest City Enterprises, developer of the 800,000-square-foot mall.

Developers plan to unveil the entrance sign Sept. 20 at the junction of State Road 56 and Bruce B. Downs Boulevard. A large metal sculpture, the sign will feature the mall's symbol - a large "W" - made from blades of grass.

Richardson expects the mall to be about three-quarters filled with completed stores when it opens. Stores that are not ready will be covered with barricades while construction countinues, Richardson said.

The mall takes on the feel of an old-fashioned downtown. Building facades vary in height and style, mimicking a street where stores might have been built individually, over time. Parallel parking slots line both sides of Paseo Drive, the semicircular road that runs through the heart of the outdoor mall. Trees rise from sidewalks that eventually will host outdoor seating for restaurants.

"Everybody used to love to go downtown and go shopping," Richardson said during a recent tour of the mall. "So we're trying to re-create that outdoor experience."

Reporter Kevin Wiatrowski can be reached at (813) 948-4201 or kwiatrowski@tampatrib.com. Keyword: Shops At Wiregrass, for a photo gallery of what's coming to Wesley Chapel's latest mall.

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