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Cypress Mall Project Could Resume

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By KEVIN WIATROWSKI

kwiatrowski@tampatrib.com

Published: December 18, 2008

WESLEY CHAPEL - Federal environmental regulators said this week they're considering re-issuing the suspended development permit for Cypress Creek Town Center, where construction was halted in February after repeated Clean Water Act violations.

In the meantime, the mall developers say the 10-month suspension, coupled with the economic downturn, has forced them to renegotiate leases and reconsider their tenant mix. They also will have to rebid construction contracts on the project, spokeswoman Deanne Roberts said.

The public notice for the re-issued permit was released Tuesday by the Army Corps of Engineers. The revised permit will be open for public comment until Jan. 15.

In spite of the shutdown, the mall's developers - the Cleveland-based Richard E. Jacobs Group and Sierra Properties of Tampa - have spent most of this year meeting their county-mandated obligation to widen State Road 54 as part of their deal to build the 502-acre project, which straddles State Road 56 on the west side of Interstate 75. That work, which will expand the road to six lanes, is set to end Dec. 31.

Word of the public notice took many of the mall's opponents by surprise.
Sierra Club spokeswoman Denise Layne said her group, which sued the Army Corps to overturn the original wetlands permit, remains opposed to the project in its current location.

Layne said developers and regulators must address Sierra Club's concerns about downstream effects of the mall to avoid further legal battles.

"They've got to address our concerns," Layne said. "That's the reason we sued them."

The Army Corps suspended the development permit for Cypress Creek Town Center on Feb. 1 after heavy rain in January caused muddy water to overflow a retention pond and pollute Cypress Creek. The creek forms the western and southern borders of the mall site.

The overflow was the second major failure in the project's stormwater management system in a year, prompting outcry from opponents and a stiff response from regulators.

The Army Corps and the developers are still negotiating penalties for the pollution, said Tom Farrell, an inspector with the Corps' Tampa office.

The developers face other hurdles if they are to resume work on the mall.

In September, Kearney Construction, which did earthwork on the site, sued the developers, Kohl's and Target, for unpaid wages. That case remains open.

The re-issued permit reflects minor changes in the boundaries of the joint project by Jacobs and Sierra. The boundary changes reflect land the developers have given for road widening and a more accurate assessment of the high-water mark for Cypress Creek.

In the public notice, Army Corps officials said their decision to re-issue the wetland permit will depend on how well the developers convince them the defects that caused the flooding problems have been fixed.

The Army Corps' action comes at a point when Jacobs and Sierra are re-examining the future of their project. Jacobs has lost two of its intended tenants - Circuit City and Linens-N-Things - to bankruptcy this year. A third, Justice Just for Girls, opened a store at the competing Shops at Wiregrass in October.

At the time work was shut down, the mall's tenant list included AMC Theatres, Old Navy, Kohl's and Target. Target got as far as pouring a slab for a supercenter before work stopped.

"Since this project has been on hold for nearly a year, we will also need to again coordinate our plans with the major retailers that had previously committed to the project," Roberts said this week.

Roberts said it's too early to know how changes in the broader economy will change the mall's tenant mix.

"The retail industry is in a major state of flux right now, with things changing daily," Roberts said. "So to comment on this now would be premature and speculative."

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

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