TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Wiregrass Road Construction Still On

ADVERTISEMENT

By KEVIN WIATROWSKI

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 18, 2008

WESLEY CHAPEL - Residential development at Wiregrass Ranch may be in limbo, but that's not stopping the Porter family from pushing forward with a new north-south road across their property linking State Road 56 and State Road 54.

The owners of the 5,000-acre Wiregrass Ranch recently submitted revised plans for Porter Boulevard - about two years after the original was presented to the county for review.

The Porters' 2006 deal with Pasco County obligates the developers to build the first two lanes of Porter Boulevard by Dec. 31, 2009.

That deal was struck after nearly two years of wrangling between the developers and the county. Months after the deal won county approval, Pasco's housing market dropped significantly.
Pulte Homes Corp. pulled out that summer as Wiregrass' sole residential developer. The company had planned three large projects on the ranch, including an exclusive retiree-oriented golf course community. All three projects were quietly dropped when Pulte pulled out.

Pulte owns about 900 acres of Wiregrass Ranch. The Porter family holds development rights to more than 12,000 residential units along with several million square feet of office and commercial space.

About 800,000 square feet of that allocation is set aside for the Shops at Wiregrass mall, which is expected to open in late October.

Porter Boulevard will meet S.R. 56 - under construction by the developers of the Shops at Wiregrass complex - across from Mansfield Boulevard about halfway between Bruce B. Downs and Meadow Pointe boulevards.

Under that same deal with the county, County Administrator John Gallagher agreed to pay half the cost of building Porter Boulevard in the form of transportation impact-fee credits.

Since the plans were first brought to the county, work on the property at the heart of Wesley Chapel has largely ground to a halt, a victim of the collapsing housing market.

Landowner Don Porter said this week that his family hasn't settled on a new developer for the property.

Meanwhile, Pulte has returned to Wiregrass, but strictly as a road builder. The company is fulfilling its commitments to build the western end of Chancey Road and a leg of Mansfield Boulevard linking Meadow Pointe to the eastern extension of S.R. 56 now under construction.

The Chancey Road segment will provide access to the county's future tennis center planned for a corner of Wiregrass adjacent to Saddlebrook Resort. Mansfield Boulevard will provide access to Wiregrass Ranch High School and Long Middle School.

Reporter Kevin Wiatrowski can be reached at (813) 948-4201 or kwiatrowski@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT