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Permission Given To Stabilize Mall Site
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Published: May 22, 2008
WESLEY CHAPEL - The developers of Cypress Creek Town Center have been cleared to do additional earthwork on their mothballed mall site, but only to prevent flooding should the site be hit with heavy rainfall this summer.
"They're not authorized to do any more work than what it would take to get that site stabilized," said Tom Farrell, a biologist with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The Richard E. Jacobs Group put its mall project on hold earlier this year after it became apparent it would take months to resolve problems with the 510-acre property that straddles State Road 56 just west of Interstate 75.
Those problems led to a stormwater pond overflowing in January, sending silt-laden water into Cypress Creek. The creek, which wraps around the mall property on the west and south, is an Outstanding Florida Water, a designation designed to protect it from pollution.
January was the second time the pond had overflowed after heavy rains. A storm in September produced similar problems, prompting regulators to order fixes.
After January's flooding, the Army Corps of Engineers suspended Jacobs' development permit and demanded new fixes. In a May 16 letter to the developers, corps officials said they received those plans in mid-April, delaying any potential resolution to the project's problems.
While the review progresses, Jacobs and landowner John R. "Hi" Sierra, have sown grass on the bare land and created broad, shallow ponds to hold rainfall and let it seep into the ground.
Reporter Kevin Wiatrowski can be reached at (813) 948-4201 or kwiatrowski@tampatrib.com.
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