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The Earth Has Moved - S.R. 56 Deal Struck

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By KEVIN WIATROWSKI

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 10, 2008

WESLEY CHAPEL - County commissioners on Monday approved the final version of a deal to extend State Road 56 east of Bruce B. Downs Boulevard.

The deal, which took months to hammer out, frees $12 million set aside for the project by the developers of Meadow Pointe IV. That development's Community Development District is overseeing the construction of S.R. 56 between Bruce B. Downs and Meadow Pointe boulevards.

The deal was sealed last month after county officials and the road builders met behind closed doors with representatives of Publix.

The Lakeland-based grocer anchors the Shoppes at New Tampa plaza, which lies on the south side of the S.R. 56 extension. Publix objected to the relocation of the plaza's current northern entrance, a move mandated by the need to add a third lane to eastbound S.R. 56.

Without the third lane, the Department of Transportation said it wouldn't let S.R. 56 open to traffic beyond the nearby Shops at Wiregrass, threatening to cripple the $25 million road project. County officials see the extension as crucial to relieving traffic congestion on State Road 54 when they begin widening that road late next year.

The first leg of the extension is critical for the scheduled Oct. 30 opening of the Shops at Wiregrass, the 800,000-square-foot open-air mall now going up at the northeast corner of S.R. 56 and Bruce B. Downs. The mall's developers, Forest City Enterprises and The Goodman Co., are overseeing construction of the road along the front of their mall.

The extension also will provide a second entrance to Wiregrass Ranch High School and Long Middle School, taking pressure off the roads of Meadow Pointe, which have been the school complex's only access since it opened last year.

Publix's cooperation on the project came with a hitch. The company asked for and got a left-turn from westbound S.R. 56 into one of two new entrances to the Shoppes at New Tampa along its northern boundary with the highway.
DOT officials said they will consider the left-turn a temporary change, allowing them to remove it if it impedes traffic flow.

Bipin Parikh, the county's assistant administrator for development services, told commissioners Monday the plaza owner, Developers Diversified Realty, will pay for the new access points and the road builders will build them.

County Commissioner Pat Mulieri, who represents Wesley Chapel, praised the deal for providing access to the school complex and to the mall's 2,000 jobs.

"It was a long process, but I think this is going to have an economic boost for Pasco County," Mulieri said.

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

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