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Housing Idle, So City Eyes Industry

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By LAURA KINSLER

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 25, 2008

ZEPHYRHILLS - When Florida's housing market was surging a few years ago, city leaders began bracing for the demands that would come with 3,000 new homes.

They paid millions to double the size of the wastewater treatment plant and started planning for a new library and fire station.

But the homes didn't come. Now, city leaders are focusing on attracting more industry. Most of the subdivisions approved by the city council in the past few years sit idle.

Hidden River, for example, was slotted for 325 homes on 150 acres along the Hillsborough River. The developer installed roads, utilities and streetlights, but hasn't built a single house.

"They went back and green-belted it," said Todd Vande Berge, the city's director of development services. "They've got cows grazing on it now."

Vande Berge said the city needs more projects such as Sysco. The Houston-based food service company plans to build a $60 million distribution center just off Sixth Avenue.
City leaders want to see those kinds of projects along the Chancey Road corridor, where there's already a concentration of industrial businesses.

With that in mind, the city council gave preliminary approval this week to annexing 52 acres at Chancey and Tucker roads for an industrial park.

Partners Carl Hill and Paul Corriea plan 13 lots ranging from 2 to 5 acres and zoned for light industry. The zoning could allow as much as 600,000 square feet of construction.

The council also gave preliminary approval to rezoning a 100-acre tract, part of the former Ruck's Dairy planned development, from residential to light industrial.
Robert Gagne put together the 600-acre planned development, which spans both sides of Chancey Road, in 2005. He sold the 100-acre parcel to Morrison Homes, which later merged with Taylor Woodrow. The developer planned to build 337 single-family homes there before the housing market crashed.

City Manager Steve Spina said that, in retrospect, the parcel was never appropriate for single-family homes. It is too close to the airport and bordered railroad tracks and an industrial park.

"Putting residential in that area - with the existing industry - it's just not a good mix," Spina said. "I think we were second-guessing ourselves when we did it."

Gagne initially opposed the rezoning, saying it would hamper development of the rest of the former dairy property. He spent more than $200,000 to gain approvals for the master plan, he said, and thinks the housing market will rebound - eventually.

"The whole thing was done in a proportionate way, so there was the right number of single-family homes and the right number of apartments and the right amount of office and commercial," he said.

But after the council vote Monday, Gagne said he wouldn't fight the rezoning. He agreed that the land might be better suited for an industrial park.

"It looks like the city is supportive of that. If they are, then I'm going to step back and say go ahead and do it. Zephyrhills is a reasonable city to do business with," he said.

Reporter Laura Kinsler can be reached at (813) 865-4844 or lkinsler@tampatrib.com.

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