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A Portion Of Mall Site Is For Sale

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By KEVIN WIATROWSKI

kwiatrowski@tampatrib.com

Published: March 26, 2009

WESLEY CHAPEL - The northern portion of the planned Cypress Creek Town Center complex on State Road 56 has been listed for sale by its owner.

Owner John R. "Hi" Sierra recently listed his portion of the 510-acre project with Brightwork Real Estate, a Tampa-based firm run by Bradford G. Douglas, who is also on the board of directors of the Bank of Florida.

The listing comes several months after Sierra fenced in his property and returned it to pastureland by grazing cattle on it.

Neither Sierra nor Douglas could be reached for comment.

In the original designs for Cypress Creek Town Center, Sierra's side of the project was intended to include a "power center" assortment of large retailers as well as apartments, offices and hotel rooms. Those entitlements still stand and could be transferred to a new owner.

Sierra's decision to list his property has no bearing on the future development of the mall planned for the south side of the highway, said Tom Schmitz, vice president of Cleveland-based Richard E. Jacobs Group, which is developing the mall.

"We intend to proceed with our project as soon as we've completed the process with the Army Corps of Engineers," Schmitz said.

Army Corps officials remain guarded about when their issues regarding the Cypress Creek project will be resolved.

"We are still in the process of trying to reach resolution in our enforcement as well as reach a decision whether to reinstate, modify, or revoke the permit," Army Corps project manager Tracy Hurst said Wednesday.

More than four years after Cypress Creek Town Center won county approval, the project is largely moribund, a result of environmental and economic problems.

The mall was originally hamstrung by flooding in 2008 that sent muddy water into Cypress Creek. That prompted the Army Corps to suspend the mall's development permit.

The mall has also seen several of its planned tenants vanish. That list includes Circuit City and Linens 'n Things, both of which went bankrupt in the past year, and Justice for Girls, which opened a store at the nearby Shops at Wiregrass.

Schmitz said his company continues to market the Cypress Creek site to prospective tenants.

"We are very confident that the site is as viable today as it was when we started it," Schmitz said.

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

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