I thought that we should have a thread that we can put other development in that aren't big as others.

Just state the county and area of the development and add the topic.

By CHUIN-WEI YAP
Published August 21, 2006

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ODESSA - Pasco County's busiest east-west road could see its first hotel in coming months.

Plans at county offices for a 100-room Residence Inn by Marriott show a five-story building at Northpointe Village, in the southeastern corner of State Road 54 and the Suncoast Parkway.

As developments crowd SR 54, a room for the night has been hard to find along this stretch. Several hotels already dot the intersection of County Road 54 and Interstate 75 to the north.

But the 1.3-acre Residence Inn plan would be positioned to feed that demand. Another hotel, a Comfort Suites, is proposed at the Cypress Creek development farther east.

The Residence Inn sits in Northpointe Village, developed by the Hogan Group, which will sport an "urban village" look with brick sidewalks, awnings and cobblestones.

"We did take that in mind," said the hotel's architect Clem Papas of the Clearwater firm Inside Out Group. "The Hogan Group reviewed the design and approved it. They sent us examples of what they wanted."

The hotel could be up and running by the end of 2006 by some earlier Hogan Group estimates, but an early 2007 date now looks likelier, depending on how quickly county planners approve the site plans.

An architectural drawing of the hotel showed what could be described as an "Old Florida" look, with a columned entrance, a Mediterranean-flavored mix of curves and angles in its roof, and brick paving and driveways.

Site plans for the Residence Inn show a pool, a sports court, a fire pit and 100 parking spaces on the grounds of the hotel.

Its entrance would be from Northpointe Parkway, which runs off SR 54 just east of the parkway.

The intersection is due to become one of Pasco's most bustling areas.

The Hogan Group has estimated 3,000 to 5,000 people could eventually work in the 688-acre Suncoast Crossings development, of which Northpointe is a part.

The development's office park is already host to Opinicus, a flight simulator manufacturer.

A SuperTarget store is scheduled to open opposite Northpointe Village, across the parkway along SR 54.

A slew of restaurants and homes are planned in the vicinity, and the trail head for the Suncoast bike trail starts at the northwest corner of the intersection.

Chuin-Wei Yap covers growth and development in Pasco County. He can be reached at 813 909-4613 or cyap@sptimes.com.

http://www.sptimes.com/2006/08/21/Pasco/Hotel_in_plans_for_pa.shtml

Just wanted to state that the Suncoast has been a big help for development for Pasco. SR 54 has probably seen a big boom in both directions. West of the Suncoast, SR 54 has seen a big community boom and retail boom. Longleaf and other communities have grown because of the population growth. That has cause majot demand for retail. Strip Malls, restaurants, Targets are popping on the stretch. Other plans are made for more shopping plazas along the route.

East of the Suncoast has also seen a boom, more residential though. About 6 large communities have developed so far, with more to come. Retail development has been steady, but more is probably needed. There is a lot of open land for shopping plazas and such. By the end of the year, you will be seeing sign saying "Coming Soon: _____________". Pasco is the next area to watch. 2 Major Highways running through Pasco will explode the county with people. Hillsborough and Pinellas are full, so Pasco is the place to look. We may not have a major city as both, but who said we couldn't?

:)

^I don't mean to be critical of your enthusiasm over the development of Pasco NPRG, but this just means sprawl to me. The suburbanization of Pasco, Hernando, Polk and other surrounding counties is disappointing to me since it perpetuates the poorly planned growth patterns we've endured for decades and means we'll have more and worse gridlock in the years to come - not to mention the destruction of the natural and beautiful countryside and overuse of natural resources.

Mhmm. This is a site that emphasizes urbanism/skyscrapers, not sprawl...

The Residence Inn on the corner of SR 54 and Suncoast is looking awesome. It isn't like a normal hotel, as it says in the post above, it does have a village feeling to it. The rooms are lined up in rows with parking in front and then the briick sidewalks will add on to the character. I heard there is plans for another hotel in the same area, but I have no source about it.

The Cypress Creek Shopping Center is still empty. They are still fighting against the Enviromentalists for the area of land near the creek. They still say they have plans to build, but if they must change their plans, then they will do so. It's a nice development, but with this battle it will take longer for anything to sprout up there.

Dude, this is all just news about sprawl, draining the urban cores. I mean its nice that you're ethusiastic about your Pasco county but this really isn't the message board for it. Especially that Cypress Creek Mall which I doubt will ever get built.

^I don't mean to be critical of your enthusiasm over the development of Pasco NPRG, but this just means sprawl to me. The suburbanization of Pasco, Hernando, Polk and other surrounding counties is disappointing to me since it perpetuates the poorly planned growth patterns we've endured for decades and means we'll have more and worse gridlock in the years to come - not to mention the destruction of the natural and beautiful countryside and overuse of natural resources.



well noted

man, you people are way too high strung with regards to the sprawl issue.

with this logic, no outlying area small towns should have the right to develop b/c its not in the principal city's urban core or city limits.

yeah, I already know the economics of sprawl, but if I live in New Port Richie and they are building a new hotel that improves my neighborhood, don't tell me I'm not supposed to get excited about it b/c it's "sprawl". that's just not right.

If people don't like this kind of discussion, the best course of action is to avoid the thread. Posting in it perpetuates it.

^^Exactly i think its good when intresting developments are developed in the burbs it makes them less boring.

I feel this way about the New Port Richie motel, b/c when places in Orlando like Deltona and Sanford get new hotels, that to me is a big deal b/c they are off the beaten path; it's sort of a testament to that area's growth.

The Northpointe Village looks pretty good from the Suncoast. I was out there today and somewhat surprised to see a SuperTarget and a ton of apartment complexes out there. I saw the sign up for the Marriott. It looked like they were putting some brick (couldn't tell if it was real or psuedo) on the outside of a building. I still think all of this would look much better urbanfied in Ybor. ;)

The Northpointe Village looks pretty good from the Suncoast. I was out there today and somewhat surprised to see a SuperTarget and a ton of apartment complexes out there. I saw the sign up for the Marriott. It looked like they were putting some brick (couldn't tell if it was real or psuedo) on the outside of a building. I still think all of this would look much better urbanfied in Ybor. ;)
Yeah, the SuperTarget was open I believe in October, earlier than they thought. Or the might just had pushed it to open earlier before they planned so they'll be ready for the Holidays. The Marriot does look good. The building next to it I have no idea what it is used for. Thought I heard something that tests models of structures in Wind Rooms to see how much force they could take. But that is a guess. There is much more spaces for development in that area where the Marriot is. Most likely you'll see a restaurant and another hotel be built there.

^^I wouldn't think there would be demand for another hotel, heck I was surprised when they announced the first one. A nice sit-down restaraunt is needed and likely though.

Fast-Growing Wesley Chapel Requires Rigorous Attention

THE TAMPA TRIBUNE
Editorial
Published: Dec 18, 2006
http://www.tbo.com/news/opinion/editorials/MGBZNJPPSVE.html



The bulldozing of large parts of Florida, the subject of a recent report by the University of Florida's GeoPlan Center, is plainly visible in the Wesley Chapel area of southeast Pasco County.

County commissioners are considering the proposed Wiregrass Ranch development. They should ensure that regional impacts, especially traffic, produce no unpleasant surprises when they vote in the spring.

Developers want to turn a 5,100-acre ranch into 13,500 homes, more than 5 million square feet of retail and offices, a hospital and four public schools. At build-out, residents could number about 35,000, a population larger than Plant City.

The effects on public infrastructure and services would be staggering. The new community would need about 3.2 million gallons of drinking water a day by 2016, and about 3,660 tons of garbage would be generated daily by 2020. Size and impacts alone should be enough to make commissioners take a deep breath.

To their credit, Wiregrass developers have proposed an attractive project that should entice many people to work and live in the community. They project creating 13,500 jobs, which certainly is appealing, considering most of the workforce in Pasco heads across the county line to earn paychecks. And Wiregrass pledges to set aside about $2.9 million for affordable housing.

But in evaluating the plans, commissioners need to take a look at the big picture in the Wesley Chapel area. It's alarming.

Excluding Wiregrass, six other developments of regional impact either have been constructed or are being built within just a few miles of each other. These projects consist of more than 20,600 homes and more than 7 million square feet of retail and offices, including a 1.5-million-square-foot regional mall still being reviewed by regulators.

With Wiregrass, the totals would be in excess of 34,000 homes and 12 million square feet of commercial and offices.

Stretches of State Road 54 remain two lanes, and the result now is daily gridlock. Construction on planned improvements to Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, State Road 56 and Interstate 75 hasn't even begun. These are the four major roads that will bear the traffic from such intense development, and all are currently operating at the lowest level of service, planners say.

Hillsborough officials in particular have expressed legitimate concerns about the traffic that will be dumped onto Bruce B. Downs and into their county. They have a reasonable request: Require Wiregrass developers also to widen the road from just south of Pebble Creek Drive in New Tampa to County Line Road. Pasco commissioners should oblige. They have a responsibility to minimize the project's impacts on such a major Hillsborough road.

Indeed, it's imperative that Wiregrass and other developers be on the hook for major transportation improvements in the area and that the state's new concurrency law be strictly followed to ensure infrastructure is in place. But in reviewing Wiregrass, Pasco officials also should question whether they have saturated the Wesley Chapel area with so much development that quality of life will suffer and whether the market can sustain it. Congested roads and empty storefronts make for ugly communities.

These are fair questions in the context of the GeoPlan Center report backed by 1,000 Friends of Florida. It predicts the state's population will double to 36 million in 50 years with essentially wall-to-wall urbanization. This major change demands attention and creative planning.

^The sprawling exurban hellhole Pasco developers seem intent on creating is EXACTLY what we as a region should be avoiding at all costs these days, even if that means nixing such projects until they can be built responsibly.

We DO NOT have the infrastructure capable of handling these projects, and until we do, then these projects on the fringes must be halted dead in their tracks.


The one thing I will say that is good about the Wiregrass project is the jobs it will create. By having jobs nearer to the residential areas in Pasco, then some people wouldn't have to drive to Tampa for work, and the road network would be used a bit more efficiently... However, the good things seem to be far outweighed by the negative impacts this project and its neighbors will have on Wesley Chapel and just about everyone else within 15 miles.

man, you people are way too high strung with regards to the sprawl issue.

with this logic, no outlying area small towns should have the right to develop b/c its not in the principal city's urban core or city limits.

yeah, I already know the economics of sprawl, but if I live in New Port Richie and they are building a new hotel that improves my neighborhood, don't tell me I'm not supposed to get excited about it b/c it's "sprawl". that's just not right.

Is there really any doubt that further development in rural areas such as this is a bad idea? It'll take years to develop th infrastructure, and I'm not sure there'll ever be enough water to keep everyone satisfied. The only thing that might be in adequate supply is sunshine.

Is there really any doubt that further development in rural areas such as this is a bad idea? It'll take years to develop th infrastructure, and I'm not sure there'll ever be enough water to keep everyone satisfied. The only thing that might be in adequate supply is sunshine.
I was talking about shooting someone down who was excitied about new projects in their area; not whether sprawl is good or bad.