Happy Fourth Of July!

Pinchers Crab Shack opens today

 

Pinchers Crab Shack Wesley Chapel

Pinchers Crab Shack at The Shops At Wiregrass plans to open today at 4:00 PM.

Buffalo Wild Wings sign in Wesley Chapel

There's a sign recently posted on SR 56 near the "new" Gate gas station about Buffalo Wild Wings.
(Thanks to JB for pointing this out to me!)

Family Fun Day & Animal Adoption Party

 

Pasco County Animal Services is inviting everyone to Family Fun Day on Saturday, June 21, from 12 pm to 4:00 pm. at their Adoption Center. There will be fun activities for the entire family, including games, prizes, celebrity appearances, clowns and a bake sale.

The animal shelter is now over capacity and is in dire need of the community’s support in getting these precious animals adopted. Bring the whole family and enjoy a day of building great memories and choose your new best friend!

Family Fun Day is filled with good times! Chuck Darby, the former Tampa Bay Buccaneer Super Bowl player will be signing autographs and posing for selfies from 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm. Chick-fil-A is bringing their prize wheel with Mooo Cow, and serving sandwiches to the first 50 early arrivals from 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm. There will be clown shows with balloon tying, face painting, music, prizes, games and a bounce house. Pasco County’s Fire Rescue, Emergency Management, Sheriff’s Office and Libraries will all be offering fun and informative activities!

This event offers community members an opportunity to get to know more about Pasco County Animal Services. Pasco County Animal Services provides animal control, lost and found, adoption services and more. This huge adoption event not only brings excitement and fun, but offers great discounts. Truly, anyone who adopts one of the companion animals is not only getting a great companion at a great price, but they are saving lives too!
 
The Pasco County Animal Services Adoption Center is located at 19640 Dogpatch Lane in Land O’ Lakes. The Adoption Center is open from 12:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday and on Thursday from 12:00 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. Please stop by and save a life!

For additional information, please visit the Pasco County Animal Services website http://www.pascocountyfl.net/PAS or call:  (813) 929-1212, (352) 521-5194, or (727) 834-3216.

Flag Day

A place in the shade at Wiregrass

Job Fair At Wiregrass Today

Job Fair At The Shops At Wiregrass

Pasco Plans Another Wesley Chapel School

A new combined middle/high school could open on Old Pasco Road in Wesley Chapel as early as 2017. The new school will be built on 200 acres of land the district owns on Old Pasco Road (north of Overpass)  across the street from a planned residential development (Grantham Ranch).   Pasco County Schools are meeting with the developer of Grantham Ranch and Pasco County representatives on June 17th to coordinate plans for the two projects.  Laura Kinsler of the Tampa Tribune reports that the two story school will be built for about 1,800 students, but district officials say it may be designed with future expansion in mind that could take it up to 2,400 students.  Initially the school would open to grades 6-12 and construction is to begin next year.

JES Properties, the developer for Grantham Ranch plans 250 units on 105 acre parcel of land located on the east side of Old Pasco Road near the intersection with Gillette Road (approximately 150' north of Overpass Road) and west of I-75:

Grantham Ranch

Epperson Ranch South plans 1523 residential units east of I-75 and west of Curley Road, south of Elam Road on 600 acres, mol.  (Think east of Palm Cove and north of Bridgewater). Creation of a CDD for this new planned community is scheduled for the Pasco BOCC meeting on June 24th:

Epperson South

 



Additionally, plans are underway for almost 2,000 new homes in other new home communities in Wesley Chapel.

Russ Perlowski, People's Choice Realty 813-505-7460

New Tampa Is Going To The Dogs

New Tampa Recreation Center

Surprisingly, with all of its tony communities and parks along Bruce B. Downs there is no public dog park in New Tampa.  The New Tampa Rotary is determined to change that with goals to raise $25,000 for a dog park adjacent to the New Tampa Recreation Center (17302 Commerce Park Blvd.).  The one acre park will have fenced separate areas for big and small dogs, doggie drinking fountains, and tables and benches.  The Rotary hopes to raise the funds by fall and have the park open for Fido & friends before the end of the year.

Additional info:  www.Rotarydogpark.org 

June Real Estate Report For Grand Hampton in New Tampa

Grand Hampton © Russ Perlowski, People's Choice Rlty  (813) 505-7460

Ten single family homes in New Tampa's Grand Hampton were reported sold last month in our local MLS.  The reported sold prices ranged from $215,000 to $430,000.  The average sales price/sq. ft. was $100.32 and the average sales price was $278,310.  Four of the homes were foreclosures and one of those reportedly had defective contaminated drywall.

Currently there are 36 single family homes listed for sale in Grand Hampton in our local MLS with prices ranging from $175,000 to $610,000. 

Wesley Chapel Real Estate Report For June 2014

Wesley Chapel Single family home sales in May continued to show marked improvement over a year ago:

• The average sales price increased from $214,570 in May, 2013 to $225,650 in May, 2014.
• The average sales price/sq. ft. (heated) increased from $87.90 to $98.24.
• The percentage of distressed sales (Short Sales + REO/Foreclosures) decreased from 38% to 26%.
• All cash sales dropped from 46% to 23%.

Currently there are over 300 single family homes for sale in Wesley Chapel.  The average list price is $333,211 and the average list price/sq. ft. is $119.86.

*Russ Perlowski, People's Choice Realty 813-505-7460  Information provided in MLS deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Sandhill Cranes Window-shopping in New Tampa

Pinchers Crab Shack Plans July Opening At Wiregrass

Pinchers Crab Shack plans a July 1 opening at The Shops at Wiregrass.

Hurricane Preparedness Checklist

The official hurricane season begins today and while we have been fortunate to live in an area that has been virtually free of hurricanes we still must be prepared.

The following is a suggested list to use for hurricane preparedness. While it is not intended to be an all inclusive checklist, it serves us all as a good starting point to be prepared.  Remember, the first 72 (hours) are on you!
□ WATER: Drinking water—at least 1 gallon per person/day for one-two weeks
□ MEDICAL: 4 weeks supply of prescription medicines, First Aid Kit, antiseptic, pain reliever, bandages, & insect repellent
□ ICE CHESTS: Two, one for ice, one for food & don’t forget the ice
□ CASH/GAS: ATM’s, credit cards, & gas pumps may not work
□ REPAIR SUPPLIES: Plastic tarp for windows or roof repair, duct tape
□ TOOLS: Manual can opener, hammer, nails
□ PAPER/DISPOSABLE PRODUCTS: Paper towels, disposable plates, cups, toilet paper, & eating utensils
□ INFANT NECESSITIES: Medicine, sterile water, formula, diapers, bottles, OTC meds
□ BATTERY OPERATED APPLIANCES: Radio, camera, portable television, fans, and batteries
□ CLEAN UP SUPPLIES: Mop, buckets, towels, plastic garbage bags, bleach/disinfectant
□ FIRE/LIGHT: Charcoal, lighting fluid, propane, matches, lanterns/flashlights and batteries
□ LINENS: Pillows, blankets, sleeping bags, air mattresses Try to wash all laundry prior to storm.
□ PERSONAL HYGIENE: Deodorant, disposable wipes, contact lens solution, toothpaste, etc.
□ NONPERISHABLE FOOD: Powdered/canned milk, canned/bottled juice, canned meats & fish—Spam, chicken, ham, tuna, cereal, cookies, crackers, peanut butter, jelly, bread
□ WATER TIGHT CONTAINERS FOR DOCUMENT STORAGE: Place insurance policies, birth certificates, wills, proof of pet vaccinations, etc. in water tight containers
Pet food and pet carriers. 

Don't forget about Fido and Fluffy!  Should you decide to leave the area with your pets and need motel accommodations, visit:  http://www.petswelcome.com/  for "pet friendly" accommodations.

The 2014 hurricane preparedness sales tax holiday is from May 31 through June 8, 2014.  Qualifying sales tax free items

 Also, visit http://floridadisaster.org/ for disaster planning, etc.

Additional useful websites:
National Hurricane Center:  http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/
Bay News 9 Klystron radar pictures:  http://www.baynews9.com/weather/klystron9
There are even iphone apps for hurricane tracking! 
Lastly, consider purchasing an emergency radio/flashlight such as this one.

Glowgolf coming to Wiregrass

Glowgolf is coming to The Shops at Wiregrass and is now hiring.

Site work begins on Wesley Chapel Mercedes Benz Dealership

Mercedes Benz of Wesley Chapel

I noticed that site work has begun on the Mercedes dealership to be built on the north side of SR 56 across from Texas Roadhouse on 7.03 acres.

New Tampa's Pier 1 Imports Closes And Prepares To Open

Pier 1 Imports closes one location in New Tampa and prepares to open at its new location in Highwoods Preserve:

Florida's Largest Ice Rink To Be Located in Wesley Chapel

Cypress Creek Ice and Sports Complex in Wesley Chapel

The Tampa Tribune reports that Gordie Zimmerman unveiled the design for Florida's largest ice skating facility with four ice rinks and a 120 room adjacent hotel to be located in Wesley Chapel yesterday.

The 150,500 sq. ft., $20 million Cypress Creek Ice and Sports Complex will be located at the I-75/SR 56 interchange and will have a five story hotel.  The $2.6 million, 13 acre real estate transaction closed yesterday morning.  There is an option to purchase another 3 acres for the hotel.  Additionally, the facility will have one multipurpose pad for tennis, basketball, conventions and a second floor restaurant.  The facility could open as soon as the fall of 2015.

Less than two weeks ago another ice facility was announced for Wesley Chapel.  Let the games begin!

Tampa in top 10 best cities to be a dog!

Mylife.com  recently ranked the 100 most populous cities in the US based on 5 categories:

 

 

Pet stores per capita

Veterinarians per capita

Dog parks per capita

Number of sunny days per year

Walk score

 

 

 

After ranking and scoring each city, the top ten cities were identified and Tampa ranked #8.

Home Buyers and Sellers See Season Heating Up

2,500 Americans in the market to buy or sell a home were interviewed online by Edelman Berland.  Participants in the survey were between 25 and 64 years old with a median income of at least $50,000.

Among the survey's findings:

• 78 percent of potential buyers say it will be easier to buy a home this spring, since "home owners want to sell."
• 63 percent of sellers say the improving economy and their perception of motivated buyers are increasing their optimism. 
• 76 percent of consumers say pent-up demand will create more competition for existing homes this season.
• 83 percent of buyers say they plan to buy a home sooner rather than later because they fear interest rates will rise.
• Overall, 77 percent of the 2,500 consumers surveyed report having a favorable view of housing, a 12-point jump from one year prior. Millennials show the most optimism, at 85 percent. 

Search Homes For Sale

Jersey Mike's Subs coming to Wesley Chapel

Jersey Mike's Subs has its sign up in The Shoppes at New Tampa next to Beef O Brady's.  No opening date is available at this time

A Community Center and Another Park For New Tampa

New Tampa could see a commercial center built across from Hunter's Green on BBD on 81 acres of county owned land.  In exchange, the developer would be required to build a dog park with trails, and a playground with picnic tables and shelters.  Additionally land would be reserved for the construction of a cultural center.  The Tampa Tribune reports that a public meeting will be held with nearby residents after the requests for proposals are in.

Executive Pool Home For Sale

Offered at $450,000.  Russ Perlowski People's Choice Realty, 813.505.7460

Cody's Original Roadhouse In Wesley Chapel Opening

Cody's Original Roadhouse located on CR 54 in Wesley Chapel (just west of I-75 at the former Remington's Steak House) plans an opening the beginning of June.

Wiregrass Mall Center Court Getting Upgrade

Center Court at The Shops at Wiregrass is undergoing an upgrade.  After about another month or so, we can expect to be shaded from the hot sun!