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At SR 52 exit, a vision of growth
By JAMES THORNER, Times Staff Writer SAN ANTONIO -- When Outback Steakhouse and the Best Western hotel chain sought a hot spot along Interstate 75, they laser-sighted the State Road 54 interchange in Wesley Chapel. But just one exit farther north, on State Road 52, the commercial prospects have remained relatively chilly. No one disputes that SR 52 will eventually thrive as the next big stop outside Tampa. But it's taking its sweet time reaching that point. Stuckey's, once a pecan-log-selling fixture at the interchange, closed several years back. Its weedy 6-acre lot is popular with truck drivers who park overnight to save a buck on lodging. Other properties have lingered on the market for years with nary a nibble from buyers. "There's a natural creep to the north," said Georgia Bickford, the Prudential-Tropical Realty listing agent marketing the Stuckey's site for $1.5-million. "I think in the next couple years we're in for a lot of excitement around the SR 52 interchange." Why has SR 52 played the neglected stepchild to SR 54? Real estate agents point to housing patterns. Blessed in its proximity to Tampa, Wesley Chapel has seized the role of a bedroom community. Thousands of homes cover former cattle pasture and orange groves in neighborhoods such as Lexington Oaks, Northwood and Meadow Pointe. A further blanketing of block and stucco is coming as part of giant projects such as Seven Oaks. While many of the SR 54 highway interchange businesses target just-passing-through types (think fireworks and citrus shops), many rely on repeat business from locals (think Outback). On the other hand, SR 52 is only starting to bloom as a residential corridor. Lake Jovita, about 5 miles east of I-75, features hundreds of upscale homes. A development called Hillcrest Preserve, which may have up to 1,599 homes, is in the planning stages a mile west of I-75 on SR 52. A mammoth project on SR 52, a proposed 6,700 houses and apartments on the 2,000-acre Cannon Ranch a mile east of I-75, was placed on ice when Pulte Homes retreated from a tentative deal to buy the land last year. Though SR 52 is just 6 miles north of Wesley Chapel, it still resembles the sticks compared to its southern neighbor. "It's simply a matter of a little more driving time," said Jeff Stilman of the Tampa real estate company Marcus & Millichap. "There's some development going in that will put more pressure on developing that intersection." Pressure has yet to reach that point. Stilman's company has long tried to market 4 acres at the prime southwest corner of I-75 and SR 52. It has never been developed and belongs to Leesburg oilman William Mattick. Across the street, Wareco System of Iowa Inc. razed the shell of the old Stuckey's last year. It had become a haunt of vagrants. At one time a Gulf gas station also shared the parcel. Just west of the Stuckey's site, a company called GLH Holdings markets another 5 acres, thus far without success. The intersection does have one great success story. That's the Flying J truck stop on the northeast corner, a hive of automotive activity. So many cars, campers and big rigs jam the 20,000-square-foot business that the state Department of Transportation installed traffic signals at the exits last year. On the other side of I-75, traffic is a trickle compared with the Flying J's. That's where a Texaco-sponsored Dixie Boy truck stop and a Waffle House hold sway. South of the Flying J, developers out of Baltimore once pitched an outlet mall but abandoned the attempt in 1998. Other investors are eyeing property near the Flying J belonging to Saint Leo Abbey and the McKendree Family with the hope of building, among other projects, a regional mall. But such development seems way in the future. Dade City Realtor Lewis Abraham has watched the interchange wax and wane for decades. So profitable is the Flying J, he can't believe other businesses are so skittish. "Anybody that puts a motel or restaurant there is going to be inundated with business," Abraham said. -- James Thorner covers growth and development in Pasco County. He can be reached at (813) 909-4613 or toll-free 1-800-333-7505, ext. 4613. His e-mail address is thorner@sptimes.com.
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