The 45,000-square-foot grocery store will anchor a new shopping center that will include two other large stores, shops, a restaurant and a bank.
By MEGAN SCOTT
Published May 17, 2003
OLDSMAR - Charles Monroe was driving down Hillsborough Avenue when he saw it: 129 acres of vacant land at Race Track Road.
It was nothing more than a patch of dirt. But Monroe had big dreams.
Monroe's Prestige Group Inc. is planning to build a 45,000-square-foot Publix and a host of other shops on the property, which is on the northeast corner of the intersection.
"We knew about the growth that was happening all along Race Track Road," said Ira Waitz, executive vice president of Monroe's Prestige Group in Safety Harbor. "It just seemed like a natural location."
The center will be called the Triple Crown Corner and besides Publix, will include a 100,000-square-foot big box tenant, a 20,000-square-foot store and a string of smaller shops. There will also be a bank, a liquor store and a restaurant.
Construction on the Publix is scheduled to begin in August and the store should be open in April 2004. Then the other stores should follow.
The shopping plaza could draw customers from Oldsmar, Safety Harbor, Pasco and Hillsborough counties and Pinellas commuters driving home to Tampa. Currently, the closest Publix to Oldsmar is in East Lake, at East Lake and Tampa roads.
"They're a busy store and we think, and they think, that it's a good position for a new store," Waitz said.
While the new Publix will be just across the county line in Hillsborough County, Oldsmar council member Janice Miller said she's planning to do her shopping there.
"I think it's marvelous," said Miller. "It's a great location for it."
But Oldsmar Mayor Jerry Beverland isn't too enthusiastic. His concern is traffic. Race Track Road already experiences bumper to bumper traffic during rush hour, and Tampa Bay Downs and the Oldsmar Flea Market are also on that road.
Hillsborough County officials have discussed widening Race Track Road.
"It's going to be a nightmare," Beverland said. "But it already is a nightmare. That land's vacant. It's going to get built on. It might as well be a Publix. It just shows everybody that everybody wants to get close to Oldsmar."
