Residents could live, work and eat out on the site near U.S. 19, according to a developer's proposal. Tarpon Springs would have to approve plans.
By RICHARD DANIELSON
Published May 13, 2004
TARPON SPRINGS - The Wal-Mart Supercenter project being proposed for a piece of riverfront property just south of the Pinellas-Pasco county line could include apartments or office space, according to documents filed with the city.
The current owner of the property, ABR Properties Inc., recently turned in the first paperwork that the city has received outlining the scope and other details about the Wal-Mart development.
As proposed, the 210,000-square-foot supercenter, its 18,880-square-foot garden center and its 996 parking spaces would occupy the 20.1 acres of the site closest to U.S. 19.
Another 6.2 acres behind the store would be reserved for either 94 multifamily dwellings or 145,000 square feet of office development. Wal-Mart is not expected to develop that parcel itself.
"The Wal-Mart folks have indicated to us that their intent is to sell that (6.2 acres) to another developer," said Charlie Attardo, the city's business services specialist.
ABR's paperwork indicates that the supercenter and other proposed buildings would cover about a third of the 75-acre site, much of which consists of wetlands. And the Florida Department of Transportation already has given initial approval to the concept of putting a new traffic signal on U.S. 19 for the supercenter.
It's not clear when the project would be built, and a Wal-Mart spokeswoman in Arkansas did not return a call Wednesday.
"They haven't given us a timeline on anything," said city planning and zoning director Renea Vincent. "This is all we've gotten."
The 57-page document signals that the plans for the land have changed.
In 1998, local, regional and state officials approved a plan to let ABR build up to 400,000 square feet of offices and 50,000 square feet of stores on the property, which is on the east side of U.S. 19 just south of the Anclote River.
ABR representatives say in their proposal that they now want to abandon that plan so that they can sell the property and it can be developed as a Wal-Mart Supercenter. There is simply too much office space already in the area, according to the company, but "the retail market is strong."
ABR's request to drop its previously approved development plans does not say what the purchase price of its property would be. The city plans to hold a public hearing at 6:30 p.m. July 6 on the request to drop the 1998 plan.
A Wal-Mart Supercenter would not require a change in zoning, but city commissioners would have to vote to approve the site plan.
No proposed site plan has been submitted, but ABR's paperwork indicates that the project would include space for a gas station and restaurant.
"The only thing that we have been told is that it's anticipated to be a sit-down restaurant as opposed to a fast-food restaurant," Attardo said.
None of the buildings would infringe on the marshy areas bordered by the Anclote River.
Developers would need to remove half an acre of existing wetlands, but they say that's not located within 30 acres of preservation area established by the city in the 1990s. The half-acre is infested with nuisance plants such as cattails and Brazilian pepper.
Plans call for all traffic to the project to enter and leave on two driveways along U.S. 19. ABR's original plans called for providing another access to the property through Jasmine Avenue, but city officials say that's being dropped.
"Residents do not want an exit onto Jasmine, and that's one of the things that would be gotten rid of," Attardo said.
In discussions with state transportation officials last fall, developers got conceptual approval for one of those driveways to have its own traffic signal on U.S. 19.
In Pasco County, Wal-Mart has proposed to build a supercenter near Beacon Woods, where the empty Bayonet Point Mall now stands.
- Times staff writer Candace Rondeaux contributed to this report.
