Strip to be razed to clear new path

The Grove's developer plans to transform the strip along I-75 at CR 54 into a shopping center reached by boulevards.

By JAMES THORNER
Published May 4, 2005

WESLEY CHAPEL - The Grove at Wesley Chapel promises more than stores, restaurants and movie theaters strung out for a nearly a mile along Interstate 75.

It promises rejuvenation for a tattered strip of County Road 54 known for its insufferable traffic jams and hard-to-negotiate turns.

Developer ECHO Real Estate Services plans to raze a cluster of businesses on the northwest corner of I-75 and CR 54. Slated for demolition are a 118-room Master's Inn, a Denny's restaurant and a Citgo gas station.

About a quarter-mile farther west, the abandoned Quail Hollow Plaza also will kiss the wrecking ball. It's there that the Grove at Wesley Chapel plans to build one of its two main access roads, Gateway Boulevard.

"We control those parcels. Clearing out those businesses will give us real good visibility," ECHO president William Krahe said at a news conference at the Lexington Oaks Golf Club Tuesday afternoon.

As for potential tenants to benefit from the visibility, Krahe went no further than mentioning "several national tenants." It should be two months before ECHO starts confirming and releasing the names of stores, he said. Total employment could approach 1,800.

According to a construction schedule, the Grove will break ground this fall and open in mid 2007. Two rival centers, the Shops at Wiregrass and Cypress Creek Town Center, also plan 2007 openings within a few miles of the Grove. All three are competing for stores.

Artists' renderings of the Grove showed brick-heavy, Ybor City-style architecture, including a "Cinema" that looked like something out of the Matinee at the Bijou days.

Architect Charles Knight, with Lyman Davidson Dooley Inc., said the drawings don't represent the final design. In fact, he hasn't begun designing the center pending consultation with future tenants.

"It may go that way," Knight said. "Or it may go a different way."

Access has been among the biggest questions. Traffic jams plague the part of CR 54 nearest the property. The highway has received a flunking grade from the state Transportation Department.

But Krahe promised access will be "ideal," pointing to the upcoming reconstruction and widening of CR 54. ECHO will also pour money into upgrading both Gateway and Oakley boulevards. Those roads will be the two main entrances into the project.

ECHO's experience is mostly limited to building relatively small supermarket-anchored centers. It used to be the development arm of the Pittsburgh supermarket chain Giant Eagle, but spun off five years ago.

[Last modified May 4, 2005, 00:58:13]