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Panel okays two office parks, car dealership

By CHUIN-WEI YAP
Published December 1, 2006

DADE CITY - A new car dealership and two office parks won approval Thursday from the county's Development Review Committee.

As housing sales stumble, these businesses are a reminder that commercial developments are still playing catchup to the crush of new rooftops in central Pasco.

Wesley Chapel Honda will build a two-story, 42,000-square-foot dealership on the southwestern corner of County Road 54 and Interstate 75, on a strip already crowded with auto sellers.

The 6-acre dealership will sell a full range of Honda cars, said Rollie Dove, engineering director of Spring Engineering, the firm handling the construction.

Across I-75, Wesley Chapel Toyota just opened its doors in September. Wesley Chapel Nissan has been open since 2005. A Mazda-Hyundai dealership is poised to open nearby.

The dealership's construction is slated to start in January and end in August, Dove said.

At two mega-developments further south, office parks totaling 80,000-square feet were approved Thursday.

In Oakstead, already home to 1,000 rooftops, 19 new buildings covering 58,000 square feet, called Oakstead West, are going up.

To its east, at 2,000-acre Seven Oaks, a 21,500-square-foot park, tentatively called Wrencrest, will also offer the same type of office space.

The future tenants will be "doctors, accountants, insurance agents," said David Fuxan, president of Fuxan Engineering, who is handling both projects.

Work is expected to kick off at both sites in a month. The Seven Oaks park would be done in a year; the Oakstead one in two years, Fuxan said.

Chuin-Wei Yap covers growth and development. He can be reached at cyap@sptimes.com.

[Last modified November 30, 2006, 22:29:25]