Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Around the bay

'Reverse commute' holds promise of drawing Fortune 100 company

By TIMES WIRES
Published December 4, 2006

The biggest office development proposal in Pasco just got bigger.

It was supposed to be 1.2-million square feet of office space perched along the Suncoast Parkway and State Road 54.

By comparison, the tallest office building in Tampa, AmSouth, has 552,080 square feet.

Now, Doug Weiland, chief executive officer of Clearwater's JES Properties, is expanding the project to 1.8-million square feet.

"We're increasing the residential and office at the behest of the county," Weiland said.

Coupled with 900 homes and 340,000 square feet of retail, the 266-acre Ashley Glen proposal will cost an estimated $400-million to build, Weiland said.

Consultants' studies backing the project estimate it would yield 14,000 jobs and more than $1-billion in annual sales and tax revenue for the local economy.

It's been a long road for Weiland.

Touting the potential of luring Fortune 100 companies that want to avoid the daily grind of driving into Tampa, Weiland said Ashley Glen represents the promise of a pleasurable "reverse commute."

He's selling bait and stirring up some waves

Welcome to Dave's Bait House.

Live pinfish, greenbacks and whitebait swim in tanks on the floor. Cans of Diet Coke and Dr Pepper cool in a small fridge.

Meet Dave Steiner, cashier and owner. To get his attention, just wave. To find the store, head to the mouth of the Pithlachas-cotee River. Then, go out about 6 miles northwest of American Marina into the Gulf of Mexico.

Selling bait in the waterways was an untapped market until Steiner started his business in September.

While bait shops abound in Pasco, none are like Steiner's, a mobile 7-Eleven of sorts.

Though it's only been two months since he opened, Steiner is already drawing customers away from his competitors. He's also been stirring trouble at City Hall.

One day about four boaters lined up near Steiner. He was anchored near Sunset Landing Marina, making a few sales.

Then, someone from the marina called Steiner's boat. They asked him to move.

"I'm not in here trying to aggressively take business from anybody," he said. "I'm not trying to stir up any trouble. They called me up to say, 'We've got shrimp.' I said, 'Okay, I'll move.' "

Port Richey police recently came knocking. They wanted to see if Steiner was selling anything illegal. He wasn't.

Steiner's bait house even came up at an Oct. 10 Port Richey City Council meeting.

Officials said that without an ordinance to prevent Steiner from selling bait on the water, he was free to do as he pleased.

New country store is big on recycling, including the original site

Organic produce, soy milk and gourmet coffee: Aisle one. Moon Pies, root beer and strawberry Twizzlers: Aisle two.

Welcome to Rheda's Roadside Country Store, an old-fashioned emporium that's trying to be various things to a lot of people.

It opened Nov. 8 in the same building as the original Dey General Store, built in 1954.

Is it a health food store? A little bit. A place to get pickled sausage and cigarettes? That too, with a whole lot of history behind it.

Rheda Weeks, a retired nurse and former Sierra Club officer, is big on buying local.

She's also a big believer in recycling.

"I use everything, from composting to giving bruised apples to the horses across the street," she said.

Hope you're hungry

- This time next year, Albert Whitted Airport's new $4-million terminal will have a second-floor, aviation-themed restaurant and observation decks, easily visible from First Street S. "We'd like to use the wing of an airplane for a bar," says Arigato steakhouse owner Dale Del Bello, who won the restaurant contract.

- Linda Bernard will soon open a restaurant named Brisket Basket at the site of the old Triplett's drive-in across from St. Petersburg High School. Bernard's first restaurant, Tangelo's, served plenty of brisket sandwiches from its Tangerine Avenue S location before she sold it in 1985. Triplett's closed in 1982 after 36 years. Several other restaurants have tried to take root at the site, but none has lasted.

[Last modified December 4, 2006, 07:26:57]