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On east side of county, a whole new world to see

By BILL STEVENS
Published January 22, 2007

We're growing old, waiting for a break in the parade of vehicles heading west on State Road 54 so we can turn left. This is the second time in a week, following lunches at Johnny Carino's and Applebee's.

Chuin-Wei Yap is driving, thank goodness. He's the Times reporter who covers growth and development in Pasco, meaning he works harder than just about any of us. Yap lives in Zephyrhills, so he spends a lot of time on this part of SR 54.

Not long ago, he says, eastbound traffic stopped dead. He figured it was an accident up the road, perhaps near Saddlebrook. Turns out a cow got loose.

Yes, there are still some pastures. You can see them behind the For Sale signs. You can't hear the cows mooing. Too much road noise.

Yap has graciously agreed to give me a tour. He's from Singapore, so he knows all about dynamic growth. But this is impressive. At the end of State Road 56, where Bruce B. Downs Boulevard comes up from New Tampa, Yap points out a dozen businesses that weren't there nine months ago when he started his job.

In the time it takes to make a baby, this intersection has made a whole family. And this is just the beginning.

Two huge malls are racing to get their permits and commitments. One day soon they will create a phenomenon - a reason for Tampa folks to drive to Pasco instead of the other way around.

And because the malls are coming, so is everything else. We've been telling you about the Cypress Creek retail center at I-75 and SR 56, where you can see construction of a new Ashley Furniture store. All well and good, but what really got folks buzzing was the news that Chuck E. Cheese's will be next door. Lisa Buie, our editor in the Land O'Lakes/Wesley Chapel area and recent mommy, must have said Chuck E. Cheese in our office 50 times in an hour, breathlessly calling friends and family with the good news.

If you look at the drawings of the Cypress Creek center, you'll notice that across the parking lot from Chuck E. Cheese's is the new St. Petersburg Times office. Nothing like being in the middle of all the excitement.

Which is why this westsider has spent the first three weeks of 2007 commuting to our Central Pasco bureau. I've been in charge of our news report in Pasco County since 1991, and I am quite familiar with the key players, issues and politics. But you can't fully appreciate what's happening in places like Wesley Chapel unless you are there.

Or here, I should say.

So for awhile, at least, I am trading U.S. 19 for SR 54 - and folks, I'm not sure which is more dangerous sometimes. I'm eager to meet people and hear ideas for stories.

Drop me a line.

You can contact Bill Stevens at stevens@sptimes.com or 813 909-4607 or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6250 or 4607.

[Last modified January 22, 2007, 07:45:39]