$6M feud paves road of doubt

It's unclear whether the developer can or will build the County Road 54 extension.

By CHUIN-WEI YAP, Times Staff Writer
Published August 9, 2007

WESLEY CHAPEL - It is less than a mile of a proposed road, barely a footnote in an area dominated by six-lane highways and interstate flyovers.

The County Road 54 extension is supposed to cut through the Cypress Creek Town Center mall and a 330-acre ranch that belongs to Hank King. It would link State Road 56 and County Line Road, providing relief from mall traffic and an alternative north-south route.

But its fate now hangs on a $6-million development feud that's already spawned a lawsuit and drawn in county officials, a Cleveland developer and two Pasco ranchers.

By its agreement with the county, Cleveland's Richard E. Jacobs Group has to either build the CR 54 extension or pay Pasco $6-million for it. That was the cost estimate of the road in 2004 dollars.

Now it's unclear whether the developer can or will build it.

"I know we would all like to see the extension built," rancher Robert "Hi" Sierra wrote in a March 21 e-mail to King and his attorney. "Unfortunately construction costs have gone up."

Sierra's family owns the mall property and he brokered the Jacobs deal. The recently approved mall is due to open in fall 2008.

In his e-mail, Sierra sought to persuade King to donate land so the CR 54 extension can get built. There's too much downside, Sierra said, for Jacobs to try it otherwise.

"Jim Eppele (the Jacobs Group's vice president of development) tells me with all the unforeseen costs and the competition they are up against, Cypress Creek Town Center has become a marginal project," Sierra went on. "If Mr. Jacobs decided to build the road rather than give Pasco the $6-million, he would expose himself to an open-ended condemnation action with Hank's attorney. I'm sure we can all agree that Mr. Jacobs didn't attain his level of success by being a fool."

Neither Sierra nor Jacobs Group spokesman Bill Fullington responded to messages for comment Wednesday.

King's problem is this:

The county wants him to donate a 142-foot-wide right-of-way and 20 acres as a condition for developing his property, but King refuses to accept what he's got to give up.

He said he wants to develop only 42 of his 330 acres, with access through Cypress Creek Road to the west of the property.

Pasco said King has plans for his entire property and does not want to approach it piecemeal. It is common practice for the county to extract land from development deals, mostly for road-building purposes.

King said he wants financial compensation or credits for the CR 54 extension project. He also objected to the road being built as two lanes through his property; he prefers it be four lanes.

But Tom Schmitz, the Jacobs Group's vice president in charge of the mall, told the Pasco Times on March 15 - days before Sierra sent his e-mail to King - that King wanted $10-million for the CR 54 extension and turned down a $6-million offer.

"I respect Hank, but if that's what he wants, good luck to him," Schmitz said.

On Tuesday, King denied there was an offer.

"Sierra and Schmitz wanted to buy right-of-way from me," King said. "But they never gave me a dollar figure."

King believes county officials had told the Jacobs Group they would extract it from King by force. Michele Baker, chief assistant county administrator, did not reply to a message Wednesday.

In his e-mail to King, Sierra said, "There probably was a time, early on, where you could have gotten Jacobs to agree to pay something for the right-of-way. But I honestly believe that time has come and gone."

The project doesn't earn impact fee credits. Sierra is obliged to pay half of the Jacobs Group's tab for the CR 54 extension.

King has recently gotten involved with environmentalists who oppose Cypress Creek Town Center, helping to film a video posted on YouTube that alleged illegal run-off from the mall's construction work.

King denied that this has anything to do with the million-dollar tussle over the right-of-way that the mall developers and county officials want from him.

If the Jacobs Group doesn't build the CR 54 extension, its $6-million payment will help the county take the project back.

But road construction costs have at least doubled in the years since the deal was made, so the county would have to pay more to build it.

[Last modified August 8, 2007, 21:52:30]