Harley dealership gets okay

The 15-acre site on CR 54 will have a pavilion where customers can check out nature.

By CHUIN-WEI YAP, Times Staff Writer
Published November 13, 2007

WESLEY CHAPEL - These machines may be feats of human engineering, but when it comes to selling Harley-Davidson motorcycles in Wesley Chapel, the Ferman family is taking a distinctly folksy approach.

They're designing their latest Harley dealership with the woodsy look of a Cabela's hunting supplies store, said Clarke Hobby, the dealership's attorney.

The county's top staff planners last Thursday cleared the final hurdles for the Ferman family's Gulf Coast Harley-Davidson dealership to move into 31,000 square feet on County Road 54 and Old Cypress Creek Road.

This is the Fermans' second Harley dealership in Pasco, after New Port Richey.

The Cabela thing? That's not all.

"They're going to have an observation deck overlooking the wetlands on the back of the property," Hobby said.

Plans showed an outdoor, covered pavilion, which is to allow customers to enjoy nature, Hobby said.

They might need the tranquility of flora and fauna to offset the shock from the price tags.

"These are bikes that start at $25,000," Janine Tsvetkov, a neighbor in Lexington Oaks, said in a Pasco Times article on the dealership in March.

Neighbors have welcomed the prospect of their new 15-acre neighbor, because Harley dealerships and owners generally represent an affluent demographic.

"I think you have a winner there for Wesley Chapel," Hobby said.

The original plans for the Wesley Chapel dealership also showed a 3,500-square-foot restaurant, but Hobby said that's not going to be included for now.

"They might put one in down the road, but it's not part of the approved plan," he said.

Hobby couldn't confirm when the dealership would be completed but said the owners were keen to get started.

Thursday's approval fulfilled their regulatory requirements, and the dealership is now cleared to start construction.

Chuin-Wei Yap can be reached at 813 909-4613 or cyap@sptimes.com.

[Last modified November 12, 2007, 21:25:24]