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Note To Composing
One of the development's major selling points will be access to the Suncoast Parkway and a 45 minute commute to Tampa.
By JAMES THORNER
© St. Petersburg Times, published January 17, 2001
SHADY HILLS -- More than 500 new houses, offices and stores are proposed for a stretch of the former Pottberg Ranch along the soon-to-open Suncoast Parkway in Pasco County.
Occupying 295 acres southwest of State Road 52 and the parkway, Suncoast Centre's selling point will be access to the toll road, which promises a commute of less than 45 minutes to Tampa.
The property owner is a Texas corporation called GBY Inc., which bought the land from the Pottbergs in 1987 to build a residential development called River's Edge.
River's Edge was put on hold when the state Department of Transportation bought most of what remained of Pottberg Ranch, the nearly 7,000-acre Serenova tract, to compensate for wetlands ruined during parkway construction.
"With the Suncoast Parkway opening in February it's going to be a real active area again," said Rich Dutter, whose Clearwater real estate company is guiding Suncoast Centre through its rezoning.
The development calls for 550 single family homes to be built about 100 feet west of the parkway. The project also includes 80,000-square-feet of retail along SR 52, 230,000-square-feet of offices and 185,000-square-feet of warehouses.
Dutter said he is wooing "significant developers from Tampa Bay," but doesn't expect to sell the land for another six to nine months.
Suncoast Centre is the first new rezoning around the SR 52/parkway interchange. So far, developers have focused on the State Road 54 interchange farther south, where they have proposed more than 7,000 new homes.
"We're positioning the property for sale to the development community by getting the rezoning," he said.
About 40 percent of the property is wetlands, terrain Dutter said is ideal for buffering new homes from traffic noise on the parkway.
The southern part of the property approaches the headwaters of the Pithlachascotee River, another feature that could appeal to homeowners.
"The project should be a hit," Dutter said.
GBY Inc. submitted plans to the county's growth management office last week.
Rezoning could come as early as March.
- Discuss this and other Pasco County issues in our local discussion forum at http://www.sptimes.com/pascoforum.