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Year-round growth comes to Zephyrhills
By BRADY DENNIS © St. Petersburg Times, published February 14, 2001 ZEPHYRHILLS -- It's an area that swells from a summer population of about 15,000 people to nearly 80,000 in the winter. Zephyrhills used to grow only when the snowbirds drove their sedans into town. But these days, as the Tampa sprawl creeps north into Pasco County, Zephyrhills is beginning to grow around the calendar. The same can be said for the city's economic development, which has kept up with the growing pace of the town. It shows no signs of slowing in the year to come. Perhaps the biggest development headed to Zephyrhills this year will come in the form of a Wal-Mart supercenter planned on U.S. 301, just north of the current Wal-Mart. "That's going to be pretty important to our economic landscape," said City Manager Steve Spina. "I think that will firmly cement us as the economic center of east Pasco." The planned 204,167-square-foot building -- almost twice the size of the current Wal-Mart -- might not be completed until 2002. It will cost an estimated $4-million to construct. That's on top of an estimated $1-million for the 34.5 acres under contract. The company expects to close on the land in several months. The company plans to employ at least 61 people in addition to the 81 employed at the existing location in town. Of those, 31 will be low- to moderate-income people. It's also expected to bring about $32,000 a year in property taxes. Although some small business owners have expressed concerns about the new supercenter coming to town, Spina said he doubted it would hurt existing businesses. "I think the worst impact already was felt when the original Wal-Mart came," he said. On the other side of town, the Zephyrhills Municipal Airport has become a major focus of the city's growth. The city has allocated budget money and used grants to repave runways and complete a slew of other improvements, with more on the way. In November, the city paid $900,000 for Aerocenter, a 24,000-square-foot hangar big enough for corporate jets. It also was the city's only competition in the fuel sales market. Each move is designed to help attract new businesses to the airport, as well as a nearby industrial park. "We're geared up to see a lot of activity out there," said city planner Todd Vande Berg. "We think everything is in place to where we can compete with other locations in the region for businesses that want to be at or near an airport." Closer to City Hall, officials are gearing up for another round of downtown redevelopment. Thanks to a $600,000 grant from the state, the new phase of streetscaping will begin only months after the city completed a $1.1-million downtown restoration project that attracted both compliments and controversy. "I think the city feels very strongly that it's doing the right thing for the downtown area," Vande Berg said. "We think the redevelopment will continue to attract businesses downtown. We think that's the key." Of course, any discussion of the economy in "The City of Pure Water" wouldn't be complete without mentioning the city's largest employer, Zephyrhills Spring Water Co. The company began in October a 147,000-square-foot warehouse expansion that is supposed to wrap up by mid June 2001. "The water company has been a real asset to the community; always has been, and I'm sure it always will be," Vande Berg said. "And as far as the expansion, they've really gone out of their way to work with the residents. They are just a good citizen of the community."
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