There’s little doubt that 2024 was a tremendous and loopy 12 months in Wesley Chapel. One supposed “downtown” started constructing early within the 12 months, whereas one other simply acquired approval to start constructing close to the tip of the 12 months. A seemingly by no means ending provide of sizzling rooster sandwich locations both opened or have been able to open because the 12 months ended. New street tasks lastly acquired began and Wesley Chapel continued to see explosive progress — a lot of which was chronicled not solely in these pages, however within the seemingly magical Pasco County Growth & Development Updates Fb web page. However, its traditional chief, Kelly Gilroy, admitted to yours actually that she hasn’t been utilizing her actual identify on her wildly in style Fb web page. So, listed below are some highlights of the 12 months that was, 2024 in Wesley Chapel:
Highway Initiatives — With each Outdated Pasco Rd. and Wesley Chapel Blvd. starting to be widened, the site visitors will worsen for 2 or three (or extra) years on every earlier than it will get higher.
Hen Wars — It’s arduous for a few of us who aren’t huge followers of spicy rooster to imagine we actually want ten or extra of those chains (the left photograph above is the ribbon slicing of the Wesley Chapel Hangry Joe’s rooster), however we’re nonetheless getting them anyway! It appears to be like like Elevating Cane’s would be the final to open, in January (Hen Man! needs to be open as you’re studying this), and when it does, the Neighborhood Information will sponsor a contest to seek out the favourite of all of them, as chosen by a panel of sizzling rooster lovers — and no, I received’t be a type of judges!
Dueling Downtowns — Avalon Park Wesley Chapel developer Beat Kahli believes that the opening of his first mixed-use downtown constructing in Sept. (middle photograph) was the official launch of Wesley Chapel’s official downtown. However, Wiregrass Ranch developer JD Porter says his Legacy Downtown, which simply had its growth plan authorised earlier this month, will show to be The Chap’s true downtown when it begins constructing subsequent 12 months.
Kilroy, er Gilroy, Was Right here! — Taking all of Pasco County, however particularly Wesley Chapel, by storm in 2024 was the Pasco County Growth & Development Updates Fb web page, which went from 0 to tens of 1000’s of ardent admirers in only a few months. Web page admin Kelly Gilroy has develop into one thing of a cult determine, despite the fact that it appears a big share of the individuals who reply to the web page’s actually tons of of posts solely wish to make jokes about automotive washes and storage amenities. The truth that Ms. Gilroy has gotten some Pasco officers to query whether or not or not she’s an actual particular person is motive sufficient for me to call her Wesley Chapel’s “Individual of the 12 months.” Will we ever discover out her actual identify? Can we even wish to understand it?
And Then There’s…Among the unimaginable and typically sudden issues that occurred in our space in 2024 embrace: the opening in November of Cooper’s Hawk; the announcement in October that Cheesecake Manufacturing facility was coming to a portion of the already harassed car parking zone on the Tampa Premium Shops; the brand new Publix at Innovation Springs
(in entrance of Epperson on Curley Rd.) included a beer-and-wine bar; the long-awaited Entire Meals introduced it was coming to Bruce B. Downs Blvd. in Meadow Pointe, then took it again and mentioned it wasn’t, then re-announced that it was; folks on each Wesley Chapel neighborhood Fb web page complained vehemently in regards to the Pasco Board of County Commissioners and vowed to vote all of them out, however all 4 operating for reelection received by landslides; Orlando Well being started constructing Wesley Chapel’s third hospital and Johns Hopkins All Kids’s Hospital formally introduced that it’s going to construct a kids’s hospital close to Overpass Rd.; and eventually, two New Tampa youngsters shocked the world, as 12-year-old Bruhat Soma received the Scripps Nationwide Spelling Bee in June and 16-year-old Adwaith Praveen who achieved good scores on the PSAT, SAT and ACT exams! We’ll inform you what to anticipate in 2025 in Wesley Chapel in our subsequent difficulty!
