Massive Tampa-area commercial project advances

NEW PORT RICHEY -- A massive mixed-use development planned for western Pasco County could take a giant leap forward June 8 when developers of Mitchell 54 West meet with county officials.

Jaime Girardi, president of Regency Design & Engineering Inc., and KEMR Properties LLC senior vice president Gary Nelson have requested the closed-door meeting to discuss initial plans for 180,000 square feet of commercial on 30 acres on the corner of State Road 54 and Little Road. The land is controlled by the Mitchell family.

Few details were shared in the request, except that 140,000 square feet have been designated for retail, and six outparcels are slated for another 40,000 square feet of commercial space, according to documents filed with the county.

It's all part of Mitchell 54 West, announced late last year by Kitson & Partners, which has this parcel and another 300 surrounding acres under contract. The ultimate goal, according to preliminary discussions Kitson has had with Pasco County, is to build 980,000 square feet of commercial space and 800 residential units. The commercial side is planned for a variety of retail, offices and possibly even a hotel or a movie theater.

The land is located between New Port Richey and Trinity in south Pasco, and is currently owned by Breazeale Ltd., a family trust led by D. Dewey Mitchell. Mitchell is the owner of the Florida Properties Group of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, which is based in the Trinity area.

Property records show the land for this portion of the development is mostly vacant, save for a small single-family home built in the 1970s, and a service shop structure from the 1960s.

Developers have not provided a timeline for when the project would get underway, although Kitson previously considered a possible groundbreaking in 2016.