Ground Breaks On 4,800-Home Mixed Development

With ceremonial gold-painted shovels, ground was broken on a large mixed-use development in Wesley Chapel that will be built out over the next 15 to 20 years. 

Avalon Park West will be constructed on State Road 54, almost 6 miles east of Interstate 75. The plan calls for 4,800 single-family and multi-family residences, plus nearly 700,000 square feet of retail and office space.

Behind the project is Avex Homes, a joint venture between Avalon Park Group Management, Inc., which built the New River Township development next door to the site, and sitEx Properties USA, Inc.

Marketing director Stephanie Hodson sees Avalon Park West as a project that is filling a vital role rather than one that is overly ambitious in today’s still-sluggish economy. She points to recent growth in Wesley Chapel, including the hospital, forthcoming community college campus and additional employers.

“All of these new developments will want housing,” she said. “People will want a place to live.”

The first phase of the project is called Cypress Village and includes 342 homes, Hodson said. The developer anticipates building the units as they sell them, and Hodson says they have already had their first buyer.

But builders say Avalon Park West is much more than a housing development. Marketing material paints a picture of “tree-lined streets,” "rocking chair porches” and a “bustling Main Street.”

It will be 3 to 5 years before construction starts on the downtown portion, Hodson said.

Home prices will start in the $150,000-plus range.

For more information, visit the Avalon Park Group's website.