Penny For Pasco’s Supported Speculative Building Project Now Full

PASCO COUNTY, FL — Even with unprecedented demand, building speculative space is a risky business considering the overwhelming costs of developing infrastructure.

Early in the current development cycle, the Penny for Pasco, a Pasco taxpayer-approved $0.01 sales tax, helped bridge capital gaps with loans to developers willing to build speculative space.

Now, the goal of bringing new office and industrial space to market to attract new and expanding industries has proven successful.

In 2018, Pasco County commissioners approved a 10-year, $7 million Penny for Pasco loan to Harrod Properties' Asturia LLC to build Asturia Corporate Center, a $26 million, 235,000-square-foot speculative “Flex-Industrial” project to meet the demands of Pasco’s rapidly growing industrial sectors.

“Many companies don’t have years to search for a location and build out an entire facility, and that’s why these speculative projects are so important,” said Bill Cronin, Pasco Economic Development Council president/CEO. “I can’t emphasize enough the importance of having a local government who truly understands the support our business community needs. Now Pasco is experiencing sustained growth and market demand, attracting speculative development that would not be possible without the Penny for Pasco.”

Currently, Asturia Corporate Center at 7250 Lakepointe Parkway, Odessa, is 100 percent leased to a mix of highly sought-after target industries in manufacturing, corporate offices and logistics. UPS, Lowes, Stratford Care and Belmar make up the tenant mix bringing 286 new jobs to Pasco when all the tenant improvements are completed, and up to 400 total jobs created over the life of the leases.

Once fully completed, according to Pasco County’s Office of Economic Growth, the project is expected to bring close to $35 million annually in positive economic impact to Pasco’s gross county product over the next 10 years.

“The success of the Asturia Corporate Center is a perfect example of Pasco’s Master-Planned Unit Development strategy. We encourage developers to design business parks into their residential developments and, when we work together, great companies with high-paying jobs want to move to Pasco,” said Kathryn Starkey, chairwoman if tge Pasco County Board of County Commissioners. “It’s truly a live, work and play development.”

During peak season 2021, the 128,479-square-foot Odessa UPS facility supported the additional holiday volume surge in the Wesley Chapel and Spring Hill areas. UPS expects to begin operations in phases in August 2022 and will staff more than 100 full-time drivers, nearly 200 package handlers and more than 50 part- and full-time management team members once the project is complete.

“The expansion allows UPS to further optimize package flow and gain additional operational efficiencies that will benefit its customers in terms of pickup and delivery times as well as meet future growth in Pasco County,” said UPS spokeswoman Christina Repassy.