Business Leaders Tour Angeline Project Site In Pasco County

PASCO COUNTY, FL — As plans for the new Angeline mixed-use community in Pasco County continue to take shape, leaders from the key organizations involved – Moffitt Cancer Center, Lennar, and Metro Development Group – toured the site last Thursday.

Angeline, located east of the Suncoast Parkway and south of State Road 52, includes a 775-acre tract – larger than downtown Tampa – designated for a commercial park that will facilitate Moffitt’s expansion into Pasco County. Moffitt plans to create a massive research and corporate innovation district that will be a life sciences destination for the world.

Moffitt is working closely with the project developer, Metro Development Group, and the lead homebuilder, Lennar, on a vision to create one of west-central Florida’s leading live-work-play communities. In the first phase, Moffitt will construct 128,000 square feet for a corporate business park, generating approximately 430 full-time jobs. Once the Suncoast Parkway-Ridge Road Extension intersection is built, the first phase is expected to be complete in five years.

Plans for Angeline, which spans 6,200 acres, include a variety of homes from leading homebuilders for 30,000 new residents, a 150-acre regional park, Crystal Lagoon and beach, village center featuring restaurants and retail, and 3,600-plus acres of natural, undeveloped green space with an extensive trail network that could span up to 100 miles.

Participants on last Thursday’s tour, taken along trails and dirt roads on off-road vehicles, included H. Lee Moffitt, founder of Moffitt Cancer Center; Dr. Patrick Hwu, CEO of Moffitt Canter Center; John Ryan, CEO of Metro Development Group; and Mark Metheny, Division President of Lennar Central Florida.

“Touring the Pasco campus for the first time only solidified how incredible this endeavor will be,” said Hwu, who is meeting with biotech companies and other potential partners to be involved in the Moffitt facility. “We foresee a first-of-its-kind campus with patient care, research, biotech, wellness, digital innovation and ultimately cures.”

Hwu also talked with the Metro Development Group and Lennar leaders about how the growth opportunity created by Moffitt’s new Pasco County location was one of the major reasons he decided to join Moffitt as CEO last year.

Site entitlements for Moffitt’s project, which encompass 24 million square feet, include plans for a hospital, research and development space, office, manufacturing, laboratories, pharmacies, educational facility/university, hotel, and commercial space. The multiyear, multiphase project is expected to create 14,500 jobs.

At the site visit, Metro Development Group shared initial ideas for the surrounding 6,000-acre mixed-use master-planned community and amenities to complement Moffitt’s expansion campus. Leaders discussed potential synergies such as researchers working with students at a STEM magnet school. Angeline will have a focus on being a wellness community, with fitness trails and recreation areas that would benefit those who live and work on campus, as well as cancer patients and survivors. The community will be built with a digital infrastructure to provide high-speed connectivity indoors and outdoors.

“We are proud to partner with Moffitt and Lennar on this forward-thinking project,” said John Ryan of Metro Development Group. “At Metro, we are known for creating healthy places for residents to live and work, and being aligned with Moffitt is a great fit in this regard.”

Metro Development has worked closely with Lennar in the past, both for the Lennar brand and for Lennar’s active-adult brand, Medley. In Pasco County, Lennar has sold more than 170 homes in Metro’s Epperson development, and Metro’s new Mirada development features a Medley by Lennar active-adult neighborhood.

“We are very excited to be one of the first builders selected for Angeline, and look forward to providing a great product for the residents of Angeline and Pasco County,” said Lennar’s Metheny. “Having the opportunity to hear the Angeline vision from both Metro and Moffitt leadership is inspiring, and I look forward to being a part of this amazing and true live, work, play community.”