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THE SUNCOAST NEWS

Published: November 14, 2009

Updated: 11/14/2009 03:01 pm

When the sprawling residential-commercial development project that was to be known as Serenova was still on the drawing board, one of the people involved in the project suggested that the center of economic activity in the county was even then shifting from West Pasco to Central and East Pasco. The U.S. 19 corridor would become economically "blighted" and have to be redeveloped, this person suggested. Serenova never got built and the 6,500 acres it would have occupied ended up in the hands of the Southwest Florida Water Management District. The U.S. 19 prediction, alas, is still looking viable.

Pasco County planners, in addition to combating urban sprawl by channeling growth into higher-density neo-urban areas, see a need to redevelop the U.S. 19 corridor. While people can argue whether it is actually blighted in the economic sense, it has its share of woes. The latest example is Target, which is closing its store on U.S. 19 in Port Richey. A company representative says the store lacks the "financial viability" that other Targets in the area that are staying open possess. Translation: not enough shoppers.

Reviving the U.S. 19 strip, especially the portion in the Port Richey area with the soon-to-close Target and the Gulf View Square mall, which has seen better days, will be a challenge. Unfortunately, it has transportation problems that will take a huge sum of money that neither Pasco County nor the state of Florida has these days.

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