It's a grand vision: building a high-tech, "cutting edge" town in what is currently a rural plot of land in Pasco County.
On Tuesday, the Tampa-based residential land development company Metro Development Group (MDG), the mastermind behind the project, got zoning ordinance approval from Pasco County Commissioners that will allow the group to move forward on a massive "Connected City" project in Wesley Chapel.
MDG says their "Epperson" development, which is already in the construction phase, will have 2,000-3,000 homes as well as work places, medical facilities and potentially will have a research park as well.
The project made headlines last week for the unveiling of a "Crystal Lagoon" project which is expected to attract residents to the neighborhood.
The town is being fitted with what is said to be the fastest internet and WiFi speeds in the country called "ULTRAfi" and bills itself as the first "Smart Gigabit Community" in the U.S. built from the ground up, technology that is expected to help offer town residents the the best in modern healthcare, and attract research facilities, performance institutes, and maybe even an "innovation center." Florida Hospital and Tampa General Hospital are partners in the plan.
The Epperson project is part of the "Connected City" corridor, a planning district of which MDG owns a significant portion between I-75 and Curley Road below State Road 52.
“Our goal isn’t to improve upon what has been done before in the health and wellness industry, but to totally re-imagine it using technology to enhance people’s lives,” says Kartik Goyani, VP of Operations with Metro Development Group and a visionary behind the Connected City. “We are excited to work with Florida Hospital and Tampa General to make this area a destination for health and human performance. This is one of many partnerships that we plan to establish with local and national organizations to help put Pasco County on the map as a live-work-play community.”
MDG says it has invested "hundreds of millions of dollars" into the project.
