Mixed-use development project well under way at former Nielsen site in Dunedin
By Meghan Reeves
Tampa Bay Times
Published: Dec 2, 2016

DUNEDIN - After a vacancy extending more than a decade, the former Nielsen Media Research campus is well on its way to being occupied again.

Riverview-based Beazer Homes has tackled 5 acres on the eastern edge of the property for a 56-unit, gated townhome complex called Aqua Solis. Primerica Group One has plans for a mixed-use development called Dunedin Commons on the western side of the property, closer to Patricia Avenue. The Tampa-based company will build 280 upscale apartments accompanied by 7,200 square feet of retail space.

The companies are two of many to show interest in the empty 23-acre parcel at 375 Patricia Ave. since 2005, when Nielson moved to Oldsmar, but the only ones to stick.

City economic development director Bob Ironsmith says it took a lot of time and effort to find a good fit for the space, but he thinks this is it.

"It offers housing choices, it offers retail, and it's really a shot in the arm for the Patricia Avenue corridor," he said. "We are really proud of it."

Ironsmith said the entire project should cost about $50 million. He expects it to not only bring in about $175,000 a year in property tax revenue, but start a revival for local businesses.

Mayor Julie Ward Bujalski says business owners in the area are relieved to see construction on the property after Nielsen's departure sent many into a downward spiral. Some even had to close their doors.

"Businesses were hurt incredibly by the move," she said, calling Nielsen's time there the "heyday" for those businesses.

Matt Stevenson, who has owned Dunedin Lanes since 2002, says his bowling alley at 405 Patricia Ave. certainly felt the loss. He said Nielsen's employees used to walk to eat lunch there as it is just steps from the property, and the company even had its own bowling league.

"We have been looking at the empty parcel for years now, so we're thrilled to see some development happening that will generate a customer base," Stevenson said. "We have invested a lot of money into the bowling center to keep it modern in hopes of attracting our new neighbors."

There is still a lot to be done on the site, but Joseph DiPasqua, assistant director of planning and development, says Beazer recently submitted building permit applications for its first two five-unit buildings for the Aqua Solis complex.

Dunedin Commons is set to have its groundbreaking this month. Ironsmith said the first phase of the project will be the apartments, followed by the retail. There is still a 4-acre space on the northeastern side of the property that Primerica is looking to fill, he said.

Some residents living nearby have expressed worry to public officials in the past, saying that a housing development will cause too much traffic. Some suggested the city look into extending Beltrees Street to ease congestion.

Ironsmith says the city has no plans to do so because "the traffic studies done didn't show a need for that." However, the plan does include trees, landscaping and a design for a public linear park.

The mayor said she's hopeful the new development will serve as a catalyst for the Patricia Avenue corridor, reviving it back to its early 2000s glory.

"We have done our own landscaping, road and lighting improvements… but businesses out there desperately need the residents to survive," she said.

Damir Hercinovic, the owner of Dunedin Fresh Market, which sits nearby at 390 Patricia Ave., says the steady decline in business has pushed him closer and closer to throwing in the towel over the years. But optimism for new development to fill Nielsen's place kept him hanging on.

Now, he's glad he did.

"My store has never recovered completely," he said, "but now the building across the street gives me hope that it will."

Contact Megan Reeves at mreeves@tampabay.com or (727) 445-4153. Follow @mreeves_tbt.