Pasco County approves $15 million incentive package for Evans employment center, bars housing for 30 years

Pasco County commissioners voted July 15 to approve a cooperative economic development agreement aimed at converting an approximately 80-acre parcel near the I-75/Lake Iola Road interchange into a business park and light-industrial employment center.

Planning and Economic Development Director David Engel said the project's developer revised an earlier proposal to emphasize employment uses and reduce residential density. The agreement approved by the board includes reimbursable incentives totaling $15,000,000: $12,000,000 in ad valorem tax rebates and $3,000,000 sourced from the county's penny-for-Pasco program. County staff said reimbursements will be made only after required infrastructure improvements are completed and documented by receipts.

Under the project plan, the developer agreed to a mix of uses focused on employment: up to 1,000,000 square feet of high-employment-generating light industrial and up to a total of 1.5 million square feet of industrial/office uses in the revised plan. Commercial-support uses are capped at 100,000 square feet, and distribution uses are capped at 500,000 square feet. Staff estimated the project would generate approximately 700 full-time jobs and produce a net $40,000,000 to the county general fund over a 30-year analysis window; staff also projected an annual property tax base contribution of about $78,000,000 at full build-out.

The development agreement prioritizes roadway and utility investments required to make the site pad-ready: first Lake Iola Road improvements, then utilities, internal roadways and mass grading for phase one nonresidential pads. Engel described the work as site-preparation and said the developer must complete eligible infrastructure work before receiving reimbursement.

On the record, the applicant's land-use consultant and representative for Evans Properties told the board the property currently carries an agricultural designation and that prior legal agreements had allowed residential uses in the past. As part of the negotiated deal, the applicant agreed to a contractual moratorium that prevents residential development on the parcel for the 30-year life of the development agreement and the MPUD zoning; the agreement also includes a significant financial clawback if the owner later seeks residential development within that period.

Commissioners said the incentive package is designed to create an employment hub in the Northeast part of the county and to avoid the large-scale multifamily residential proposals that had been considered in earlier versions of the application. Commissioner comments praised the negotiated architectural standards, buffers, and preservation of existing hardwood in the northern buffer. Staff also noted enhanced façade and design treatments for buildings facing scenic Lake Iola Road and a requirement to preserve scenic roadway character.

The board approved the cooperative economic development agreement, including the $15 million reimbursable incentive package and the 30-year restriction on residential development, by recorded motion. Staff will return in the afternoon meeting on the MPUD zoning item to align the zoning document with the 30-year restriction and other conditions adopted by the board.