Civil Municipal - May 2024

town appeal. Poe offers the example of Tina and Joe’s Cafe, a popular local sandwich restaurant, operating out of a city-owned building. “We worked on a lease agreement where basically if they do well, the city makes more money. And if they’re not doing well, their lease is less,” he explains. “Downtowns are made up of one-off, eclectic restaurants that you cannot get anywhere else. And that’s really what we’re striving for.” Zephyrhills is proud of its locally owned establishments like the Zephyrhills Brewing Company, and The Billiards Pool Hall, along with family-friendly spots like The Dog Pound, featuring arcade games and karaoke, and the Uptown Creamery, a newly established ice cream parlor. “We have a kind of a different mix, and we have a very diverse group of citizens and visitors coming through because we do have something for everybody,” asserts Poe. include AdventHealth Zephyrhills and the Pasco County School District. Poe discloses, “There is another manufacturer that’s looking in the area. Quite often we get calls looking at the Zephyrhills industrial lands that are available.” Another noteworthy development is the impending construction of a 60,000-square-foot armory by the Florida National Guard. Poe relays, “The state appropriated dollars to the National Guard, and they chose Zephyrhills to build their armory.We will have three to four units here. That’s another influx of employment that’s coming in,maybe not daily, but on the weekends they’ll be here, and then they’ll have some staff that work full time through the week. So, more employment, more people in town spending money in our restaurants and our businesses.” DOWNTOWN REVITALIZATION AND TOURISM Alongside these larger economic developments, Zephyrhills is working to revive its downtown district, offering incentives to attract local businesses and restaurants that preserve its character and small- CREATING GREAT COMMUNITY PLACES GAI’s Community Solutions Group is proud to be working with the City of Zephyrhills to enhance the community for all. gaiconsultants.com/communitysolutions Planning | Urban Design Landscape Architecture Economics | Real Estate 174 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 05, ISSUE 05 BUSINESS VIEW AGAZINE VOLUME 11, ISSUE 01