The dealership's arrival will speed the transformation of State Road 54 into an auto dealer strip for Pasco County and New Tampa.
By JAMES THORNER
Published April 25, 2004
WESLEY CHAPEL - After months of speculation about its site selection, Nissan North America has locked up a well-traveled intersection in Wesley Chapel to sell Altimas, Maximas and Sentras.
Seven acres on the northwest corner of State Road 54 and Pointe Pleasant Boulevard will accommodate Wesley Chapel Nissan and its 19,690-square-foot showroom and service garage.
Sandwiched between Century Kia and Discount Auto Parts, the property sold last year to Clermont Ford dealer Jay Rosario for $3-million. Rosario is the Nissan dealership's presumed franchisee.
Nissan's arrival, probably later this year or early next year, speeds the transformation of SR 54 into an auto dealer strip serving central Pasco County and New Tampa.
Kia opened last year east along Pointe Pleasant Boulevard. An even bigger auto lot, Heritage Ford, sprawls east of Kia. It opened in 1999.
A Toyota dealership considered building on 8 acres diagonally across from Saddlebrook Resort, but ditched its plans under pressure from Saddlebrook owner Tom Dempsey.
Toyota continues to eye tracts farther south on Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, commercial property adjoining the Seven Oaks neighborhood.
Nissan's construction plans show a one-story showroom surrounded by more than 250 parking spaces, mostly to display new cars. Pasco ordinances demand a certain degree of beautification. Nissan has agreed to plant 124 trees, some on a 10-foot landscaped buffer dividing the dealership from SR 54.
