Construction set to ramp up on Center Point project in Lakewood Ranch

CASTO's highly-anticipated Center Point at Lakewood Ranch project, which features a medical building, grocery store, restaurants and retail shops was originally scheduled to be ready for business by early 2022.

But supply chain shortages and rain delays have held up the project. CASTO Principal Brett Hutchens said Thursday those issues have put construction several months behind schedule.

“We'll have certain aspects of it open by the end of 2022,” he said. "But I think the first quarter of 2023 is likely for most of the project to be up.”

The supply chain for construction projects has become a global issue during the pandemic. Hutchens said that issue and 25-30 days that Orlando-based contractor Earth Trades has lost due to rain, have held up work on roads and infrastructure on the property.

“There's a full access turn in the middle of the property,” Hutchens said of roadwork for the project. “And then we’ve had to provide deceleration lanes, both on Lakewood Ranch Boulevard and on University Parkway.”

Owens Fish Camp, a popular seafood restaurant that is adding a second location to supplement its Sarasota restaurant, is slated to begin construction in November. Olivia’s, a modern Italian restaurant, will also break ground next month. Both are expected to open in 2022.

“Ideally, they would like to open up by the third quarter next year so they can get the kinks worked out before the season starts,” CASTO Managing Director of Southeast Development Michael Chadwick said.

Hutchens said construction on the planned McDonald’s will begin in November. The 7-11 has been pushed back to a January start. Chamberlin’s Natural Foods will be the grocery store at the site. More tenants will be announced at a later date while supply chain issues are worked out.

“We're still working on that and we’ll have a whole slew of them,” Hutchens said. “The cost issue is something that we need to reevaluate — particularly supply chain issues — because there are some items that are difficult to get, and have delivery dates months beyond where we had anticipated. It’s a very difficult thing to try to analyze and predict what the supply chain issues are going to be and what those problems are going to be.”

CASTO Senior Development Manager Max Rastrelli said that most of the business will be related to health care, health, and beauty. 

“That’s what seems to be trending these days,” he said. “The age and income of this market allows for more younger, vibrant users. They have the money to pay for different classes like yoga and pilates.”

A second floor featuring 16,000 square feet of office space has been added over some of the retail space. Rastrelli said CASTO was able to add that due to the success of the 77,000 square foot medical building on the east of the property that’s 100 percent leased out.

"That medical office building has done incredibly well,” he said. 

Chadwick said CASTO has focused on making Center Point a more intimate experience compared to traditional strip malls. They would like to complement what SMR has already done with Waterside and Lakewood Ranch Main Street, both of which were designed to keep people in Lakewood Ranch.

“This isn't a traditional strip center in Florida where you pop in, get something and leave,” he said. “We want people to come here for an experience, grab a bite to eat and go walk around a couple shops, get a massage or go to Med Spa and feel like it's connected to all the other shops in here.”

Local and regional brands are also a focal point. Chadwick said that Interstate 75 serves as a perfect divider line between Center Point and University Town Center.

“No offense to a lot of the national brands, but we don't want people to come here and then be able to go see the same restaurant four miles north," Chadwick said. “That's why we're trying to get Owens Fish Camp and Olivia’s and unique kinds of chef-driven restaurants that you can't find anywhere else. They're really special. So we're really excited about the project.’

One important part of the project was the relocation of several adult oak trees on the site. Eight trees had to be relocated and five of those survived. More will be on the way.

“We're going to actually move even more trees,” Hutchens said. “We are root pruning some now so there will be another five or six mature trees at various stages that will be moved into the project over time.”

Hutchens said that vertical construction on the main part of the project should start by November. The supply delays have not slowed down enthusiasm among prospective tenants for the 250,000 square feet of available space.

“I can tell you that the demand at Center Point has been extremely high,” he said “We've been more than pleased with the demand. We have letters of intent and lease negotiations going on with every single square foot we're going to build.”