tearticle5.htm    June 7, 2006            Return to Trilby Estates Page

Trilby Estates tract peaks interest

By JOE POTTER, Editor, Pasco County News

TRILBY‹Other people are interested in 342 acres of property where plans call for the Trilby Estates residential housing subdivision to be developed in northeast Pasco County.

Jay Talley, a broker for Lee Pallardy Inc., confirmed Friday that the property has been listed for sale on LoopNet, a large Internet real estate site specializing in residential and commercial properties.

Talley said the owners ‹ Christian Powerline LLC, Powerline LLC and North Powerline LLC ‹ decided to list the property after having been made aware of "unsolicited interest" in the property. Talley did not specify what the asking price was for the property located near the intersection of Christian and Powerline roads, but added if the owners received "a good enough offer" it might be considered.

Current plans call for the owners to continue with development of the property as an 85 homesite Master Planned Unit Development following approval of the MPUD by the Pasco County Board of County Commissioners on June 20, Talley said. The MPUD designation gives county officials more input regarding how the property may be developed.

Original plans had called for 95 homesites, ranging in size from 2 acres to 5 to 7 acres, with the majority of the lots being 3.2 to 3.4 acres. The listing at www.LoopNet.com, which was updated June 13, says rezoning is being sought for a 95 home subdivision. Talley said the listing will be updated to reflect that the subdivision will contain 85 homes. This is pursuant to the commissioners' decision to grant the rezoning on June 20.

The next steps in the process are for the developer to present site plans and other details to Pasco County's Development Review Committee. Information will also be provided to the DRC regarding the developer's planned plat for the property that county property records show was acquired for about $2.7 million.

Denny Mihalinec, a community activist, expressed concerns over the possibility of the Trilby Estates property being sold.

"We regret that the developers want to sell Trilby Estates. We just felt it would have been better if they had a more condusive plan in place," Mihalinec said.

Mihalinec helped a couple of years ago to have a park developed at the southern terminus of the Withlacoochee State Trail, a combination bicycle and hiking trail, extended from Trilby to a southern terminus on U.S. Highway 301. That site, which was developed as a joint venture between Pasco County and the Florida Department of Transportation and the Florida Department of Natural Resources, was designated as the Owensboro Park of Historic Trilby. The name comes from a place where trains used to stop when the trail ‹ which was built over abandoned railroad right of way ‹ was still used as a railroad.

Mihalinec added that most of the property along the old railroad right of way between Owensboro Park and Dade City is currently owned by private property owners and many of the parcels are for sale. "I feel now is the proper time for the county to buy the remaining rail bed to extend the (Withlacoochee) state trail system from Trilby To Dade City," Mihalinec said.