Road Construction Tarnishes Silverthorn Square

SPRING HILL - It took barely more than a year before Silverthorn Square was filled with businesses.

Sales revenue increased, the roads around it were widened to four lanes and one of the nearby subdivisions had plans to expand.

Storeowners thought they had found a primo location.

Unexpectedly, it took less than a year for five of Silverthorn's businesses to bite the dust.

"I think the economy slowed down a lot," said Wine Toad co-owner John Sweeney. "Sterling Hills didn't build out as much as we had thought. Avalon is not building as quickly as anticipated."

Gas prices and a halt to the housing market have all played a part in the slowing sales market. In the case of Silverthorn Plaza - located at the corner of Barclay Avenue and Powell Road - road construction and rising fees might be the biggest reasons.

A dollar store, florist, postal business, café and physical therapy center all closed down.

The owner of the local ice cream shop now has a second job. The Chicago-style restaurant is closed for remodeling, but some wonder if it will reopen. A pool supply store is relying more on its Internet sales than its walk-through business despite 5,000 pools being within a three-mile radius.

Silverthorn Square, owned by Century Retail of Orlando, was built two years ago. The area was considered a logical retail location because of its proximity to three major subdivisions - Pristine Place, Silverthorn and Sterling Hills -- and its accessibility along Barclay.

Because the Barclay-Powell intersection was so gridlocked, the county decided to widen the lanes. Construction is nearly complete at the intersection, but it may have done more harm than good for the businesses at the plaza.

No left turns from Powell Road

The gap in the median along Powell Road has been closed. Storeowners knew there would be construction in front of the plaza, but they thought the end result would improve things - not make them worse.

Motorists heading east along Powell cannot make a left turn directly into the square. There is no gap in the median. There was one along Powell before the construction, but it was closed during the widening project.

Those who travel south along Barclay can make a left and access the square through the rear entrance.

Storeowners are complaining that they were deceived about the median along Powell.

"That right there absolutely killed our traffic," said Beatrice Fletcher, who along with her husband, Justin, owns Just Be Tan. She pointed out the front entrance and eyed the newly paved street in front of the plaza's main entrance.

Justin Fletcher said the property owners knew all along about closing the median. They simply chose not to tell him or the other businesses.

He and his wife contacted the county and inquired about it. It was known for years what would happen in front of the entrance, they said.

"People have to do U-turns to get in here," said Acqua Depot manager Steve Colondres. "That makes it cumbersome for people."

Sweeney, who co-owns the Wine Toad with his wife, is another one dumbfounded by the decision to block access to eastbound motorists.

"The fact you can only take right turns into this plaza and out of it didn't help matters," he said. "I've never seen that before - a shopping center choked off like that."

His business is flanked by two empty spaces that used to contain the café and florist.

On Friday, there were fewer than 20 cars in the parking lot. Most of them belonged to the employees in the stores.

Survivors are paying more

"We're holding our heads above water, but that's about it," said Rick Keegan, co-owner of Hello Deli.

His business is popular among teachers at the schools located near or along Powell - Challenger K-8 School of Science and Math, Nature Coast Technical High School, Chocochatti Elementary and Powell Middle School.

School is out and fewer customers are visiting this time of year. Century Retail has promised him they'll be raising his rent. The businesses there pay $2,800 to $3,000 per month - about the same as what businesses are paying at the Coastal Way Shopping Center along Cortez Boulevard.

"They want to raise my rent here," Keegan said as he leaned forward and rested on his elbows near his register. "I don't know, man. They're out of their minds."

Repeated calls to Century Retail were not returned last week.

Colondres is just as distressed as Keegan.

"A business isn't going to want to put $3,000 of rent into their business plans," he said. "The (property owners) will learn. They will learn because business will force them to learn."

Justin Fletcher said he was required to pay $1,500 for a recent roof repair. That surprised him given the age of the building (less than three years) and the possibility of a warranty.

He was told recently he would be required to pay for a variety of fees. The company is hiking prices to recoup some of the rent money it has lost in recent months, Fletcher said.

"The plaza hasn't made it easy," he admitted. "They haven't been generating new businesses here ... No one is really happy about it at all."

Just Be Tan, which like most of the stores occupies 1,200 square feet of space, has an extensive clientele. Tampa Bay Buccaneers cheerleaders, models and pageant winners are among the regulars. It offers air-conditioned beds and airbrush tanning.

Fletcher recalled a promise from Century Retail that it would not sign other tanning businesses. Within months after it opened, Anytime Fitness signed a leasing agreement. It is located a few doors down from Just Be Tan.

"We found out (Century Retail) knew all along Anytime Fitness was going to have tanning beds," he said.