Pasco County commissioners voted 3-0 on Sept. 9 to approve a major expansion of the Two Rivers development along State Road 56. The approval clears the way for a 35-acre surf park and thousands of homes east of Wesley Chapel.

The vote, first reported by the Tampa Bay Beacons, locks in a revised master plan for the 3,405-acre community. The plan now allows up to 6,547 residential units, 1.34 million square feet of retail space, 480 hotel rooms and a 300-bed assisted-living facility. The net gain is 147 units over what was previously entitled, according to Clark Hobby, attorney for master developer Eisenhower Property Group.

The approval also carries a condition residents will want to watch: 240 new garden-style apartments cannot move forward until the Peak Surf Park receives a certificate of occupancy, or until three years pass from the date of the master plan amendment.

"I'm just trying to show the county we're not trying to run in there and just build another apartment complex ... That's not the intent," Hobby said at the Sept. 9 meeting, as reported by the Tampa Bay Beacons.

Surf park plans a 6-acre wave lagoon

Developer Tony Miller plans a surf lagoon, beach, restaurants, retail and hotel uses on a 35-acre site on SR 56, a quarter mile west of U.S. 301. The lagoon itself covers 6 acres and requires about 8 million gallons to fill, engineer Joe Cimino told the Pasco Planning Commission at its July 9 hearing.

The wave technology comes from Australia-based Surf Lakes, which uses a central plunger device to generate swells in all directions. Miller is targeting a late-2027 opening, though additional permitting and water-management approvals remain ahead.

An economic impact study projects the park could generate roughly $1.3 billion in business output over its first decade, about 700 jobs a year and close to $150 million in combined state and county tax revenue over 10 years. The developer commissioned the study; it is not an independent government analysis.

Traffic concerns center on two-lane U.S. 301

Traffic dominated the Sept. 9 hearing. Commissioner Ron Oakley pointed to U.S. 301 north of Chancey Road, which remains two lanes toward Zephyrhills.

"You put more traffic in there, you're going to crowd that area going into those two lanes," Oakley said at the meeting, according to the Tampa Bay Beacons.

Engineer Steve Henry responded that the Florida Department of Transportation has funded and designed an interim widening of U.S. 301 to four lanes from SR 56 through the Chancey Road intersection. Construction is targeted for 2029. The department has not publicly confirmed the project's status.

Two Rivers has also committed to building an eastbound dual left-turn lane at SR 56 and U.S. 301 ahead of the state project. Commissioners described that intersection as the area's worst chokepoint.

Developer points to millions in road funding

Development surcharges from Two Rivers have already paid about $7 million toward adding a third and fourth lane to a 6-mile stretch of SR 56, Hobby told commissioners. Another $7 million to $8 million is banked for widening Morris Bridge Road from Chancey Road to SR 56.

Hobby said the project is expected to generate roughly $40 million in additional mobility fees the county can spend wherever it chooses. Eisenhower Property Group is also spending about $20 million on landscaping south of SR 56, $18 million in hardscape improvements and $26 million in amenities, he said.

The surf park still needs additional planning, permitting and water-management district approvals before construction can begin. No date has been announced for the next hearing.