THE OPENING EARLIER THIS YEAR OF THE SUNCOAST PARKWAY – the 42-mile, $507-million toll road that provides a north-south corridor between Hillsborough, Pasco, Hernando and Citrus counties – has created an awareness that the "northern gateway" of the Tampa Bay area provides an appealing quality-of-life combination. Hernando's rural setting and slower pace of life are now linked by a much shorter commute time to Tampa International Airport and the business and entertainment centers around Tampa Bay.

"This is one of the most beautiful roads in the state," says Gary Schraut of Coldwell Banker Schraut & Associates. "It's amazing how many people are heading north."

That northward surge is bringing with it increased growth in residential and commercial development. It is no surprise. The county has been projected as the leading growth area in the United States over the next 25 years by American Demographics magazine. In addition, the Florida Legislature's Bureau of Economic and Business Research cites it as one of the top five fastest-growing economies among the 67 counties in Florida for the next 15 years.

"The parkway has started to figure into the plans of a lot of people looking at the north bay area," says Leonard Tria, vice president of business development of Coastal Engineering Associates Inc. "We can see more immediate results in Pasco County, but that's a good harbinger of what will happen in Hernando. Our increase in housing could be as much as 11 percent in 10 years. Our historical trend has been 3.5 percent. That's quite a jump.

"We're getting people who are moving out of the north Hillsborough county area," Tria says. "They're going farther north to have more of a suburban lifestyle but still close enough to commute [to work]. The Suncoast Parkway provides people the opportunity to get from Hernando to the city in a relatively short time."

Along with a substantial increase in residential development, retailers such as Publix Super Markets Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Lowe's Companies Inc., Office Depot Inc. and Albertson's Inc. are positioning themselves to take advantage of this trend. "When you see retailers like this making these decisions with huge investments," says Tria, "the demographics show that Hernando is going to be a high-growth county."

While retail centers and residential communities are under construction, the county is facing its own growing pains. They essentially boil down to two major issues: reorganization of its economic development agency (see accompanying story, page 39) and expansion of County Line Road along the Pasco border.

"This road is at capacity in some sections and there's talk between Pasco and Hernando to share in the cost of four-laning that road," says John Wickert of Re/Max Advantage Realty. "Our future will be County Line Road. A lot of opportunity is there with quite a bit of undeveloped land on both sides of the road. That's around the corner."

While development opportunities may also follow, first money must be found to pay for the road construction. "Our original proposal for four-laning County Line Road was around $20 million and it has come back in at $125 million," says County Commissioner Chris Kingsley. "Our board approved the next step toward having that project occur but we can't do it without Pasco County's assistance. It traverses down the middle of two counties and that logistically makes it hard to get agreement on what should or should not be done. Most of our growth is in south Hernando, but there's not much growth in north Pasco. How do you get each group to prioritize at the same level?"

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