NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. — Three major development projects are expected to wrap up in downtown New Port Richey in 2020: phase one of The Central apartments near Orange Lake, the Main Street Landing retail and residential space, and the renovation of the Hacienda Hotel.

• Main Street Landing most likely first to finish
• Hacienda Hotel project expected completion by next summer or fall
• More Pasco County stories

"It is a very exciting time in the city," said Economic Development Director Charles Rudd. "There's a lot of energy, a lot of excitement, and a lot of projects that are coming to fruition around the same time." 

Rudd said Main Street Landing, a project that's been in the works for more than 15 years, will likely be the first to finish up. Managing Partner Ken McGurn said about a dozen residential units are pre-leased, with showings of others happening several times a week, and that half the commercial spaces are leased.

At the beginning of the year, McGurn told us that a construction worker shortage was holding up progress, but that tenants could be moved in by June. The project experienced further delays, but McGurn said he now expects the certificate of occupancy to come through within the next two weeks.

"We've been hopeful that they'd be in the markets a little ahead of us and/or at the same time," said Frank Starkey, president of People Places, LLC and Managing Partner of Central Orange Partners, the developers of The Central. "We think it's better to have more eyes on New Port Richey because it is a new market for larger, multi-family developments like this."

While Starkey said it will take some time to complete all of phase one's 42 units spread across seven buildings, the first residents should move in in January.

The Central's community manager, Bruzenskey Bois, said in addition to Pasco County residents, people from Pinellas and Hillsborough Counties and from out of state have expressed interest in potentially moving to the development.

"I think that what's driving traffic here is all the development that's going on here in downtown New Port Richey. People are noticing that there's a lot of walkability. We're about a mile from the coastline. They can still enjoy outdoor activities," said Bois.

One long-awaited project the community that will take a bit more time to finish is the renovation of the Hacienda Hotel. Earlier this year, city officials said the hotel could potentially welcome its first guests this holiday season but were even more confident it would be open in time for the 2020 Chasco Fiesta.

Rudd said that's no longer the case, and the project is expect to be complete by next summer or fall.

"They're doing a very thorough restoration," Rudd said. "Of course, once they began to peel back the layers, realized there was quite a bit of work to be done just to shore up."

"Over the years, there was a lot of renovations to the building after it was a hotel," he went on. "So, they've had a lot of work to do just to shore it up and make sure they'll get another hundred years out of that building."

Rudd said the development happening downtown has helped to draw interest to the city from potential investors, developers, and tenants.