Double Branch and Abbey Crossings: What's Actually Rising Along SR 52 North of Wesley Chapel

The first retail buildings anyone can actually see are finally going up along State Road 52 just north of Wesley Chapel, where two connected mega-developments, Double Branch and Abbey Crossings, are turning from graded dirt into steel frames almost a year after their first warehouses were completed.

Both projects sit between I-75 and the Mirada community, technically inside San Antonio's 33576 zip code rather than Wesley Chapel's 33545. But for residents along the northern edge of Wesley Chapel and Epperson, the new shopping, dining and job space taking shape here will likely be closer than anything else in the pipeline.

Three new traffic signals now line SR 52 to serve the two developments: one at Tradeway Blvd. (the realigned former Pasco Rd., which is being rebuilt to pass under I-75) near the longtime Flying J truck stop, one at McKendree Rd., and a third farther north at Montserrat Way, serving newer warehouse construction.

Double Branch: from warehouses to waterfront restaurants

Double Branch broke ground in October 2023 on roughly 965 acres at the southeast corner of I-75 and SR 52. It was originally proposed as Pasco Town Center. The project's first buildings, three warehouse spaces known as 75 Logistics totaling about 480,000 square feet, were finished about a year ago and are still sitting empty.

What's changing now is the retail side. Plans are in for two waterfront-facing districts, The Shops at Double Branch and The Boardwalk at Double Branch, both fronting SR 52 around a 12-acre lake. The Boardwalk alone is designed around four still-unnamed restaurants with west-facing water views for sunset dining, plus space for a 40,000-square-foot fitness center, a 25,000-square-foot grocery store and another 25,000-square-foot retailer. No specific tenants have been announced for either district yet.

Residential construction is further along. A 174-lot rear-load townhome community, currently permitted as the Pasco Town Center Lot E Rear Load Townhomes, has utilities in the ground with foundations coming next; a builder hasn't been named. A second rental community, Yardly Double Branch, a 140-unit build-to-rent concept from Taylor Morrison built around small fenced yards, just submitted plans on about 11 acres. A 300-unit apartment complex called the Columnar Apartments is also planned to wrap the same lake shoreline just south of The Boardwalk.

Abbey Crossings: a Wawa, townhomes and a Walmart-anchored center

Abbey Crossings sits directly adjacent to Double Branch along SR 52 near McKendree Road. Pasco County approved rezoning of roughly 245 acres for the project, converting agricultural and commercial land to a master planned unit development.

The most visible sign of progress: a new Wawa has been approved for the southeast corner of SR 52 and McKendree Rd., right next to the newer traffic signal there. Lennar Homes is building the first residential piece, a 150-unit townhome community called the Townes at Abbey Crossing.

Beyond that, Abbey Crossings is entitled for a large commercial build-out that includes a Walmart planned as the project's big-box anchor and Lowe's confirmed as a second anchor retailer, according to broker and developer materials. Reported plans also call for roughly 400,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, 600,000 square feet of light industrial and warehouse space, 400,000 square feet of office space, and close to 1,000 additional multifamily units.

What's still missing

No specific restaurant or shop names have been confirmed for either development's retail centers beyond Wawa, and neither developer has released an opening date for The Shops, The Boardwalk, or the Abbey Crossings retail parcels. The roads and roundabouts for the initial phases of both projects are largely finished, and the first townhome foundations are expected soon, but leasing for the sit-down restaurants and larger retail spaces is still active with no tenants locked in yet.

Want to keep tabs on what opens first? Head to wesleychapelcommunity.com for updates, follow along on Facebook, Instagram and X, and share what you'd like to see move in over on our Community Forum. For more on what's opening nearby, check out our business development coverage and coming soon section.