Container Park Taking Shape At Grove Of Wesley Chapel
WESLEY CHAPEL, FL — KRATE, the outdoor container park planned for the Grove at Wesley Chapel, began taking shape this week as work crews set the first set of containers down.
Seventeen containers, which will be home to nine businesses, make up what will be one of the largest container parks in the world. This first set of pods will be occupied by tenants offering diverse dishes and items like Asian noodles, Puerto Rican fare, desserts and charcuterie boards.
Once complete around the end of the year, the KRATE will feature 94 containers and 55 units comprised of 70 percent restaurants and 30 percent retail. Other restaurants will feature cuisine from around the world like Colombia, Peru and Germany. Retail shops include a music store and a Lego product superstore.
KRATE will also feature a stage with daily live entertainment, a dog park and a playground. Local muralists have been commissioned to create Instagrammable wall art. The overall design includes plenty of outdoor seating, string lights and speakers throughout the property – all touches that contribute to a sense of community.
“There is nothing like this in the world,” said Mark Gold, partner in Mishorim Gold Properties, which purchased the Grove for around $64 million in September 2019. Gold invested more than $110 million into the renovation of the property, which includes a movie theater of the future, a miniature golf course, and a water park.
“KRATE is receiving attention across the globe for its unique concept and offerings. We will become the ultimate shopping and entertainment destination not just for Wesley Chapel, but for the region and around the world," Gold said.
Since purchasing the Grove, Gold has signed on 75 new tenants. Once the container park is complete, the entire 250-acre property will feature more than 50 restaurants, which currently is home to a popular dueling piano bar called Treble Makers and the Double Branch Artisanal Ales brewery. The property also features a weekly Fresh Market and monthly signature events that draw thousands of people.
Gold has invested in technology to help combat coronavirus. He installed UV lights in all air conditioning units throughout the complex to cut down on the spread of germs and viruses, and is installing the same technology in each of the containers. This technology has been shown to destroy the outer protein coating of the SARS-COV-2 virus, thus reducing the risk of transmission through air. The goal is to keep this technology even beyond this pandemic to ensure a clean and safe environment, especially for those suffering from allergies and during cold and flu season.
In addition to the KRATE project, what was once a Cobb Theater and Cinebistro will open soon as an independent Grove Cinema and Entertainment Complex with upgraded chairs that fully recline, a comedy club, a supervised kids’ play place, a movie theater room with spin bikes, a full arcade, a sushi bar and more.
With pandemic safety at the forefront, the complex will include sanitation technology like fogging machines and automated thermal temperature scan swing gates at the entrance and the UV lights.
There are also plans for a miniature golf course and a water park.
See related story: Mall In Wesley Chapel To Be Reinvented As Entertainment Venue
This article originally appeared on the Lutz Patch
