NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. — Neighbors in a rural part of Pasco County are worried about a big apartment complex that may be built near them.

It’s in the Tanglewood East Community off Ridge Road in New Port Richey.

Residents had plenty to say when asked what their concerns were.


What You Need To Know

  • 20 acres targeted for apartments development in New Port Richey 

  • Development would be near Tanglewood East Community off Ridge Road

  • Neighbors not thrilled with idea

Driving along Tanglewood Drive, it feels like you’ve left the busy city for the quiet countryside. That’s how neighbors there like it.

“We have one house per acre,” said resident DJ Arrazcaeta. “We have horses and chickens and goats. We enjoy that.”

Arrazcaeta has been leading efforts to keep the community of Tanglewood East quiet.

That’s because right at the edge of Tanglewood and Ridge Road, sits a 20-acre property.

A developer wants it to be an apartment complex with more than 200 units.

“We just don’t want what we have to change,” he said. “That many new people, living on that small of a property, will change what we have.”

Residents packed a recent county commission meeting, wearing shirts that read Keep Pasco Rural.

Many worried the proposed apartments aren’t compatible with their neighborhood, especially with traffic.

The project doesn’t fit the area and this decision affects quality of life.

One reason why the developer wants to build on this land, and why county planners recommended approving this change, is because of the Ridge Road extension.

The east-west road being extended all the way out to the Suncoast Parkway and eventually to I-75, which is going to bring more development and jobs with it.

Representatives of the developer, Charleston Communities, say they want little impact to the homes already there.

The commission voted to move the project forward with a 3-2 vote, but it still has to get approval from the state.

Arrazcaeta still plans to fight it, and says neighbors would prefer homes built there instead apartments.

“We would love to see that property developed into 1-2 houses per acre,” Arrazcaeta. “It would be beautiful.”