Dade City plans a new office building
By JOE POTTER
Dade City Commissioners agreed during a special meeting on Nov. 20 to pay Ryman Construction $397,055 to do the design portion of a new building in which the City’s Building and Community and Economic Development Departments would be located.
Plans call for this building to be located at 38052 Pasco Ave., which is the site of the former Dade City Police Department (DCPD). It was previously announced during a meeting the Commissioners held on Aug. 12 that the former DCPD building would be demolished, and the site cleared before construction of the new building for those two City departments. It’s anticipated that it would take six months for Ryman Construction to complete the design portion of this project.
It’s possible the new building would be designed to meet the current requirements for a 4,000–6,000 square foot one-story facility. However, alternatives for future expansion, including the building possibly being a two-story facility, would also be considered. Funding for the design work is included in Dade City’s 2025-2026 Fiscal Year Capital Budget.
Also, during their meeting on Nov. 20, an agreement was reached between Dade City and Florida Hospital Dade City Inc., a.k.a. AdventHealth Dade City, to have certain parts of the Hospital’s property voluntarily conveyed to the City that would allow for the extension of Morningside Drive from U.S. Highway 301 to Fort King Road.
The construction of the Morningside Drive extension is anticipated to cost several million of dollars. It is provided for in Dade City’s Fiscal Year 2025-2026 budget, with construction anticipated to begin in 2027. The purpose of the extension of Morningside Drive is to improve roadway connectivity and support long-term mobility planning.
Rather than the City pursuing eminent domain, the Hospital agreed to voluntarily convey the required parcels to the City. In return, the city would implement a Cure Plan to offset project impacts, consisting of the loss of parking spaces, drainage needs, and campus access. The loss of parking for the Hospital would be compensated for by the donation of a parcel of property from Dade City to the Hospital.
The agreement also requires Dade City to establish a density bonus credit applicable to Florida Hospital for any future development submittals with respect to its remaining property and for Dade City to satisfactorily resolve the impacts the Hospital would experience through the donation of certain parcels. This would include reasonable minimization of disruptions to the Hospital’s ongoing operations during the Project’s construction through the implementation of a Cure Plan.
It was also stipulated that this agreement would be included as part of the agenda packet for any public hearings before Dade City advisory or governing body boards considering applications for future development orders relating to the Hospital’s remaining property, so that the density credit would be appropriately adhered to.
Conditions of the agreement also require that the Hospital would have rights of entry to Dade City as needed for, among other things, the removal of existing site improvements and implementation of the replacement parking cure plan and associated drainage retention. Also, Dade City would be required to pay the Hospital, at closing, for such reasonable and verified expenses incurred in the cost of multiple planning, engineering, architectural, and legal consultants to facilitate the preparation of this Agreement.
The agreement said Dade City should pay the Hospital a cost reimbursement in the total amount of $225,000.00 at the closing date. Mayor Scott Black said the City doesn’t have any dates for closing on the Hospital’s property.
