A 123-acre stretch of undeveloped land near Nottingham Road and Hudson Avenue in Hudson is now at the center of a debate over how Pasco County should grow. County officials are evaluating the county-owned property as one possible location for a consolidated public works, engineering and fleet campus, a project that could carry a construction price tag of $70 million. But an environmental group is pushing back, pointing to dozens of suspected gopher tortoise burrows and connected wetland habitat it says deserves protection instead of pavement.
What The County Is Considering
According to Tampa Bay 28, Pasco County is evaluating the Hudson property as one possible site for the facility, which would consolidate the county's public works, engineering and fleet operations under one roof. Concept plans for the site call for an approximately 82,000-square-foot office and warehouse building alongside a nearly 21,000-square-foot fleet building, plus fuel and wash facilities, additional support structures and around 800 parking spaces. A project page from masonblau.com lists the site as an undeveloped 123-acre parcel bounded by Hudson Avenue to the south and Nottingham Trail to the west, with an anticipated probable construction cost of $70 million; the project team says it is currently completing construction documents.
The county has publicly noticed an Environmental Resource Permit application covering roughly 2,000 feet of access road and drainage improvements across 14.25 acres of the property, per the same Tampa Bay 28 report. County officials describe the Nottingham Road site as still being in the planning and site-evaluation phase, and say no final decision has been made. Pasco is also weighing a separate potential location near the Public Infrastructure Administration Building in Land O' Lakes, with a final call expected later this year or in early 2027, the outlet's report notes.
Environmental Group Cites Tortoise Burrows, Wants A Pause
Green Guardians, the environmental group fighting to keep the land undeveloped, says the property contains connected forest, wetlands, ponds and upland habitat that could support a variety of wildlife. The group is calling for comprehensive wildlife, rare plant, wetland and hydrological surveys before any further steps are taken, and it wants the county to avoid clearing, grading or other irreversible work while the property remains under consideration.
Residents conducting preliminary scouting identified about 50 apparent gopher tortoise burrows across roughly a quarter of the property, though the observations were not part of an official Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission survey, the station's report states. The gopher tortoise is listed as threatened in Florida. Green Guardians is asking the county to instead investigate already developed or underused sites for the facility and to consider turning the Hudson land into a conservation park or preserve.
A Longtime Fight Over Pasco's Remaining Open Land
Dan Callaghan, who has spent years fighting to preserve environmentally sensitive land in Pasco County, said a 19-year effort to stop a highway from cutting through pristine wilderness ultimately failed, according to the same account. For Callaghan and others involved with Green Guardians, the Hudson property represents another test of whether the county will change course before ground is broken.
Nearby resident Jan Johnson, who lives on 11 acres near the proposed property, told Tampa Bay 28 that traffic and development have already increased around her home, and that thousands of homes are already on the map for the surrounding area. Hudson Avenue already has several newer subdivisions, with additional homes under construction nearby. Jasmina Forcan, another voice in the report, said development has left little undeveloped land remaining in the area.
What Happens Next
Under Florida's water-resources permitting law, an applicant seeking approval for work in or over wetlands must provide reasonable assurance that state water-quality standards will not be violated and that the activity is not contrary to the public interest, according to Florida Statutes Section 373.414. Regulators are required to weigh effects on public welfare, fish and wildlife, water flow, recreation, historical resources and the permanence of the proposed activity, and to consider any mitigation measures an applicant proposes if those public-interest criteria cannot otherwise be met.
For now, the county maintains that no final location decision has been made, and that a choice between the Hudson site and the Land O' Lakes alternative is expected later this year or in early 2027. Whether that decision leans toward the tortoise burrows off Nottingham Road or elsewhere in the county remains an open question that Green Guardians and nearby residents say they intend to keep pressing.
