Good morning, neighbors. The fireworks smoke has cleared, the grills are cooling off, and your neighborhood did not slow down one bit. A hospital is about to get a lot taller, the mall's newest hangout is finally serving food, and a fight over 24 acres in Lutz is about to get a verdict. Let's get into it.

The biggest construction story in our area right now isn't at the mall — it's on Dale Mabry.

AdventHealth Carrollwood (7171 N. Dale Mabry Hwy.) announced it will break ground on a major campus expansion anchored by a six-story patient tower. The project also includes enlarged surgical support areas, a new cardiac catheterization and electrophysiology lab, additional inpatient beds with room to grow, and — the part every one of us who has circled that lot will appreciate — a new parking garage, which is expected to open before the tower does.

Why it matters: more than 300,000 people live near this hospital, and demand for complex inpatient care keeps climbing. Right now, many patients have to leave the area for higher-acuity services. This expansion is designed to change that.

The tower is projected to welcome its first patients in 2029. Expect years of construction activity along that stretch of Dale Mabry — we'll track it.

Rocky Creek Bridge — OPEN. After replacing the 100+year-old original, the county officially opened the new Rocky Creek Bridge on the Upper Tampa Bay Trail on June 17, with Commissioner Ken Hagan doing the honors. If you haven't ridden or walked the trail since, this weekend's your excuse.

Upper Tampa Bay Trail — your turn to speak. Hillsborough County wrapped a round of public engagement on the trail and plans another comment window once the design phase is complete. We'll flag the date when it's announced.

MOSI's $70 million makeover. County commissioners voted to advance contract negotiations for a $70 million field house — an indoor sports facility that anchors the planned $2 billion redevelopment of the 73-acre MOSI site. Not in our backyard, but close enough that your kids' tournaments may end up there.

If you've driven north on Dale Mabry past Holly Lane lately, you've seen the signs:

"Keep Lutz Semi-Rural."

The Naidip Foundation wants to build Apex Academy, a K-8 private school for up to 1,000 students, on 24 acres at the southeast corner of Dale Mabry and Holly Lane. The plan includes a freestanding gym, a garden center, its own wastewater treatment plant, sports fields, and a significant rebuild of Holly Lane itself — currently a small rural road that winds around Lake Booker.

About 30 residents in matching red shirts showed up to the county's June 15 land use hearing to oppose it. Not a single resident spoke in favor. Opponents pointed to Dale Mabry traffic (already brutal during the school year) and the 2011 Lutz Community Plan, which designates that area as rural with half-acre-plus residential lots.

A hearing officer had 15 days from the hearing to issue a ruling — which means a decision should be landing any day now. We'll have it for you the moment it drops.

Elev8 Fun's restaurant & bar — opening now. The entertainment megaplex at Citrus Park Town Center opened its doors at the end of May, but the full restaurant and bar were slated for early July — meaning it should be pouring drinks right about now. If you've been waiting to make it a full night out instead of just go-karts and games, this is the week to check.

The Plaza at Citrus Park's comeback continues. After losing Joann, Party City, and Honey Baked Ham in recent years, the plaza at 12675 Citrus Plaza Drive is filling back up fast: Nordstrom Rack, HomeGoods, and Total Wine & More are all confirmed incoming tenants. And the former Smokey Bones site? It's being eyed for a Twin Peaks conversion. Vote below on the community favorite.

Ugly Dumpling is coming (sort of) close. The Shanghai-inspired dumpling house is under construction in New Tampa — one of three Florida locations planned, alongside Gainesville and Kissimmee. Fifteen minutes east, but dumplings are dumplings.

“I am so excited for this and know I will visit often. The expansion is pretty vast too.

This week's feature isn't a drive at all — it's at the mall's front door, and if you still haven't been, you're behind.

Boteco do Manolo (7990 Citrus Park Town Center, next to the main entrance by Red Robin) opened last September as the Rio de Janeiro chain's first Tampa location, and it's unlike anything else in our zip codes: a 6,800-square-foot, 300-seat Brazilian restaurant built around a full 360-degree bar with an outdoor stage for live music.

The menu runs over 100 items — Brazilian barbecue, seafood, pizza, pasta — but the moves here are the Picanha (top sirloin, served family-style for the table rather than rodizio skewers), the Bolinho de Feijoada, and the Bobó de Camarão. Wash it down with a proper caipirinha or the chopp zero grau — Brazilian draft beer served borderline-frozen in a frosted glass. On a July afternoon in Florida, that alone is worth the trip.

Open daily from noon; late-night until midnight Friday and Saturday.

Saturday, July 11 · 10 a.m.–2 p.m. · Carrollwood Cultural Center, 4537 Lowell Rd.

Second Saturday means market day. Fresh produce, farm eggs, baked goods, artisan vendors, local art, lunch bites, and live music under the trees — dog-friendly, kid-friendly, and free to wander. Go early; July heat is undefeated after noon.

The Rocky Creek Bridge the county replaced on the Upper Tampa Bay Trail stood for more than a century! — it was built around 1915, back when Citrus Park was actual citrus groves and the trail corridor was a working rail line. The new bridge is built to hold up considerably better against Florida weather (and considerably more bike traffic).

The Plaza at Citrus Park is filling back up. Which incoming store are you most excited about?

The Apex Academy decision in Lutz could drop any day, and it'll shape what "semi-rural" means around here for a generation. If you live near Holly Lane or have thoughts either way, hit reply — we read every one, and we may feature reader voices in next week's follow-up.

Updates coming soon, 😉

— Citrus Park & Carrollwood Weekly