'The Hub at Nocatee' Aims to Give the Community a Walkable Marketplace With Dining, Shops and Weekend Live Music by 2028

A Tampa-based developer plans to build a 63,225-square-foot open-air marketplace in the heart of Nocatee, giving one of Northeast Florida's fastest-growing communities a new walkable gathering spot for dining, shopping and weekend entertainment. Center Connect Development announced the project — called The Hub at Nocatee — on July 6, and it is anticipated to open in 2028, according to the company's announcement and local news reports.

The center is planned for a site next to the Publix in the Marketplace at Nocatee, just west of Valley Ridge Boulevard South. For residents already living within golf-cart range of that grocery-anchored corner, the pitch is straightforward: a place to eat, shop and hang out on a weekend without leaving the neighborhood.

What's being planned

According to the developer's announcement, The Hub is designed around an open-air courtyard with outdoor seating, weekend live music and community events. The conceptual site plan calls for multiple retail buildings arranged around that central gathering space — and, fittingly for Nocatee, dedicated golf cart parking.

The developer describes it as an "urban marketplace" that blends everyday convenience with a lively destination feel, meant for both quick daily errands and special outings. The developer behind the project said the goal is to create a welcoming place that brings people together and supports everyday needs while also offering a destination for dining, shopping, entertainment and community events.

What the developer's other 'Hubs' look like

Nocatee hasn't announced any tenants yet, but Center Connect has built two similar centers elsewhere in Florida that hint at the kind of mix that could land here. Local news reports point to The Hub at Bexley in Land O'Lakes and The Hub at Lexington Oaks in Wesley Chapel as the company's existing concepts.

At those developments, the tenant lineup leans into everyday services and casual entertainment:

• Barbershops, nail salons and pet grooming
• Martial arts studios and golf simulators
• Escape rooms and a candle bar
• Ice cream shops, sports bars and sit-down restaurants — including Indian, Vietnamese and Caribbean cuisine

Whether that exact roster carries over to Nocatee remains to be seen. The company has said it will share more details as the project moves forward, and it's actively looking for retailers, restaurants and service providers to fill the space.

Why it matters for Nocatee

The Marketplace at Nocatee corner has been filling in steadily since Publix moved in, and The Hub would add a substantial chunk of new retail and restaurant space to an area that residents can already reach on foot or by cart. For a community built around walkable trails and golf-cart access, a courtyard-style center with parking for carts fits the way people here already get around.

It's also another marker of how quickly Nocatee keeps growing. A 63,000-square-foot marketplace with live music and community events is the kind of amenity that tends to follow rooftops — and Nocatee has plenty of those, with more on the way.

For now, the announcement is the first public look at the concept. Residents who want to track updates can follow official Nocatee development channels, and we'll report on tenant announcements, site-plan approvals and an opening date as they're confirmed.

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