For years, residents of Suncoast Lakes and other subdivisions along State Road 52 have waited for the day a grocery store would open.

That day isn't far off now.

The Lakeland-based Publix Super Market chain announced this week it will open a store at the northwest corner of S.R. 52 and Hays Road next year. The new store will be 45,000 square feet with a pharmacy.

The store will anchor Hays Road Town Center, a 24-acre plaza. The developers expect to draw customers from Little Road to U.S. 41 and north into Shady Hills.

In recent years, the area around S.R. 52 and the Suncoast has seen a flurry of commercial construction, including a gas station and small retail strips. The nearest grocery store, however, remains miles away.

"It can't get here soon enough," Suncoast Lakes resident Jenny Griffin said.

Griffin moved to Suncoast Lakes last year from Riverview in eastern Hillsborough County. Shopping was much closer there, she said.

"I'm used to having things three seconds away," Griffin said.

The new store will fill a void in a part of Pasco County that has seen thousands of new homes go up during the housing boom. The developers of Suncoast Lakes, in particular, promised a grocery store that never materialized.

Attorney J. Ben Harrill said Publix's decision to move to Hays Road left his clients, the developers of Suncoast Lakes, free to reconfigure the project's commercial component for a larger user, such as Home Depot or Target. None of those tenants have materialized so far, though.

The land is being cleared at the Hays Road site this week. Crews are inspecting the site for gopher tortoises, which must be relocated, according to state law.