550 Acres in Hernando, a Golf Course Flip, and 3 Million Square Feet in Ybor

The Oxford Exchange owners went and bought over 500 acres north of the county line. Tampa General cleared its biggest hurdle yet in East Ybor. And Clearwater is 1 vote away from turning a golf course into a $180 million sports complex. Marriott Beachmaker drives test pilings in next week and we will document that for you.

Gulf Blvd in Madeira Beach. Future site of Marriott Beachmaker Hotel.

7 stories. Let's get it.

Oxford Exchange owners are building a 550-acre resort in Hernando County

What happened: The people behind Oxford Exchange are planning a 550-acre wellness resort called Clay Hill in Hernando County.

The details: The design takes cues from Soho Farmhouse, the members-only countryside retreat in England. The site sits well north of Tampa in Hernando, on rolling land near a private lake. This is the same team that turned a former stable on Kennedy into one of the most copied hospitality concepts in the state.

Why it matters: Hospitality money is moving outward, not just up. A destination resort that size pulls visitors, jobs, and eventually roads into a county most people only drive through.

My take: This is the most interesting land play in the Bay right now and it isn't even in the Bay. Watch what happens to land prices along the Suncoast corridor over the next 18 months. I believe they are a great operator and with this much brand equity Tampa buyers will drive for something that they know and trust. This has potential to be a cool wellness retreat.

Tampa General just got 24 acres rezoned in East Ybor

What happened: Tampa City Council approved the rezoning for Tampa General's new East Ybor campus.

The details: About 24 acres of industrial land near Adamo and the Selmon Connector becomes a medical and mixed-use district. The plan covers close to 3 million square feet across 11 blocks. That includes hospital and medical office space, housing, a hotel, and retail, plus a new north-south street cut through the site.

Why it matters: East Ybor has been the industrial back door of the city for decades. This turns it into a jobs hub, and jobs hubs pull housing and services behind them.

My take: The gap between Ybor and downtown has been the last obvious hole in the urban core map. Hospitals do something apartments can't. They anchor a district for 50 years and they employ thousands of people who need to live somewhere close. If you own anything within a mile of Adamo, this is the week your basis changed. Three million square feet takes a decade to build, so the smart money is on the parcels around it, not the site itself.

Presented by Real Tampa Bay Media
Your brand. Their audience. Real Tampa Bay Media helps real estate developers, agents, and businesses reach Tampa Bay's most engaged local audience through content, newsletters, and social media that people actually read.

Partner with us → realtampabay.com

The old Godfrey site on Rocky Point is getting three towers

What happened: Council gave unanimous approval to a full rebuild of the former Godfrey Hotel site on the Courtney Campbell.

The details: Three towers on about 6.6 acres. A 275-room Curio Collection by Hilton, 503 apartments, new restaurants, and waterfront amenities. It cleared the same council meeting as the Tampa General rezoning.

Why it matters: Rocky Point has been a strip of aging hotels and surface parking for 20 years. This is the project that changes the skyline you see driving over the causeway.

My take: Two of the biggest approvals of the year passed on the same Thursday, and that's the real story. Rocky Point works because it sits between the airport and the beaches with water on both sides. It should have been rebuilt a decade ago. Now that one operator proves the numbers, the rest of that causeway frontage goes on the block. Watch the older hotels next door for quiet sales in the next 12 months.

A 26,000 square foot market is about to open downtown

What happened: TOTUM, a 26,000 square foot organic market with an eatery and wine bar, is preparing to open in downtown Tampa.

The details: It combines grocery, prepared food, and a wine bar under one roof. The space runs 26,000 square feet, which is large for a downtown floorplate and small for a full grocery store. The post drew more than 7,500 shares, one of the highest numbers any local development story hit this month.

Why it matters: Downtown has towers. Downtown has restaurants. Downtown has never had a real place to buy groceries.

My take: Ask any broker why downtown condo absorption stalls and grocery access comes up in the first three answers. This fixes the single loudest complaint from people who live in the core. The 7,500 shares tell you something too. People shared a grocery store harder than they shared a $2.3 billion stadium, and that's the whole downtown residential thesis in one number. Ground floor retail leasing in a five-block radius just got easier to pitch.

St. Pete-Clearwater Airport wants $145M for a reset

What happened: St. Pete-Clearwater International unveiled a $145 million modernization plan.

The details: Officials shifted the focus away from expansion and toward core infrastructure. Construction is now expected to start in 2028. Separately, Tampa Bay landed $17.5 million in federal money to expand cross-bay ferry service and upgrade the shipyard at Port Tampa Bay.

Why it matters: PIE is the cheap-flight door into Pinellas. How it gets rebuilt shapes tourism and beach-adjacent development for the next 20 years.

My take: Read these two together. The region is putting money into moving people by water and by air at the same time PSTA is warning it may cut routes. That's the tension nobody wants to say out loud. Big capital projects get funded, daily bus service gets squeezed. For anyone underwriting workforce housing in Pinellas, the transit assumption in your model is the line to double-check this quarter.

Clearwater voted 3-0 to keep talking about a $180M sports complex

What happened: Clearwater City Council voted 3-0 to continue negotiations on a $180 million sports and recreation complex at The Landings Golf Club.

The details: The proposal includes courts for pickleball and volleyball, a championship field, a family entertainment center, and a water park. The site is an existing golf club. The vote keeps talks alive rather than approving construction.

Why it matters: Golf courses are the largest chunks of developable land left inside built-out Pinellas.

My take: Youth sports tourism is one of the few categories still filling hotel rooms midweek, and Clearwater knows it. But the real signal is the land. When a city starts converting a golf course into something else, every other course in the county becomes a conversation. That's how Pinellas grows now, because there is nothing left to sprawl into. Watch the neighbors on this one, since golf course conversions live or die at the community meeting.

North downtown is getting another mixed-use project

What happened: The developer behind Midtown Tampa is planning another mixed-use project on the north edge of downtown.

The details: Renderings show a cluster of mid-rise residential buildings with green roofs, structured parking, and a pedestrian plaza. The project sits in the stretch of north downtown near the Stetson law campus. It joins several other redevelopment plans filed for that corridor.

Why it matters: North downtown is the last piece of the core that still feels disconnected, and it sits between downtown proper, Tampa Heights, and the river.

My take: Midtown proved a developer could build a real district out of nothing in Tampa. That track record is why this one is worth watching. North downtown has the bones already, with the interstate on one side and the Heights on the other. The pieces are starting to connect, and the parcels in between are the cheapest urban dirt left inside the city.

This weekend: throwback night and a Halloween presale

• Throwback Therapy — Saturday, Aug 29 at 511 Franklin. Six hours of '90s and 2000s R&B and hip-hop, with a live set from 2 Pistols.
• Nightmare on Channelside presale — starts today, Aug 26. 21 Savage, Kodak Black, Meek Mill and more at Benchmark International Arena this Halloween.

🗣️ Rumor Roundup

• Hillsborough County and the Rays have an agreement on a $2.3 billion stadium, but it's a framework. The definitive documents aren't signed.
• Water Street filed plans for its $1 billion next phase and what would be Tampa's tallest residential tower. No groundbreaking date on paper yet.
• One of Pasco's largest remaining rural holdings, roughly 1,219 acres, is being marketed as a master-planned community site. No buyer named.
• The city says it will put $1 million toward restoring the historic Jackson House, but only after the foundation shows $5 million in hand. Not there yet.

See you next week.

Real Tampa Bay

Enjoying the newsletter? Forward it to someone who should be paying attention to Tampa Bay.

Follow us on Instagram → @realtampabay.dev

‍