Home - South Tampa Homes - Tampa Bay Guide

While South Tampa is considered one of the most expensive areas in Tampa, its residents are quick to tell you the many reasons they love to call South Tampa home, among them the always-on bay breeze, the area's architectural diversity, brick streets, towering oaks and city living—and with it the ability to find just about anything you need or want within a 15-minute drive…without four-lane highway traffic and long commutes out of new subdivisions.

Convenient to downtown Tampa, the Westshore business district and lots of upscale shopping and many fine restaurants, South Tampa provides a distinctive blend of urban amenities and southern hospitality and culture. But South Tampa, being an older and "established" neighborhood, is not all—and not at all—old and rusty! On the contrary; drive into downtown Tampa and you'll notice the area's chic, developing architectural skyline with prominently designed, high-end, high-rise condominiums now being occupied and with more on the way. Many of the older homes, including charming bungalows and large mansions, have been lovingly restored and rebuilt; some areas, such as Hyde Park, are considered National Historic Districts.

The historic district of Tampa, west of the Hillsborough River, was first inhabited by Cuban fishermen in the late 1700s. It was only in the late 1800s, when Henry Plant and his railroad came to town, that the area gained prominence and became a favored address among the affluent.

South Tampa Schools

South Tampa is served by the Hillsborough County Public Schools system. Children in the area attend Gorrie Elementary, Woodrow Wilson Middle and H.B. Plant High schools. South Tampa is also home to the University of Tampa, a private four-year college set amidst 100 acres of prime riverfront land in the heart of downtown Tampa. The beautiful spires of UT's Plant Hall are familiar friends to Bay area locals; the hall and its spires serve as a leading example of Moorish architecture in the southeastern U.S.