Ballast Point is a South Tampa neighborhood on Hillsborough Bay, between Gandy Boulevard on the north and MacDill Air Force Base on the south, with South MacDill Avenue along its western side, about 7 miles by road south of downtown Tampa. It is known for Ballast Point Park, a bayfront park dating to the 1890s, and for the Tampa Yacht & Country Club. Its oak-lined streets mix historic homes with large porches, extensive renovations and new construction.
Ballast Point Park
The park at 5300 Interbay Boulevard was developed in the 1890s by Emilia and Chester Chapin as the end of Emilia Chapin's electric trolley line, one of Tampa's first. It was first named Jules Verne Park, because Verne's 1865 novel "From the Earth to the Moon" placed its rocket launch in Tampa, and it was renamed in 1903. Today it has a splash pad, a playground, picnic shelters with grills, an octagonal gazebo you can reserve, and the Joe Abrahams Fitness Center. Boaters get a single-lane concrete boat ramp open 24 hours with a boarding dock, plus free temporary docking. Leon's Lobstah Shack, in the park, serves New England-style seafood and ice cream.
Living in Ballast Point
The neighborhood is mostly residential, with mature oaks hung with Spanish moss. Bayshore Boulevard's 4.5-mile waterfront sidewalk ends at Gandy Boulevard, on the neighborhood's northern edge, and Bayshore Boulevard itself continues south as a street toward the park. The Tampa Yacht & Country Club, a private club founded in 1904, sits on the Ballast Point shoreline at 5320 Interbay Boulevard with its own marina. The point's history goes back further: Union troops landed here in the Battle of Ballast Point on October 18, 1863. Interbay Boulevard, West Ballast Point Boulevard and South MacDill Avenue are the main streets.
Parks and getting around near Ballast Point
Gadsden Park, about a mile southwest at 6901 S. MacDill Avenue, has the 1.47-mile paved MacDill Trail (a 0.88-mile loop around Lake Gadsden and a 0.59-mile play-area loop), a fishing lake, a dog park, ball fields and a playground. Picnic Island Park's beach and dog beach are about 4 miles west. The Selmon Expressway (a toll road) begins on Gandy Boulevard and runs to downtown and Brandon, and Gandy Boulevard leads west to the Gandy Bridge to St. Petersburg. Downtown Tampa is about 7 miles by road along Bayshore Boulevard. Britton Plaza shopping center, near Dale Mabry Highway, is about 2 miles northwest.
Homes in Ballast Point
The housing is varied. Historic homes with large front porches share blocks with extensively renovated older homes and new construction, and some homes along the water face Hillsborough Bay. This page also covers The Villas of Ballast Point and Las Palmas at Ballast Point, two communities sold under the Ballast Point name that sit a short distance west of MacDill Avenue.
