Brandon is an unincorporated community about 11 miles east of downtown Tampa, where I-75, the Selmon Expressway and State Road 60 (Brandon Boulevard) meet, with I-4 about 4 miles north of its center. It is east Hillsborough County's main shopping and commuting hub, anchored by the Brandon Exchange mall. Its homes are largely established neighborhoods from the 1970s through the 1990s, and this page covers ZIP codes 33510 and 33511.
Brandon's history
Brandon takes its name from John Brandon, who arrived at Fort Brooke from Mississippi in 1857 and later bought 40 acres in the New Hope area that he named Brandon. The engineer Charles S. Noble platted the town in 1890 and kept the name. For most of the next century it was a small crossroads on the road east of Tampa, before the interstate era turned it into a suburban center.
Getting around Brandon
Brandon's commute is shaped by the Selmon Expressway's Reversible Express Lanes, about 10 miles of elevated lanes in the expressway median between Brandon and downtown Tampa. They opened in 2006 and were the first all-electronic reversible express lanes in the United States. On weekdays they run westbound toward downtown from 5 a.m. to noon, then eastbound toward Brandon; on weekends they run eastbound all day.
The toll-free Brandon Parkway feeds the lanes, linking Lumsden Road, Providence Road, Town Center Boulevard and Lakewood Drive. It runs through a landscaped corridor with walking and biking paths.
Shopping and dining in Brandon
Brandon Exchange sits directly off I-75 between State Road 60 and the Selmon Expressway. It opened in 1995 as Brandon Town Center, spent most of its life as Westfield Brandon, and took its current name in 2024. It has about 140 stores in 1.1 million square feet, anchored by Dillard's, JCPenney, Macy's and a Dick's House of Sport, with restaurants including The Cheesecake Factory and P.F. Chang's. Brandon Boulevard carries a long run of shopping centers and restaurants east and west of the mall.
Parks in Brandon
County parks include:
- J.C. Handly Sports Complex
- Heather Lakes Park
- Saladino Park, which has a dog park
- Limona Park, with disc golf
The Brandon Parkway's trail adds a paved route for walking and biking near the mall.
Homes in Brandon
Brandon's housing is mostly single-family homes built from the 1970s through the 1990s, on established streets with mature trees. There are also townhomes, condos and pockets of newer construction.
