New Tampa is the City of Tampa's northeast corner between I-275 and I-75, just north of the University of South Florida. It is a 24-square-mile area the city annexed in 1988 and built out with master-planned communities along Bruce B. Downs Boulevard. Downtown Tampa is about 16 to 23 miles away by road depending on the neighborhood, by way of I-275 on the west side or I-75 and I-4 from the east.
Living in New Tampa
Most of New Tampa is organized into master-planned, deed-restricted communities, many of them gated. They include Tampa Palms, Hunter's Green, Cory Lake Isles, K-Bar Ranch, Grand Hampton, Arbor Greene and Live Oak Preserve. Each has its own homeowners association and amenities. Cory Lake Isles, for example, is built around 165-acre Cory Lake, with a community beach club, tennis courts and a bike path. Housing is mostly single-family homes built since the late 1980s, with townhome and condominium communities mixed in. Golf runs through several neighborhoods. Tampa Palms Country Club (an Arthur Hills course) and Hunter's Green Country Club (a Tom Fazio course) are private, and Heritage Isles offers public tee times.
Parks and trails in New Tampa
New Tampa Nature Park is a 122-acre city park on Dona Michelle Drive near I-75. It has an elevated boardwalk across a wetland, a shorter marsh walk, picnic areas and a play area with a rope climber and a zip line. Its trail connects to Hillsborough County's Flatwoods Conservation Park just to the east, best known for a seven-mile paved loop that serves as a multiuse trail, with off-road bike trails and nature trails inside it. A two-mile paved extension reaches the loop from Bruce B. Downs Boulevard. At New Tampa Community Park on Commerce Park Boulevard, the city's New Tampa Center has a 12,500-square-foot gymnastics area and a supervised concrete skate park. The New Tampa Regional Library is on Cross Creek Boulevard.
Dining and shopping in New Tampa
Everyday shopping and restaurants cluster along Bruce B. Downs Boulevard at The Walk at Highwoods Preserve and City Plaza at Tampa Palms. The Shops at Wiregrass in Wesley Chapel is a short drive north across the Pasco County line.
Getting around New Tampa
Bruce B. Downs Boulevard is the main north-south road, with Cross Creek Boulevard and New Tampa Boulevard as major routes and a direct connection to I-75. From the Tampa Palms area, I-275 is the usual route downtown, about 16 miles. From communities farther east, such as Cory Lake Isles and K-Bar Ranch, the drive via I-75 and I-4 is closer to 23 miles. Morris Bridge Road, along the eastern edge, leads toward Thonotosassa and the Hillsborough River.
