- September 25, 2026
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A Tampa real estate investment and development company is preparing to add another 436 homes to a sprawling, master-planned community that’s rapidly turning south Hillsborough County’s agrarian Wimauma area into one of the region’s hottest housing markets.
Eisenhower Property Group submitted plans to the Southwest Florida Water Management District this week — a first step toward building out a seventh phase of its Berry Bay community.
Berry Bay is an approximately 1,100-acre master-planned community expected to have at least 3,200 single-family homes once completed. At least 379 homes have already sold, according to records from Berry Bay’s Community Development Districts, and there are at least 969 developed and platted lots.
The latest phase of development will span about 178 acres on the west side of County Road 579 near Saffold Road in Wimauma. Construction drawings place it immediately south of an earlier section identified as Berry Bay Phase 6.
Wimauma is an unincorporated community in southern Hillsborough County, east of Ruskin and bordering the Manatee County line. Long known for its agriculture and Hispanic population, the once sparsely-populated area is rapidly becoming a center of suburban growth, with developers snatching up the last remaining tracts of affordable, buildable land within commuting distance of Tampa, Brandon and Bradenton.
The Census Bureau reported 9,467 residents in Wimauma during its 2020 Census, and by the time of the agency’s 2020-2024 survey that population had grown to an estimated 15,266 — up 61.25%.
Much of that growth is driven by large housing developments taking root along U.S. 301, State Road 674 and County Road 672, including Berry Bay and Balm Grove. Hillsborough County updated the Wimauma Village Community Plan in 2021 to guide the area’s growth as farms, fields and other undeveloped properties became increasingly converted into new neighborhoods, bringing additional demands for updated roads, schools, utilities and other public services.
The application, received by SWFWMD Sept. 21, is a request to modify an existing environmental resource permit and reveals plans to place the 436 new homes on 40- to 60-foot lots. Plans also include new neighborhood streets, sidewalks, water and sewer lines, stormwater ponds and connections to adjoining portions of Berry Bay. Clearview Land Design is the project engineer.
Hillsborough County Property Appraiser records show the Phase 7 site was assembled through multiple transactions totaling about $12.22 million between January 2022 and fall 2023. Most of the parcels were purchased directly by 301 Wimauma LLC, an entity tied to Eisenhower Property Group, while three were purchased for $2.52 million by EPG1 LLC before being transferred to 301 Wimauma in February 2024.
Berry Bay is one of the larger residential projects underway in Wimauma. The community offers homes that start around $300,000, with floor plans ranging from about 1,500 to 3,600 square feet and builders including D.R. Horton, M/I Homes, Ashton Woods and Perry Homes, according to its website. The amenity-rich development includes two club facilities, swimming pools, playgrounds, basketball and pickleball courts, a dog park and walking paths.
Public financing documents show Berry Bay’s growth has come in waves since construction first began on the development in spring 2021, with the community divided into multiple Community Development Districts as it continued to expand. The original Berry Bay CDD covers about 474 acres holding an anticipated 1,145 homes while Berry Bay II spans about 636 acres with plans for 1,605 homes. The upcoming Phase 7 construction will be part of this district.
Designs for the district show an extension of Berry Grove Boulevard between U.S. 301 and County Road 579, along with parks, open spaces, neighborhood centers and a 14-acre school site.
And Eisenhower Property Group plans to extend the community farther south.
In January, Hillsborough County commissioners approved the creation of a roughly 506-acre Berry Bay III CDD that spans both sides of County Road 579. That district’s current plan anticipates 1,389 detached homes on 50-foot lots, although zoning permits as many as 1,600 attached or detached homes, records show. Planned infrastructure for the expansion is estimated to cost $90.95 million and includes roads, utilities, stormwater facilities and amenities.
Berry Bay isn’t Eisenhower’s only project in Wimauma. The developer is also developing Balm Grove, a master-planned community in Wimauma east of Interstate 75, near Balm Wimauma Road and County Road 672 (also known as Balm Road). Eisenhower filed water-management plans in March for 381 additional single-family lots in Balm Grove East, with homesites ranging from 40 to 60 feet wide.
Founded in 2004 by Jeffery Hills, Eisenhower Property Group now boasts more than 25,000 residential lots under development across dozens of communities.
