Tampa developer plans first-of-its-kind project in Wimauma
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Sep 16, 2024

A Tampa developer is moving forward with a mixed-use project in Wimauma that is the first of its kind.

Serenity Capital Management, which has offices in Tampa and Cincinnati, has received final approval from Hillsborough County to build 105,000 square feet of self-storage space, 21,000 square feet of retail space and 10,000 square feet of medical office space. The 9.02-acre property at 740 Eleton Springs Drive is currently home to a manufactured housing community, and Serenity plans to close on the land in early 2025 after its permits for the project are approved.

Serenity plans to break ground on the self-storage units in early 2025. The developer would like to see the medical office and retail space 50% preleased before beginning construction. Stephanie Addis, vice president of retail services at Colliers, is marketing the medical office and retail space for lease.

The total project cost is estimated at $30 million. It is the first mixed-use rezoning to be approved in the Wimauma Downtown Overlay District. Elise Batsel, a partner at Stearns Weaver Miller in Tampa, worked with Serenity on the rezoning.

Shree Kulkarni, Serenity principal, told the Tampa Bay Business Journal that the Wimauma area is booming and will need neighborhood-oriented commercial development, making way for restaurants and medical services. Infrastructure is under construction to make way for thousands of new homes, particularly east of U.S. 301 on State Road 674. There's also a new $176 million high school under construction.

Kulkarni said Serenity has already seen interest in the retail and medical office space, including coffee shops, pizza joints, salons and dentists.

"We're pleasantly surprised," he said. "But the tenants that are in the know — they understand what's happening, and they’re watching the demographics over there."