Inside a Tampa developer's plans for the 5,400-acre Two Rivers master-planned community
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Mar 8, 2023

Jeffrey Hills knows that developing a golf course-anchored subdivision seems like a contrarian play — but after analyzing home sales in Tampa’s private golf communities, he’s convinced there’s demand.

Hills, principal of Eisenhower Property Group in Tampa, recently paid $35 million for 2,000 acres surrounding Hillsborough River State Park. That property will become The Stewards at Two Rivers and extend EPG’s 3,400-acre Two Rivers south of the Pasco County line into Hillsborough County.

The Stewards will include three villages with estate homes, a private country club with a spa, recreational amenities and an 18-hole golf course designed by renowned Scottish golf architect David McLay-Kidd. Custom homes in The Stewards will range from $700,000 to more than $5 million.

Tampa’s most prestigious golf communities, including Tampa Palms, The Club at Cheval and Avila, were built in the late 1980s and are approaching 40 years of age, Hills points out.

“It’s a little, I guess, counterintuitive,” Hills told the Tampa Bay Business Journal. “But if you look at what those on-course houses are trading for, at almost 40 years of age, there’s still a huge demand for people who want to live in a golf course community and specifically on the golf course itself. And so it was an untapped market.”

The Stewards is in the design phase, and Hills anticipates a 2025 opening.

“This course will feel like you are tucked into natural Florida — it is an unsullied canvas with maturity that most other developments don’t have,” McLay-Kidd said in a statement. “We’re excited to bring something new to Florida that is simple, yet bold, and that inspires confidence for every player to have a great round.”

Hills and EPG have been working on the earliest stages of Two Rivers since 2017, when they first met with the previous landowner. They reached an agreement in 2020 and received rezoning approval in 2021. They paid $70 million for the first 3,400 acres in October 2021. Part of the process included striking a deal between Hillsborough and Pasco counties and the city of Tampa to extend the utilities southward from Pasco County for The Stewards phase of the project.

Lot development is underway; D.R. Horton and Lennar have purchased a combined 900 lots in Two Rivers. Both builders will open model homes in the second quarter.

EPG doesn’t have equity partners, Hills said, and it has two primary lenders, both “small Wall Street hedge funds.”

“I think our timing is going to be great,” Hills said. “When you look at the current environment and you look out 12 to 18 months — which is the build time for the next few phases — I think the builders will be hitting a market that’s definitely going to be improving at that point in time.”

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The first three phases of Two Rivers, all of which are on the Pasco side of the project, are geared toward different levels of homebuyers. The first phase is for entry-level buyers, with homes starting in the $300,000s; the second is for move-up buyers, priced from $500,000 to $800,000. The third phase will feature homes from Toll Brothers and high-end homes from D.R. Horton.

Two Rivers will include nearly 6,000 homes, townhomes, apartments and villas throughout more than 15 villages at completion. It’s also entitled for commercial development: 3.3 million square feet of office, retail, commercial and industrial space. There are also plans for a co-located school for students in kindergarten through 12th grade as well as a regional district park.

“We’re in discussions with Publix and a couple of mini self-storage providers,” Hills said.

Retail development traditionally trails residential development. Hills said the retail portion of the project is likely four to five years out to allow time for homes to be built and occupied.

The Stewards is a luxury community. Beyond the golf course, Hills said he’s toying with a boutique “equestrian village” in the community that would have 10 to 12 home sites and a master barn and arena.

“We have not finalized that concept,” he said. “But it is a possibility.”