Apollo Beach, located in southern Hillsborough County, just minutes away from USF-Tampa is a recently newly developed area. Apollo Beach is perfect for young families and young professionals that prefer the small town feel, yet be close to the gulf and all that big cities like Tampa and St. Petersburg have to offer.
Housing
Apollo Beach has a wide variety of new homes in family-friendly neighborhoods, many gated communities, condos and townhomes. Most of these large, planned communities offer swimming pools, playgrounds, sidewalks and walking/jogging trails. Because development of this area has only recently begun most homes are between 5 and 8 years old. There are also many large estates and homes on Tampa Bay.
Things To Do
Being so close to the water, both in the bay and on the Alafia River, makes it easy to enjoy boating and fishing and several great parks on the water including the Apollo Beach Nature Park and the Alafia River State Park, which features hiking and biking trails, equestrian and camping.
Golf courses include the public Apollo Beach Golf and Sea Club, Summerfield Crossing Golf Club, Sandpiper Golf Club and the Golf Club at Cypress Creek and the private Falcon Watch Golf Club, Caloosa Greens Executive Golf Club, North Lakes Golf Course and the Bay Palms Golf Complex.
Apollo Beach is also home to the Manatee Viewing Center which features a close up observations of manatees, a new mangrove exhibit, butterfly gardens, an expanded gift shop and Tampa Electric's largest installation of solar panels.
Indoor entertainment includes the Brandon Regency 20 Movie Theater that features an IMAX theate and the Ruskin Family Drive-In Theatre. As this area continues to grow plans are being made to increase the number of businesses and attractions in this area, but for now all the museums and other attractions in Tampa are only about 30 minutes away.
Dining and Shopping
While there are several shopping centers in Apollo Beach they feature mainly grocery stores, salons, home improvement stores and some specialty stores and boutiques. The Westfield Brandon Mall offers the best of shopping and dining in the Brandon area and is only about 20 minutes from Apollo Beach. Here you will find stores like Dick’s Sporting Goods, DSW, Sephora, Black and White Market, and as well as the usual department store anchors Dillards, JCPenney, Sears and Macy’s and restaurants including California Pizza Kitchen, Cheesecake Factory, Sinigual, the Brass Tap and Grillsmith.
There is also a Kohl’s near the mall and a short drive west on highway 60 will take you to Tampa’s new IKEA.Apollo Beach is also only minutes 30 minutes north of the Ellenton Premium Outlets shopping center.
Restaurants in Apollo Beach include Surfside Grill, Manatee Bay Cafe,Circles Waterfront Restaurant, Dolphin Grill & Affair, Incognito Lounge, San Remo Pizza, Yanagi Oriental Garden and many more.
Traffic and Driving
There is an exit from I-75 in Apollo Beach, allowing for easy access to I-4 and I-275. US Highway 41, which runs north to Tampa and south into Bradenton and Sarasota, is also easily accessible in Apollo Beach. Highway 301 is also minutes away from anywhere in Apollo Beach. Traffic usually only becomes congested during rush hours and is often only at the on or off ramps of I-75.
Schools
Public schools include Apollo Beach Elementary, Doby Elementary, Ruskin Elementary, Cypress Creek Elementary, Shields Middle, South County Career Center, and Lennard High. Private schools include Ruskin Christian School , Bayside Academy and First Baptist Ruskin. There is also a Hillsborough Community College campus nearby.
Business
Much of Apollo Beach’s commerce is generated by the health care, agriculture and commercial and residential development industries. As a city that is rapidly growing both in population and business there are many opportunities for new jobs and plenty room for businesses to grow and expand.
From Wikipedia