You probably drove past it a thousand times. Tucked between Citrus Park and Westchase, the 67-acre Big Cat Rescue property was home to Carole Baskin's tigers, lions, and leopards for over 31 years. When the Netflix series Tiger King — chronicling Baskin's long-running feud with Oklahoma zookeeper Joe Exotic — landed in 2020, this stretch of Easy Street became an international landmark.

The cats are gone. The land sold. And what's coming next is the biggest single residential project our area has seen in years.

Property location: Easy Street, between Citrus Park & Westchase
Total deal value: Roughly $30 million
What's coming: 540 new housing units across two developers

I drove by recently and the change is real. If you remember taking your kids on a school field trip there, or seeing the tigers from the road on the way home — that whole chapter is officially over.

The 67 acres sold in two pieces to two different developers. Here's the breakdown.

312 apartments + 228 townhomes = 540 brand-new homes on land that two years ago was housing tigers. That's a wild transformation in a short window.

Ram is positioning this as an amenity-heavy build. Confirmed features include:

✅ Resort-style pool
✅ Pickleball court
✅ Dog park & pet spa
✅ Fitness center
✅ Community + private workspaces
✅ Entertainment room
✅ Bike storage and repair station
✅ Direct access to the Upper Tampa Bay Trail
✅ National Green Building Standard certified

This is Ram Realty's first-ever Tampa development. Their executive Travis Williams publicly described it as "the first new development in the area since 2019."

As someone who walks and bikes the Upper Tampa Bay Trail, this one is going to change the feel of that stretch in a big way. Whether that's good or bad depends on who you ask.

This isn't just real estate news. This deal is going to ripple through the whole area.

✅ Density shift. Estimates put new residents at 1,000 to 1,500 people moving into one corner of Citrus Park. That's a small town landing on Easy Street.

✅ Traffic. Gunn Highway, Sheldon Road, and the Veterans Expressway feeder ramps are about to absorb a lot more daily trips.

✅ More rooftops = more retail. This connects directly to the Nordstrom Rack / HomeGoods / Total Wine story we covered recently at the Plaza at Citrus Park. New housing is exactly the signal that restaurants and retailers look for before signing leases. Expect more announcements.

✅ Schools. Local Citrus Park feeder schools will likely feel enrollment effects within a year or two.

✅ Upper Tampa Bay Trail traffic. Hundreds of new neighbors with direct trail access.

For anyone wondering — the cats are fine.

In December 2023, Big Cat Rescue's remaining animals were relocated to Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Turpentine Creek is an accredited 450-acre facility — roughly six times the size of the Tampa property. The Baskins funded the construction of larger enclosures there and continue to fund the cats' lifetime care.

Per Howard Baskin, the ~$30 million in land sale proceeds is being used to:

The Baskins themselves are staying in the Tampa area.

Whatever you thought of the show — and people have strong opinions about both Carole Baskin and Joe Exotic — the cats themselves ended up with more space and a bigger sanctuary. That's a real outcome.

Things to keep an eye on over the next 12–18 months:

The biggest piece of land in our area is becoming the biggest residential project in our area. And it's literally on Easy Street.

The tigers are gone. The homes are coming. The neighborhood is going to feel different by this time next year.

We'll keep tracking this one. If you live nearby and you're seeing changes on the ground, reply to this email or message us on Facebook or Instagram — we'd love to hear what you're seeing.