Tampa Heights: Tampa's first suburb, and what a sale looks like now

An old neighborhood, close to everything

Tampa Heights runs north from downtown toward Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, with the Hillsborough River on its western side and Ybor City to the east. It was developed as Tampa's first suburb in the 1880s, and its oldest homes include Victorian-era houses, frame vernacular cottages and, later, bungalows.

In recent years the area near the river, around Armature Works and the Riverwalk, has drawn new restaurants and apartments. That growth has changed how buyers look at older houses on the surrounding streets. Builders and renovators both now look closely at the older homes on blocks within walking distance of the river.

The historic district, honestly

The City of Tampa designated the Tampa Heights local historic district in 2000. It covers part of the neighborhood, not all of it. Inside the district, demolishing a historic building requires review and approval, and for a contributing historic home that approval may not be granted.

So we won't promise a teardown. If your house is a contributing building in the district, here is what we can offer:

• We may buy it as-is to be restored under the district's guidelines, priced on that basis.
• If it is in decent condition, we may tell you an agent who knows historic homes could get you more.

Check your address on the city's historic district map, and read historic districts and teardowns. We are not attorneys, and the city decides.

Outside the district

Parts of Tampa Heights and the streets around it fall outside the local district. There, an older house on a decent lot may be worth more to a builder than to someone who wants to live in it as it stands. Homes that need everything, sit on a corner, or share a parcel with an extra platted lot are the ones we ask about most. Zoning, setbacks and protected trees all play a part, and a zoning check is always needed before anyone talks about what could be built.

When the house has been in the family a long time

Tampa Heights has families who have held property for generations, and plenty of homes come to us through an estate. If the house is inherited and needs probate, we pay for it. If an older relative is moving to assisted living or to live with family, we set the closing date around that move. Leave behind whatever furniture and belongings you don't want. Our guide to moving after decades in one home has practical tips.

Who you'd be working with

Tampa Teardown is run by 131 Cash Home Buyers, a St. Petersburg company buying houses across Tampa Bay since September 2018. We do one walkthrough, give you a written cash offer, and close at a licensed Florida title company. No commissions, and we pay the normal closing costs. As Robin S. of Tampa wrote in a review of our company: "Most importantly, he listened."

Read next

General information, not legal, tax or zoning advice. Every lot is different; local rules decide what can be built. Updated November 2026.