A new master-planned community is headed for the open land along State Road 52 just outside San Antonio, Florida, where a Tampa developer says it has secured thousands of acres to build 2,500 homes in one of east Pasco County’s fastest-changing corridors.
Eisenhower Property Group, a Tampa-based developer, says it has closed on the property and will build the community, named Verona, off State Road 52 and west of Interstate 75 in the San Antonio area. The announcement came Friday, June 5, according to information the company released publicly. The purchase price was not disclosed.
San Antonio — the small, historic city near St. Leo and Dade City, not the larger city in Texas — sits at the heart of a part of Pasco County that has drawn a steady run of large residential projects in recent years. Verona would add to that pace, with thousands of new rooftops planned within a few miles of a town that today counts only around 1,500 residents.
What is planned
The developer says roughly 1,500 of the property’s 3,500-plus acres will make up the community itself. The remaining land is to be set aside as open space, agricultural, or recreational use under a restrictive covenant with Pasco County, which the company describes as a way to preserve long-term environmental balance in the area.
Of the 2,500 planned homes, more than 850 are slated to be built by national homebuilder Del Webb under its Explore brand, part of PulteGroup. The company says it would be the second Explore by Del Webb community in Florida. Planned amenities include a central clubhouse, a resort-style pool, pickleball courts, a gym, picnic areas, a dog park, and a playground, all linked by multi-use paths.
- Developer: Eisenhower Property Group, based in Tampa
- Community name: Verona
- Location: off SR-52, west of I-75, in the San Antonio area of east Pasco County
- Scale: 2,500 homes on about 1,500 acres of a 3,500-plus-acre property
- Active-adult homes: 850-plus by Explore by Del Webb (PulteGroup)
- Status: land recently acquired; no construction timeline or opening date has been released publicly
Part of a wider building wave
Verona is not the developer’s only project in the area. The company describes it as its second master-planned community along State Road 52. Just east of the Verona site, near SR-52 and Bellamy Brothers Road, homebuilders including Perry Homes, Lennar, Taylor Morrison, and Dream Finders have recently begun selling in another community called Hillcrest.
The company’s president, Jeffery Hills, called Pasco County one of Florida’s “most dynamic growth corridors” in the public announcement, framing Verona as a continuation of that growth. For longtime San Antonio residents, that momentum is visible in the traffic and construction now common along SR-52 east of the interstate.
A small town in a fast-growing county
San Antonio was founded in 1881 and incorporated a decade later, and it has long kept the feel of a quiet Catholic colony town anchored near Saint Leo University and the historic Saint Leo Abbey. Its growth, while real, has been modest compared with the development now planned around it.
Figures for 2000 through 2020 reflect U.S. Census counts; the 2026 number is a recent estimate. Even at its current size, San Antonio remains one of the smallest incorporated cities in Pasco County, far behind its east-county neighbors.
A single new community of 2,500 homes would represent a major shift for an area where the nearest incorporated town has only about 1,500 residents. New rooftops bring added traffic, demand for schools and services, and pressure on roads such as SR-52, while reshaping the rural character that has long defined the land around San Antonio and St. Leo.
Roads and what comes next
The growth along this stretch is already prompting roadwork. State transportation officials have moved forward with improvements at the I-75 and SR-52 interchange to address rising traffic, and longer-term plans call for widening SR-52 east of the interstate. Those projects are tied directly to the kind of development Verona represents.
For now, the project remains in an early stage. Beyond the land purchase and the broad outline of the plan, no construction timeline or opening date has been released publicly. Additional details, including permitting and county review, would typically follow before homes are built.
San Antonio Community will continue following growth and development across east Pasco County. For more local news and updates, visit San-Antonio-Community.com.