Hemingway Estates is small, and that is most of the appeal. Brightly colored two-story Key West homes, built between 2007 and 2012, sitting across the street from Apollo Beach Elementary on the road that runs out to the manatees and the sea turtles. No gate, no clubhouse, no guard. Just a pocket of houses on a canal.

That road out to the manatees is a big part of what makes this spot special. When Tampa Bay drops to 68 degrees or colder, manatees gather in the warm-water canal at Tampa Electric’s Big Bend Power Station off Dickman Road, and they have been coming back every winter since the early 1970s. On December 29, 2023, the Manatee Viewing Center counted a record 1,100 manatees there at one time, up from the previous record of 850 the winter before. It is free, it is open daily from November 1 through April 15, and people travel a long way to see what Hemingway Estates gets as a neighbor. Locals think of the manatees as our pets, and from November through March you will slow down on the canals to share the water with them.

Where exactly is Hemingway Estates?

Across the street from Apollo Beach Elementary, which is the short version of why families keep asking me about it. The road it sits on is the one that carries you out to the TECO Manatee Viewing Center and the Florida Aquarium’s Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Center. Both are walkable from here. Not drive-and-park walkable. Actually walkable.

It is an enclave, not a subdivision. There is no gate and there are no community amenities, which is the trade you make for the location and the water.

What is the elevation, and will I need flood insurance?

The waterfront homes were built at an elevation of 12 feet. The rest of the community sits at 10 feet.

All of Apollo Beach west of Highway 41 is in flood zone AE. That is not specific to Hemingway Estates, it is the whole west side. If you are carrying a home loan, flood insurance is required. There is no way around that and you should price it before you write an offer, not after.

Owners who have paid their homes off sometimes choose to self-insure instead. That is a real decision people make here, and whether it makes sense depends on the house, the elevation certificate and your own tolerance. Talk to your insurance agent about your specific address rather than a neighborhood average.

What boat actually fits here?

This is the part the marketing skips, so here it is plainly. That road out to the manatees is Dickman Road, and it crosses a low fixed bridge, and the bridge sits between Hemingway Estates and the bay. It is the bridge that decides your boat, not the canal.

Clearance under that bridge changes with the tide, and working out what fits at low tide versus high tide can be complicated. The fair answer is that a small center console or a pontoon is the best fit for this community. If you are picturing a flybridge or a tall tower, this is not the neighborhood for that boat, and I would rather tell you now than at the survey.

The lifts on the newer homes hold 10,000 pounds. Check that capacity against your boat loaded, not against the dry weight on the brochure.

On depth, the low tide draft here is four feet. Size the boat to that number, not to the high-tide picture. Depth still varies along any canal, so ask about the specific dock at the bottom of the tide, with the lift down and the boat loaded — a number for the neighborhood is not a number for the house. I go into how that works on the canal depths page.

How many homes are in Hemingway Estates, and how many are on the water?

Hemingway Estates is 44 addressed lots, all of them on Simone Shores Circle. Eighteen of those front the canal — 6510 through 6544 on the even side, which is the whole north end and the entire east side of the community. The canal stops at 6544, so 6546, 6548 and 6550 sit inland of it, and the south row, 6552 through 6564, is dry. The odd-numbered lots on the interior have no water frontage at all.

That distinction is worth holding onto while you shop, because a home in Hemingway Estates and a home on the water in Hemingway Estates are two different things, and fewer than half the lots here touch the canal.

Canal frontageInterior lotNo home in the 2025 aerialCanal

What are the 2025 homes on the canal?

In 2025 a row of new homes went in around the perimeter, along the canal, built by Bistro Builders — a Florida certified general contractor who builds in more than one community around here. I am the primary listing agent for those homes.

They are built as smart-technology homes, and the list is not short: pools, impact-rated windows and doors, solar shingle roofs, outdoor kitchens, docks, lifts, new seawalls and gas appliances. The waterfront homes are stem wall, solid block construction on every floor.

What is inside them?

Floor-to-ceiling imported tile, European cabinetry, built-in custom closets, heated European toilets, high-end appliances, security systems, televisions, Sonos and surround sound, and full lighting packages. There is gas in this community, which matters more than people expect once they have cooked on it.

What does it cost to own here?

The HOA is $270 a month and it covers landscaping and lawn care. There is no CDD amenity package to fund because there are no community amenities — no pool, no clubhouse, no gate. What you are paying for is the location and the water.

What to verify before you buy

• The depth at that specific dock at low tide, measured against your boat’s draft with the lift down and loaded
• Clearance under the bridge for the boat you actually intend to own, not the one you have now
• Lift capacity against your loaded weight
• The elevation certificate for that specific home, and a real flood quote at that address
• Seawall condition and who is responsible for maintaining it
• Whether the house is one of the 2025 builds or an original from 2007 to 2012 — different construction, different age, different conversation

Why work with me on Hemingway Estates

I sell more than fifty waterfront homes a year across Tampa Bay, and I am the #1 agent in Apollo Beach by total sales volume (Stellar MLS, January 2025 through August 2026). My clients have left more than 280 verified reviews averaging 5.0 on RateMyAgent as of September 2026, and I have been City Winner for Apollo Beach five years running, 2022 through 2026. I am a REALTOR and Team Leader of The Calvert Home Team at 27North Realty. My husband Gregg Calvert is the broker and owner.

I run my business on Go-Giver principles. If you want to know how deep the canal runs behind a specific house, or what will clear that bridge, call me at 509-294-6818 and I will find out.

Related reading

• Waterfront Communities
• Apollo Beach and Ruskin Neighborhoods
• Symphony Isles
• MiraBay
• Canal depths and how deep the canals run at low tide
• Boat size restrictions
• Apollo Beach

Currently for sale here: nine new 2025 Bistro Builders homes on Simone Shores Circle, $1,029,000 to $1,449,000 →