Carrollwood, originally named Lake Carroll for the spring fed lake it surrounds, is located along the east side of North Dale Mabry Highway in the NW part of unincorporated Hillsborough County. In the late 1950’s, developer Matt Jetton purchased 325 acres of citrus land and created the first planned (and award winning) community as a solution to overcrowded conditionsin South Tampa. The mid-century development included planned schools, parks, lake access and beautiful water views that continue to welcome today’s move-up buyer.
Among the neighborhood’s amenities are “Scotty Cooper” park with picnic areas and playgrounds, a baseball diamond, the man-made “White Sands Beach” complete with boat ramp, fishing, swimming and skiing on Lake Carroll and a new recreation center. Now known as “original Carrollwood,” the community features single family homes with a traditional flavor priced from the low $100’s to over $2,000,000 for prime lake front sites. Townhomes and condos with a median price of approximately $100,000 provide affordable low maintenance living.
As housing demands grew in the early 1970’s, Jetton purchased 2000 more acres NW of Lake Carroll and created Carrollwood Village. Here handsome custom homes were constructed around a golf course. Jetton’s development was the first to collaborate with Hillsborough County experts regarding the long termregional impact of the new community. Phased construction continued over the years, and now Carrollwood Village includes the new Carrollwood Cultural Center and the beautiful new Emerald Greens Golf and Country Club – a destination resort with condos priced from the mid $300’s to over $400,000, a fitness center, tennis, swimming, 27 holes of golf and excellent banquet facilities. Homes within the Village range from about $200,000 to approximately $1,000,000.
The Greater Carrollwood area is inclusive of many smaller surrounding neighborhoods, some of which have taken the Carrollwood name. Informal Greater Carrollwood boundaries extend past Turner Rd on the west, to Ehrlich Rd on the north and Linebaugh/ Gunn Avenue on the south. The area features a mix of apartments, townhomes, low-rise condos, patio homes, an assisted living facility plus major shopping centers, schools and a variety of great restaurants and recreation opportunities. Excluding the Village, single family homes in the Greater Carrollwood area range from $100,000 to approximately $200,000.
The 2000 Census states that most Greater Carrollwood residents have professional, management, sales or technical jobs, are college grads or have some college experience and are a median age of 38. “Sperlings Best Places” lists Greater Carrollwood’s 2009 population at over 36,000 with most residents working within Hillsborough County. Over half of the residents are married and nearly75% live in owner-occupied homes.