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Road To Growth Was Wide Open

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By SEAN C. LEDIG, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 21, 2007

CARROLLWOOD - Where is Carrollwood?

That was an easier question to answer 50 years ago.

When Carrollwood was founded in 1959, it was the largest and probably the first major residential subdivision north of Hillsborough Avenue. It occupied an area roughly bordered by Busch Boulevard to the south, Fletcher Avenue to the north, Dale Mabry Highway to the west and Armenia Avenue to the east.

But the name stuck, and Carrollwood took on its own form of manifest destiny. The area known as Carrollwood grew geometrically as communities and businesses far to the south, west and north began to incorporate Carrollwood into their names.

There's Saturn of Carrollwood, south of Waters Avenue at 7814 N. Dale Mabry Highway. University Community Hospital-Carrollwood is near Sligh Avenue at 7171 N. Dale Mabry Highway.
Carrollwood Village sprang up to the immediate northwest of the first Carrollwood community, which now calls itself Original Carrollwood. West of Turner Road is the Carrollwood Meadows subdivision.

To the north, there's the Carrollwood Commons Shopping Center at Dale Mabry Highway and Ehrlich Road. Almost a mile north of Gaither High School is the Sable Palm at Carrollwood Apartments.

It seems that everyone wants to be part of Carrollwood.

"I'm going to say they know a good thing, that Carrollwood has a fine reputation," said Dawn Hudson, executive vice president of the Carrollwood Area Business Association, or CABA. "To be a part of Carrollwood has real value. It's like a recommendation, an endorsement."

Mark Snellgrove, president of the Carrollwood Civic Association in Original Carrollwood, said Carrollwood people want to be a part of the community because it has become a great place to live and work.

"The desire is to live here," Snellgrove said. "We're so convenient to the stadium, we're convenient to the airport. We've got office buildings and shopping centers.

"This area in general is very self-sustaining," he said. "In many cases, a lot of people work in this area so they don't have to go far at all. I'm able to go home for lunch if I choose to."

Although growth has slowed in recent years, Tom Jones, former president of the defunct Carrollwood Area Association of Neighborhoods, said the area is seeing an emphasis on improving the quality of life.

For example, Original Carrollwood recently replaced its former recreation center and beach facilities with updated accommodations. Emerald Greens has built a new golfing community in Carrollwood Village. The Bob Sierra YMCA in nearby Northdale has opened a new aquatic facility.

And Jones' personal project, the Carrollwood Cultural Center, 13335 Casey Road in Carrollwood Village, is set to open its doors soon.

"Our focus now is on building the community, and that's evidenced by the community support for the cultural center," said Jones, who is president of the Friends of the Carrollwood Cultural Center. "We're working with other groups, like CABA. There seems to be such cohesiveness in the community to be positive and move the community forward.

"The Cultural Center is a regional center. It's not intended just for Carrollwood Village. The people we want to bring in will reach out to a 5- to 12-mile radius. It's a healthy sign that it's an area people want to identify with."

As a result of the area's growth, the traditional boundaries between communities are becoming blurred, Jones said.

"There's no real line between what is called Carrollwood and Lutz, or Carrollwood and Keystone," Jones said. Carrollwood "is a great location, and people want to be associated with it."

Despite the area's growth, Carrollwood has maintained a sense of neighborhood, Hudson said.

"We have become somewhat of a small town among the big metropolis of Tampa," Hudson said. "If you're here for any amount of time, you can appreciate the charm, to know your neighbors, to know your business associates."

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