Helping others realize their dreams of home ownership is what I

enjoy most about my work as a real estate professional. I am

especially sensitive to the anxieties of moving to a new area having

relocated with my family several times during my husband's career as

a pilot in the U.S. Air Force, I now make my home in Land O Lakes, Florida. I can easily empathize with families

relocating-either across the country or across town-and appreciate their unique needs when

searching for a home. My personal experiences taught me that matching people with the

right property is critical to achieving a smooth transition for the entire family. My in-depth

knowledge of the many fine communities available-including new home construction-coupled

with the information I can provide on area schools (Land O Lakes, Lutz, Wesley Chapel, Trinity and all Tampa areas) and

activities allows my clients to select the home that suits their financial and lifestyle needs best.

Clients appreciate Tonya's savvy business approach which is complemented by her outgoing

personality, unquestionable standard of ethics, honesty, and genuine empathy. She's no stranger

to the importance of personal attention and follow through having worked in the customer service

industry for more than 10 years. Eager to expand her real estate knowledge she continually

attends various seminars and classes in order to stay abreast of current market trends and changes

within the industry.

Tonya is committed to providing the best service possible. In fact, she believes in giving the

customer more than they expect. Whether you are buying or selling ensure this kind of dedication

and professionalism in your next transaction. Contact Tonya Bouvette today and experience

service that exceeds your expectations.

 Please contact me at Tonya Bouvette at SellSunnyTampa@gmail.com or 727-946-7296 for ANY of your real estate questions or needs!

Local Area Information

About Land O Lakes, Florida:

Land O' Lakes is a census-designated place (CDP) in Pasco County, Florida, in the United States. Land O' Lakes is part of the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida MSA. As of the 2000 census, the CDP population was 20,971. The city grew rapidly during the 1990s, growing from 7,800 residents to 20,971. The city is still growing rapidly as new housing developments are built (according to city estimates). Average annual income is higher than the rest of Florida.[3] The city had a population in 2007 of 30,400 residents.[4] The name Land O' Lakes was suggested at a community meeting in 1949. On Sept. 1, 1950, the Ehren post office was renamed Land O' Lakes.

 Land O' Lakes has been growing very rapidly in the past 10 to 20 years. Nearby former towns have been absorbed into Land O' Lakes such as Denham, Ehren, and Gowers Corner. New neighborhoods, shopping, and schools have been built. Some neighborhoods that are finished are Sable Ridge Community, Wilderness Lakes, Tierra del Sol, DuPree Lakes, Ballantrae, Oakstead, Lake Talia, Plantation Palms, The Groves, Caliente and several other neighborhoods on Collier Parkway and CR 54.

Communities that are still being built include Asbel Creek, LakeShore Ranch, and Connerton. Conner Preserve is located in the area.

Land O Lakes Major Roads:

Major roads See also: List of county roads in Pasco County, Florida

Suncoast Parkway runs north and south along the western edge of Land O' Lakes(actually closer to Odessa). U.S. Route 41 (Land O' Lakes Boulevard) is the main north-south road in Land O' Lakes as well as the rest of central Pasco County. SR 54 is the main east-west road that runs through southern Pasco County, from US 19 near Holiday to US 301 in Zephyrhills. SR 597 (Dale Mabry Highway) Pasco County Road 583 (Ehren Cutoff) runs northeast to southwest from US 41 to SR 52 in rural Pasco County. Collier Parkway

 Land O Lakes Schools:

High Schools

Land O Lakes High School Sunlake High School

Middle Schools

Pine View Middle School Charles S. Rushe Middle School

 Elementary Schools

Lake Myrtle Elementary School Oakstead Elementary School Pine View Elementary School Denham Oaks Elementary School Connerton Elementary School

Charter Schools

Countryside Montessori Imagine School at Land O Lakes

Private Schools

Academy at the Lakes Land O Lakes Christian School

About Lutz, Florida

 History

Lutz began with the construction of a small train depot on the Tampa Northern Railroad which carried materials from Tampa to Brooksville. It was named as "Lutz Station" by William Paul Lutz, an engineer on the Tampa Northern Railroad. The area surrounding the depot officially became known as Lutz when the U.S. Postal Service authorized a post office. The first post office was a 7-square-foot (0.65 m2) building on a lot south of the depot. George Sibthorpe, the first postmaster of Lutz, moved the post office to his realty office. In 1914, the post office was again moved to inside the train depot. As people moved to the rural community from Tampa, the Lutz area continued to grow until it no longer depended on the "Lutz Junction", which was demolished in the late 1960s. In 2000, a replica of the depot was rebuilt in the approximate location, which is now at the intersection of Lutz-Lake Fern Rd. and US Highway 41. The post office's structure is still in the same place today, although it is now an art gallery. A public library is located behind the train depot replica. This area is known as "Beautiful Downtown Lutz.

Several ZIP Codes, which serve Lutz and the surrounding areas are 33548, 33549, 33558 and 33559.

About Wesley Chapel, Florida:

Wesley Chapel is a census-designated place (CDP) in Pasco County, Florida, United States. Wesley Chapel is considered part of the Tampa Bay Area metro. The population was 5,691 at the 2000 census. In 2003, some residents of Wesley Chapel started a movement to incorporate the community (including areas not in the official CDP). This "city," which would have been the largest and most populous in Pasco County, never materialized.

Since 2000, Wesley Chapel has grown rapidly. Newcomers from in and out of state have populated new luxury communities such as Citrus Trace, Saddlewood, Brooksville, Bridgeview, Watergrass, Villages of Wesley Chapel, Seven Oaks, Meadow Pointe, Chapel Pines, Bridgewater, Northwood, Saddlebrook and Lexington Oaks. Several townhome developments have been built, Saddle Creek and Santa Fe. A new retirement community is planned by Del Webb. The area has two middle schools and two high schools, half of which are brand new. Two of three new malls have now opened, including the Shops at Wiregrass and an outlet mall called The Grove on the northern perimeter. Development plans for Cypress Creek Town Center are underway. Two brand new schools are done being built, Dr. John Long Middle School and Wiregrass Ranch High School (which was built to relieve overcrowding at Wesley Chapel High School). The newest of the two high Schools and middle schools is located in a community called Meadow Pointe. According to a 2006 estimate, the town has a population of 45,000 residents which is a 630.9% increase from 5,691 residents in the 2000 census. Wesley Chapel has been a major catalyst in the rapid growth of Pasco County, 38th fastest growing county in the nation.[1] Many new businesses have come to the area as well.[2][3][4] Also as of July 2007, a new county park opened at the southwest corner of Boyette and Overpass roads.[5]Florida State Road 56 is currently slated to extend east from its current terminus at Bruce B. Downs Boulevard to a terminus at US 301 in Zephyrhills, of which the first phase has begun March 2008. [6][7] Wesley Chapel was also listed as one of the "8 boomtowns of 2008" by the Gadberry Group's annual list. [8]

About Trinity Florida:

Trinity is a census-designated place (CDP) in Pasco County, Florida, United States. The population was 4,279 at the 2000 census. It is now speculated that the Trinity area has grown to almost triple the size with a probable population of 13,298. The Trinity Community is named after Trinity College of Florida, a Bible college founded in 1932, when it relocated to the first occupied site in the communities developed by Dr. James Gills in the late 1980s.[3]

Trinity is a fast growing community bordering Pinellas County and considered as part of the New Port Richey area. It mostly consists of moderate to higher priced single family homes and a luxury apartment complex, The Palms at Wyndtree. A majority of Trinity is the Trinity Communities which is made up of Champions Club, Trinity Oaks, Foxwood, Trinity West and East, Heritage Springs and The Villages Of Fox Hollow. The Sheriff of Pasco County also lives in the area. Trinity has three main supermarkets: Sweetbay, Publix @ Chelsea Place, and Publix @ Mitchell Ranch Plaza. In addition there is also a Target and Super Wal-Mart. Pasco County Fire-Rescue Station # 17 covers most of Trinity and Station # 15 has some areas. The Pasco County Sheriff's office is the primary law enforcement agency, with the Florida Highway Patrol covering some major roadways.

 The public schools serving the Trinity area belong to the Pasco County School District. The serving school district elementary schools include Trinity Elementary school, Trinity Oaks Elementary School, Longleaf Elementary School, and the Athenian Academy of Pasco (charter school). The middle school is the Seven Springs Middle School. The high school is the J.W. Mitchell High School. Trinity private schools include, Elfers Christian School, The Genesis School, and The Genesis Preparatory School. The higher education institution in Trinity is a 4 year Christian private college called Trinity College of Florida.[1]

Trinity is a remote area, home to large open land for Subdivisions to be constructed. Those developments are through the Trinity Community. There are a wide selection of home developments off Trinity's busy roads like Mitchell Blvd, Little Rd, Trinity Blvd and Keystone Road.

Some of those developments include:

Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks East. Trinity West Crescent Oaks (Country Club)

Champions Club Fox Wood Fox Hollow Laurel Green Village Thousand Oaks (Right) Thousand Oaks East (Right) Trinity Oaks (Right) Trinity Oaks South Trinity West (Right) Trinity East The Sabals Crescent Oaks (Right) Wyndtree Rivera Oak Ridge Cypress Run Crescent Oaks Keystone Woodstone Seven Springs Nature's Hideaway Cornett Woods Fairway Springs Seven Springs Villas Sienna Woods Ellington Estates Longleaf Fairway Springs Riverchase Riverside Village Villa Del Rio Millpond Hills of San Jose Hunters Ridge Vicksburg Village Chelsea Place Wyndgate Hunting Creek

About New Tampa, Florida

New Tampa is an area in Florida that encompasses both a 24-square-mile (62 km2) area within the corporate limits of the City of Tampa, as well as a larger land area that is in unincorporated Hillsborough, but retains a Tampa mailing address. The incorporated portion of "New Tampa" that lies within the city limits of Tampa is one of the largest city neighborhoods. The area has grown rapidly since being annexed by the city of Tampa in 1988. As of the 2000 census, the district had a population of 22,466. Many new master planned residential communities are planned or already under construction. Big-box stores are following the boom in population and are transforming this once rural area.

"New Tampa" may also refer to a larger area that includes the area described above as well as parts of Wesley Chapel, an unincorporated area that abuts Hillsborough county to the north. Although neither technically nor officially part of the Tampa designated neighborhood New Tampa, most Tampa area residents identify the entire area as New Tampa.

New Tampa is bounded by Lutz to the west, Wesley Chapel to the north, Morris Bridge Road (near Thonotosassa) to the east, and the University community and the University of South Florida to the south.

 New Tampa has seen extraordinary growth in the past few years. The population rose from 7,145 residents in 1990 to 26,634 in 2000, an increase of 19,489 or 272.7%. The population was estimated at 37,350 in 2005. New Tampa is accounting for 52% of Tampa's citywide growth and is expected to continue. Housing units increased by 850 between 2004 and 2005 to a total of 15,340 and many new subdivision are being built which is causing the extraordinary growth.

Although first settled in the mid-19th century, New Tampa remained undeveloped until the late-1980s, when the city of Tampa annexed the 24-square-mile (62 km2) area. Its oldest neighborhood, Tampa Palms, although originally developed when the area was still unincorporated, did not thrive until the district boom of the 1990s. Most of the city's growth in the 1990s occurred in this district.

The explosive growth of New Tampa, both in terms of residential and commercial properties, has given rise to a great deal of confusion regarding where the area of New Tampa extends to. For instance the annual "Taste of New Tampa" culinary event was held in Wesley Chapel, Pasco County, not in part to it being a part of the New Tampa community, but due to failure to find an acceptable location. The end result is that the New Tampa and Wesley Chapel communities are both separate communities each and of their own.

Another "growing pain" for the New Tampa area is the amount of infrastructure improvements being made to accommodate the fast growth of the area. Numerous residential developments, including high density housing (condominiums, townhouses, etc.), continue to dot the landscape while several retail outlets were planned for completion by the end of 2008, including the Cypress Creek Town Center Mall. Roadways, like Bruce B. Downs Boulevard continue to deal with vehicle traffic well above the numbers the roadways were built to support, making for slower traffic movement in the area. Citizens groups, continue to petition elected officials of both City and County Office for relief from these problems. Recently many major roadway improvements have begun and/or been completed to include, the widening of Cross Creek Blvd., the initial construction of the I-75 flyover ramp from the westbound traffic lane of Bruce B. Downs Blvd to the Southbound lane of I-75 S. Roadway projects also in future city planning roadway plans are the widening of Bruce B Downs Blvd from Bearss Ave. east to the County Line Rd. intersection, the construction of the Friendship bridge to connect West Meadows Blvd. (in the West Meadows community) and Commerce Park Blvd (in Tampa Palms), and the construction of the highly debated East-West Connector Road to connect New Tampa directly to I-275 south (to be located north of Livingston Ave Bridge and the Bearss Ave Exit).

Major roads and highways in New Tampa

Bruce B. Downs Boulevard Cross Creek Boulevard Interstate 75 Morris Bridge

ZIP code

ZIP code for the area is 33647

About Seffner Florida:

Seffner is an unincorporated census-designated place in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,467 at the 2000 census, although its ZIP codes (33584 & 33583), which boundaries extend beyond the ones given by the census and include the places of Mango and a portion of Thonotosassa, have a population of around 35,000.

Approximately 15 miles east of downtown Tampa, Seffner serves as a suburban haven for commuters. Characterized by towering live oak trees, strawberry farms and pristine lakes, this small town has been growing rapidly. Upscale, gated subdivisions now dot the once rural landscape.

According to the Seffner Chamber of Commerce, the exact date of Seffner's founding is unknown. Some historians claim that Seffner's streets were originally laid out in 1862, but not recorded as a plat formally until 1885. Seffner's post office was opened in 1884, once a new railroad line in the area had been planned. The community was in fact named for its first postmaster, F.P. Seffner. That same year, Seffner's first school and store were opened. The main thoroughfare leading north and south was Lenna Avenue and leading east and west was Highway Number 23, renamed Buffalo Avenue because of its erstwhile use as a buffalo trail, and then renamed again in 1989 to its current name, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd (Hwy 574). Seffner (and neighboring Mango and Dover) served as the three primary towns along the South Florida Railroad right-of-way between Tampa and Plant City. These towns owe their existence and prosperity to the railroad, each becoming an important shipping center.

According to Ernest Robinson, County Historian, Seffner quickly became a prosperous little place with prosperous people, groves, a hotel (later destroyed by fire), one drug store, several dry goods stores and a livery stable. Early pioneer families included the Hookers, Weeks (after whom Lake Weeks was named), Simmons, Mitchells, (their son became Governor of Florida in the early 1900s) Pembertons, Hendersons, Wheelers, Tomberlins, Morris, Harvey, Littles, O'Briens, Beaty, Baucom, Gray and Spencer.

When the yellow fever epidemic hit Tampa in the fall of 1887 and in 1888, many Tampa refugees fled in panic to Seffner for temporary shelter in the hotel there (non-extant). However, as refugees and mail arrived in Seffner, they were fumigated as protection from the epidemic. Among the refugees was T.C. Taliaferro of the First National Bank of Tampa, who operated a branch banking business from Seffner during the epidemic.

First Baptist Church of Seffner founded in 1888.

About Brandon Florida:

In 1959, the Brandon Chamber of Commerce was formed to help promote business and growth. By the early 1960s, Brandon's population was 8,000, and it was estimated that one new family moved into town every day. Brandon began spreading out into the bordering communities of Limona, Seffner, and Valrico; Hopewell Road became four lanes wide and was designated State Road 60. Soon, the town's first shopping center, Brandon Center, was built, and Brooker Elementary School and the Brandon Swim and Tennis Club both opened in 1965. In the next few years, Kingswood Elementary School, the Brandon Public Library, and many housing developments, shopping centers, and golf courses further fueled or reflected the influx of new residences and businesses.

By the 1970s, growth was causing traffic congestion, as approximately 430 commercial and service businesses, 3 malls and a population of 40,000 were all contained with-in a six-mile (10 km) radius.

In the mid 1970s, Hillsborough Community College moved to Brandon by holding classes at public schools. More indications of the increasing population were the building of Brandon Community Hospital and the Brandon Cultural Center (now the Center Place Fine Arts and Civic Association).

Brandon took off rapidly during the 1980s. Development of the southern area of Brandon brought thousands of new residents. On September 27, 1986, I-75 began to bring traffic through the Brandon area, dramatically changing the community and helping its population reach approximately 100,000 with over 2,500 business by 1988.

Brandon is located at 27°56′N 82°17′W / 27.933°N 82.283°W / 27.933; -82.283 (27.9347, -82.2891),[5] which places it approximately midway between Tampa and Plant City and easily accessible from Interstate 4 and Interstate 75.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 29.3 square miles (75.9 km²), of which, 28.7 square miles (74.4 km²) of it is land and 0.6 square miles (1.5 km²) of it (1.95%) is water.

Some of the neighborhoods within Brandon include Barrington Oaks East,[6] Brandon Hills,[7] Kensington Estates,[8] La Viva,[9] and Limona.[10

Brandon, like the Tampa Bay area, has a warm climate. Unlike Tampa and Pinellas County, Brandon will typically have a few nights below freezing each year. The summers are long and hot, and average 85 degrees; winters are cold and dry, averaging 62 degrees. Brandon, like the rest of the Tampa Bay area, receives abundant rainfall, as it receives 44 inches (1,100 mm) of rain annually. Brandon's winters sometimes have low temperatures in the 30s for more than 4 days while Tampa can have low temperatures in the 40s and 50s in that same period of time. The winter temperatures in Brandon are known to be in the low 20s at least 2 times a year, but the high temperatures can stay in the 50s and 60s for over a month. Although snow is rare, it occurs once every 10 years.

Known for being Tampa's premier bedroom community, Brandon boasts many characteristic establishments that have lasted over a quarter of a century. Brandon is known as the birthplace of Beef O'Brady's, a family-oriented bar and grill chain restaurant prevalent throughout the Southeastern United States.[13]

Education

Brandon's public schools are operated by the Hillsborough County Public School system.

There is one public high school in Brandon:[21]

Brandon High School, established in 1914 and was the second high school created in Hillsborough County.

Public Middle Schools Include:[22]

Burns McLane Mann

Public Elementary Schools Include[23]:

Brooker Kingswood Limona Schmidt Yates Mintz Symmes Valrico

Private/Christian Schools[24]:

Bell Shoals Baptist Academy

About Tampa Florida:

Tampa (/ˈtæmpə/) is a major city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County.[6] Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709.[7]

The word "Tampa" may mean "sticks of fire "in the language of the Calusa, a Native American tribe that once lived south of today's Tampa Bay. This might be a reference to the many lightning strikes that the area receives during the summer months.

The current location of Tampa was once inhabited by various indigenous cultures, most recently the Tocobaga. It was spotted by Spanish explorers in the early 16th century, but there were no permanent American or European settlements in the area until 1824, when the US Army established a frontier outpost called Fort Brooke at the site of today's Tampa Convention Center. The village of Tampa began as a small group of pioneers who settled near the fort for protection from the Seminole population in the area.

Today, Tampa is a part of the metropolitan area most commonly referred to as the Tampa Bay Area. For U.S. Census purposes, Tampa is part of the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida MSA. The four-county area is composed of roughly 2.7 million residents, making it the second largest metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in the state, and the fourth largest in the Southeastern United States, behind Miami, Washington, D.C., and Atlanta.[8] The Greater Tampa Bay area has just over 4 million residents and generally includes the Tampa and Sarasota metro areas. The Tampa Bay Partnership and U.S. Census data showed an average annual growth of 2.47 percent, or a gain of approximately 97,000 residents per year. Between 2000 and 2006, the Greater Tampa Bay Market experienced a combined growth rate of 14.8 percent, growing from 3.4 million to 3.9 million and hitting the 4 million people mark on April 1, 2007.[9]

Tampa has a number of sports teams, such as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFL, the Tampa Bay Lightning in the National Hockey League, and the FC Tampa Bay Rowdies in North American Soccer League (2010). The Tampa Bay Rays in Major League Baseball, are actually based in neighboring St. Petersburg, Florida.

In 2008, Tampa was ranked as the 5th best outdoor city by Forbes.[10] A 2004 survey by the NYU newspaper Washington Square News ranked Tampa as a top city for "twenty-somethings."[11] Tampa is ranked as a "high sufficiency" world city by Loughborough University and is one category away from becoming a Gamma world city. According to Loughborough, Tampa now ranks alongside other world cities such as Phoenix, Cologne, and Osaka.[12] In recent years Tampa has seen a notable upsurge in high-market demand from consumers, signaling more wealth concentrated in the area.[13] Tampa has been tapped to host the 2012 Republican National Convention.[14

Architecture

Tampa displays a wide variety of architectural designs and styles. Most of Tampa's high rises demonstrate Post-modern architecture. The design for the renovated Tampa Museum of Art, displays Post-modern architecture, while the city hall and the Tampa Theatre belong to Art Deco architecture. The Tampa mayor as of 2008, Pam Iorio, has made the redevelopment of Tampa's downtown, especially bringing in residents to the decidedly non-residential area, a priority.[60] Several residential and mixed-development high-rises are in various stages of planning or construction, and a few have already opened. Another of Mayor Iorio's initiatives is the Tampa Riverwalk, a plan which intends to make better use of the land along the Hillsborough River in downtown where Tampa began. Several museums are part of the plan, including new homes for the Tampa Bay History Center, the Tampa Children's Museum, and the Tampa Museum of Art.[61]

Tampa is the site of several skyscrapers. Overall, there are 18 completed buildings that rise over 250 feet (76 m) high. The city also has 69 high-rises,[62] more than any other city in Florida after Miami. The tallest building in the city is 100 North Tampa, formerly the AmSouth Building, which rises 42 floors and 579 feet (176 m) in Downtown Tampa.[63] The structure was completed in 1992, and is the tallest building in Florida outside of Miami and Jacksonville.[63]

Hyde Park Village in Tampa's Hyde Park neighborhood.

Neighborhoods and surrounding municipalities

The city is divided into many neighborhoods, many of which were towns and unincorporated communities annexed by the growing city. Generally, the city is divided into the following areas: Downtown Tampa, New Tampa, West Tampa, East Tampa, North Tampa, and South Tampa. Well-known communities include Ybor City, Forest Hills, Ballast Point, Sulphur Springs, Seminole Heights, Tampa Heights, Palma Ceia, Hyde Park, Davis Islands, Tampa Palms, College Hill, and non-residential areas of Gary and the Westshore Business District.

Modern City View of downtown Tampa as of August 2009.

Landmarks

See also: List of tallest buildings in Tampa The Tampa Theatre.

The Sulphur Springs Water Tower, a landmark in Sulphur Springs section of the city, dates back to the late 1920s. This boom period for Florida also saw the construction of an ornate movie palace, the Tampa Theatre, a Mediterranean revival on Davis Islands, and Bayshore Boulevard, which borders Hillsborough Bay from downtown Tampa to areas in South Tampa. The road has a 6-mile (9.7 km) continuous sidewalk on the eastern end, the longest in the world.[64][65]

The Ybor City District is home to several buildings on the National Register of Historic Places and has been declared a National Historic Landmark. Notable structures include El Centro Español and other social clubs built in the early 1900s.

Babe Zaharias Golf Course in the Forest Hills area of Tampa has been designated a Historical Landmark by the National Register of Historic Places. It was bought in 1949 by the famous 'Babe', who had a residence nearby, and closed upon her death. In 1974, the city of Tampa opened the golf course to the public.[66]The Story of Tampa, a public painting by Lynn Ash, is a 4' × 8' oil on masonite mural that weaves together many of the notable aspects of Tampa's unique character and identity. It was commissioned in 2003 by the city's Public Art Program and can be found in the lobby of the Tampa Municipal Office Building.[67]Park Tower (originally the First Financial Bank of Florida) is the first substantial skyscraper in downtown Tampa. Completed in 1973, it was the tallest skyscraper in Tampa until the completion of One Tampa City Center in 1981.[68] The Rivergate building, a cylindrical building known as the "Beer Can building", was featured in the movie "The Punisher".

Spanning the southern part of Tampa Bay, is the massive steel-span Sunshine Skyway Bridge.

Tampa City Hall.

Government

Tampa is governed under the strong mayor form of government. The Mayor of Tampa is the chief executive officer of city government and is elected in four-year terms, with a limit of two consecutive terms. The current mayor is Bob Buckhorn, who took office on April 1, 2011.

The City Council is a legislative body served by seven members, in which four are elected from specific areas of town and the other three are "at-large" (serving citywide).[69]

Education

See also: List of schools in Hillsborough County, Florida Hillsborough High School in Tampa's Seminole Heights neighborhood

Primary and secondary schools

Further information: Hillsborough County Public Schools

Public primary and secondary education is operated by Hillsborough County Public Schools, officially known as the School District of Hillsborough County (SDHC). It is ranked the eighth largest school district in the United States, with around 189,469 enrolled students. SDHC runs 206 schools, 133 being elementary, 42 middle, 25 High Schools, two K-8's, and four career centers. There are 73 additional schools in the district that are charter, ESE, alternative, etc. Twelve out of 25 high schools in the SDHC are included in Newsweek's list of America's Best High Schools.

Public libraries

Tampa's library system is operated by the Tampa-Hillsborough Public Library System. THPLS operates 28 libraries throughout Tampa and Hillsborough County, including the John F. Germany Main Library in Downtown Tampa. The Tampa library system first started in the early 20th century, with the West Tampa Library, which was made possible with funds donated by Andrew Carnegie.

Higher education

University of Tampa's Plant Hall

There are a number of institutions of higher education in Tampa. The city is home to the main campus of the University of South Florida (USF), a member of the State University System of Florida founded in 1956.[70] In 2010, it was the eleventh highest individual campus enrollment in the US with over 46,000 students.[71] Its mascot is the Brahman Bull, with green and gold as its colors. The University of Tampa (UT) is a private, four-year liberal arts institution.[72] Founded in 1931 and located across the Hillsborough River from downtown Tampa, UT has over 6,500 students attending. Its mascot is the Spartan, with scarlet, black, and gold as its school colors. Hillsborough Community College is a two-year community college in the Florida College System with campuses in Tampa and Hillsborough County.[73]

Other colleges and universities in the wider Tampa Bay Area include Eckerd College and St. Petersburg College in St. Petersburg.[74]

Tourism and recreation A street festival onYbor City's famous 7th Avenue. The Channelside Entertainment Complex in Tampa's Chanel District.

The city of Tampa operates over 165 parks and beaches covering 2,286 acres (9.25 km2) within city limits; 42 more in surrounding suburbs covering 70,000 acres (280 km2), are maintained by Hillsborough County. These areas include the Hillsborough River State Park, just northeast of the city. Tampa is also home to a number of attractions and theme parks, including Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, Adventure Island, Lowry Park Zoo, and Florida Aquarium.

Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo features over 2,000 animals, interactive exhibits, rides, educational shows and more. The zoo serves as an economic, cultural, environmental and educational anchor in Tampa.

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is a 335-acre (1.36 km2) Africa-themed park located near the University of South Florida. It features many thrilling roller coasters, for which it is known, including Sheikra. Visitors can also view and interact with a number of African wildlife.

Adventure Island is a 30-acre (120,000 m2) water park adjacent to Busch Gardens. It features many water rides, dining, and other attractions typical to a water park.

The Florida Aquarium is a 250,000 sq ft (23,000 m2) aquarium located in the Channel District of Tampa. It hosts over 20,000 species of aquatic plants and animals. It is known for its unique glass architecture. Adjacent to the Aquarium is the SS American Victory, a World War II Victory ship preserved as a museum ship.

The Tampa Bay History Center is a museum of Tampa Bay History located in the Channel District, Tampa, Florida of Tampa. It boasts over 60,000 sq ft (5,600 m2) of exhibits through 12,000 years. Theaters, map gallery, research center and museum store.

Well-known shopping areas include International Plaza and Bay Street, WestShore Plaza, SoHo district, and Hyde Park Village.[118]Palma Ceia is also home to a shopping district, called Palma Ceia Design District.[119] Previously, Tampa had also been home to the Floriland Mall (now an office park), Tampa Bay Center (demolished and replaced with the new Tampa Bay Buccaneers training facility, known as "One Buc Place"), and East Lake Square Mall (now an office park).