Plantation, Florida

Plantation is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census the population was 84,955. It is part of the Miami–Fort Lauderdale–Pompano Beach Metropolitan Statistical Area, which was home to 5,546,635 people at the 2010 census.

The city's name comes from the prior owner of the land, the Everglades Plantation Company.^[4] The official motto of Plantation is "The Grass is Greener." Plantation suffered extensive damage from Hurricane Wilma on October 24, 2005.

Plantation City Hall was the backdrop for part of the film, There's Something About Mary. Mary's childhood home was filmed a few miles from City Hall. Plantation Golf Course is the site of the famous Caddyshack pool scene.

Geography

Plantation is located at (26.124354, -80.249503).^[5]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 21.93 square miles (57 km²), of which 21.74 square miles (56 km²) is land and 0.19 square miles (0 km²) (0.87%) is water.

Plantation is located in central Broward County. It is bordered by Lauderhill to the northeast, Sunrise to the north and west, Davie to the south, and Fort Lauderdale to the east.

Demographics

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 82,934 people, 33,244 households, and 22,206 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,815.2 per square mile (1,472.9/km²). There were 34,999 housing units at an average density of 1,610.0 per square mile (621.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 78.34% White (68% were Non-Hispanic White,)^[6] 13.78% African American, 0.17% Native American, 2.88% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 2.00% from other races, and 2.79% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 13.09% of the population.

There were 33,244 households out of which 30.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.0% were married couples living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.2% were non-families. 25.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.1% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 32.0% from 25 to 44, 24.7% from 45 to 64, and 13.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 90.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.2 males.

According to a 2007 estimate, the median income for a household in the city was $66,135, and the median income for a family was $80,434.[1] Males had a median income of $44,838 versus $32,360 for females. The per capita income for the city was $28,250. About 4.3% of families and 6.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.1% of those under age 18 and 6.7% of those age 65 or over.

As of 2000, English as a first language was spoken by 78.00% of the population, while Spanish was at 13.00%, French Creole at 2.24%, French speakers made up 1.30%, Hebrew comprised 0.72%, Portuguese speakers comprised 0.71%, Italian was at 0.58%, German at 0.54%, and Arabic was the mother tongue of 0.46% of all residents.^[7]

Education

Public high schools

• Plantation High School
• South Plantation High School

Plantation middle schools

• Bair Middle School (serves parts of Plantation)
• Plantation Middle School
• Seminole Middle School

Public elementary schools

• Central Park Elementary School
• Mirror Lake Elementary School
• Peters Elementary School
• Plantation Elementary School
• Plantation Park Elementary School
• Sawgrass Elementary School (serves parts of Plantation)
• Tropical Elementary School

Private schools

• American Heritage School
• American Academy
• The Blake School
• David Posnack Hebrew Day School
• Our Savior Lutheran
• St. Gregory's Parish School
• University of Phoenix

Economy

DHL's World Headquarters for the Americas is located in Plantation. American InterContinental University is located in the area, along with the University of Phoenix, located on North Pine Island Road. The Esperanto language institute headquarters are located in Plantation. Avianca operates a Fort Lauderdale-area sales office at 262 South University Drive in Plantation.^[8] Goodwin Biotechnology is headquartered in Plantation.

Plantation was home to two malls, situated across the street from one another: the Broward Mall (south of Broward Boulevard), and the Fashion Mall (north of Broward). The Fashion Mall/Executive Pavilion was sparsely occupied for many years and closed in April 2007. The vacant former mall was in line to be put up for auction in 2010, but the auction was cancelled after the property owner paid a court judgement.^[9][10] The estimated $350 million project is a major part of Plantation Midtown, an 850-acre (3.4 km²) urban center that is expected to help turn Plantation into a regional destination. Plantation has embraced mixed-use in its master plan for the Midtown area. “Mixed use is not only a key element of the City’s master plan for Midtown, but is an important consideration in repositioning the beleaguered Fashion Mall property because it will create a sustainable development,” says Paul D’Arelli of Greenberg Traurig, P.A., legal counsel for the project and an accredited LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) professional.

Media

Plantation is part of the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood media market, which is the twelfth largest radio market^[11] and the seventeenth largest television market^[12] in the United States. Its primary daily newspapers are the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and The Miami Herald, and their Spanish-language counterparts El Sentinel and El Nuevo Herald. Plantation also publishes a quarterly news magazine, the Plantation Quarterly.^[13]

Notable residents

• Ronnie Brown, NFL player
• Candace Cameron, actress and wife of Valeri Bure (former NHL player)
• Snoop Dogg, rapper
• Fat Joe, rapper
• Wayne Federman, actor, comedian, and Pistol Pete Maravich biographer
• Chad Henne, NFL player
• Carl Hiaasen, novelist and journalist
• Ty Law, NFL player
• Mark Linn-Baker, actor
• Jake Long, NFL player
• Mike McKenzie, NFL player
• Alicia Minshew, actress
• Bob Norman, journalist
• Chad Ochocinco, NFL player
• Darrelle Revis, NFL player
• Cody Ross, MLB player
• Seymour Schwartzman, opera singer and cantor
• Sloane Stephens, professional tennis player
• Patrick Surtain, NFL player
• Zach Thomas, NFL player
• Robin Weisman, former child actress
• Allen West, U.S. congressman, FL-22 district

Historical timeline

• 1838 - Battle of Pine Island - part of the seven-year Seminole War.
• 1906 - Captain Walter Holloway unsuccessfully attempts to drain the Everglades for farming; major canal runs north-south through Plantation.
• 1911 - Sewell Locks, first wooden locks in the state, are built on the New River Canal next to Florida State Road 84.
• 1941 - Frederick C. Peters purchases 10,000 acres (4,000 ha) for $25 per acre; land had been owned by the Everglades Plantation Company (origin of the city's name); Broward Boulevard is a two-lane road.
• 1947 - First homes built by Chauncey Clark; property valued at $200 an acre; two hurricanes completely flood the area.
• 1948 - 12 homes in the area; population reaches 36.
• 1949 - Plantation Women's Club founded; Plantation Homeowners organization founded by Dr. Abram Hoffman; 40 homes in the area.
• 1950 - Population reaches 200; Plantation Golf Club built.
• 1953 - Ellsworth D. Gage appointed first Mayor on April 30; Plantation incorporated as a city; first City Council meeting on May 11; Broward Boulevard grows to a four-lane street; population reaches 475.
• 1955 - S. Robinson Estey elected Mayor. He had previously been Deputy Sheriff; Plantation Police Dept. organized.
• 1957 - First industrial plant in Plantation - Airpax Products, Co. on Sunrise Blvd; City of Plantation Volunteer Fire Dept.
• 1958 - Population reaches 1,600.
• 1959 - James Ward Jr. elected Mayor. First school, Berenice T. Peters Elementary School, dedicated.
• 1961 - The Plantation Library is founded with Mrs. Helen B. Hoffman as chairwoman.
• 1962 - Edwin Deicke donates $100,000 for the expansion and renovation of Hoffman Building, later renamed the Deicke Auditorium; Chamber of Commerce founded.
• 1963 - Community Center, designed by Russell Pancoast, built and dedicated on city's tenth anniversary.
• 1965 - Population reaches 6,500.
• 1969 - Motorola opens facility in Plantation.
• 1970 - Gulfstream Land and Development Company purchases 5,400 acres (2,200 ha) for Jacaranda community development; population reaches 23,000.
• 1973 - Plantation City Hall opens and Deicke Auditorium dedicated.
• 1974 - Plantation Historical Society founded by Genevieve Veltri, Dorothy O'Hare, Lois Brickhouse, and Marilyn King.
• 1975 - Frank Veltri elected Mayor for first time; American Express moves Southern Region Operations Center to Plantation. Population 40,200, budget $4,229,569.
• 1978 - Broward Mall opens (1 million square ft).
• 1980 - The Plantation Historical Museum is founded; population 48,653.
• 1981 - Plantation Library is renamed the Helen B. Hoffman Plantation Library.
• 1982 - The population reaches 50,000; city budget reaches $12 million.
• 1985 - Plantation Historical Museum built.
• 1988 - Fountains Shopping Mall opens (450,000 sq ft); Fashion Mall at Plantation opens (660,000 sq ft).
• 1990 - The population reaches 65,000; city budget reaches $64 million; Central Park Elementary School opens.
• 1991 - Hartford's Cornerstone, Phase 1 opens.
• 1993 - Kemper National Services opens operations in Plantation.
• 1994 - Population reaches more than 73,500.
• 1996 - Olympic Torch Run weaves through Plantation.
• 1997 - Population reaches 78,000; city budget is in excess of $80 million.
• 1999 - Rae Carole Armstrong elected as Mayor of Plantation; 11,500-square-foot (1,070 m²) Volunteer Park Community Center dedicated.
• 2000 - Population 84,500 and 55 diverse cultures; Presidential election delayed; Plantation Elementary moves to new school site; ground broken for Jim Ward Community Center.
• 2001 - Ground broken for Happy Tails Dog Park; Multicultural Garden opens in Park East. Community Bus Service in operation.
• 2002 - Jim Ward 16,000 sq ft (1,500 m²) Community Center opens; Jack Carter Harmony Park dedicated; Happy Tails Dog Park dedicated.
• 2005 - Hurricane Wilma hits Plantation causing significant damage.
• 2008 - Plantation named one of the nation's 100 Best Communities for Young People by America's Promise Alliance.^[14]

References

External links

• City of Plantation official website