Spring Hill, Florida

Spring Hill
Census-designated place (CDP)

The gateway to Spring Hill on US 19 and Spring Hill Drive

Location in Hernando County and the state of Florida
Coordinates: 28°28′44″N 82°32′52″W / 28.47889°N 82.54778°WCoordinates: 28°28′44″N 82°32′52″W / 28.47889°N 82.54778°W
Country United States
State Florida
County Hernando
Area
 • Total 54.8 sq mi (142 km2)
 • Land 53.1 sq mi (137.6 km2)
 • Water 1.7 sq mi (4.4 km2)
Elevation Max 250 Min 42 ft (31m 3.35 m)
Population
 • Total 98,621
 • Density 1,260.5/sq mi (486.5/km2)
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
Area code(s) 352
FIPS code 12-68350[1]
GNIS feature ID 0294933[2]

Spring Hill is a census-designated place (CDP) in Hernando County, Florida, United States. The estimated population was 98,621 in 2010 by the United States Census. Spring Hill belongs to Florida's Nature Coast and is in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area.[3]

History and overview

Spring Hill was founded in 1967 as a planned community, which was developed by the Deltona Corporation and the Mackle Brothers who built the community. The plans for the community are actually identical to the community of Deltona, Florida. The Mackle Brothers sold many of the properties and land in the area through intense advertising.[4] It appeared on maps of Florida as early as 1856.[5] It has since become a sprawling semi-city in its own right, though it is an unincorporated area. The main entrance to the original development is marked by the Spring Hill waterfall on Spring Hill Drive and U.S. Route 19 (Commercial Way). Its location has Hernando Beach to the west, Brooksville, Florida to the east, and Tampa to the south via the Suncoast Parkway, US 41, and I-75. Spring Hill is the largest town in population north of Tampa in the St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area.

Spring Hill has in the past two decades attracted a large number of business chains, reflecting the recent boom in population and the tastes of the recent influx of residents seeking lower property values, quiet suburban life, and a low crime rate. With its proximity to Tampa, about 35 miles (56 km) south and the completion of the Suncoast Parkway in 2001, has made Spring Hill easily accessible to the Tampa-St. Petersburg area.

Education

Spring Hill has several schools, both public and private, which provide primary and secondary education to local children. There are also several options for higher education that are easily accessible from the Spring Hill area.

Primary and secondary education

Public schools in Spring Hill are part of the Hernando County School Board school system, which oversees all public schools in Hernando County. The main public schools that serve the Spring Hill area are:

High Schools

Middle Schools

  • Fox Chapel Middle School
  • Gulf Coast Academy of Science and Technology, a charter school
  • Powell Middle School
  • West Hernando Middle School

K-8 Schools

  • Challenger K-8 School of Science and Mathematics
  • Explorer K-8
  • John D. Floyd K-8 School of Environmental Science
  • Winding Waters K-8

Elementary Schools

  • Chocachatti Elementary School
  • Deltona Elementary School
  • Pine Grove Elementary School
  • Spring Hill Elementary school
  • Suncoast Elementary School
  • Westside Elementary School

In addition to the public schools in Spring Hill, there are also several private schools:

  • Spring Hill Christian Academy (Pre-K to grade 12)
  • Wider Horizons School, a Montessori school (Pre-K to grade 6) and College Preparatory school (junior and senior high school)
  • West Hernando Christian School

Higher learning

Spring Hill is also home to the new 100,000-square-foot (9,300 m2) campus of Pasco–Hernando State College called Spring Hill Campus. This was the fourth campus built out of the five now in existence.[7]

Libraries

The Hernando County Public Library system operates several libraries in and around the Spring Hill area, such as the West Hernando Branch Library and the Spring Hill Branch Library, which serves as a replacement of the Little Red Schoolhouse Branch Library. The historic Little Red Schoolhouse Branch Library has since been converted into a bookstore whose proceeds benefit the library system.[8]

Healthcare

Healthcare in Spring Hill is quite abundant and continues to grow. There are three accredited hospitals in the area, Bayfront Health Spring Hill Hospital, Oak Hill Hospital and the newest, Bayfront Health Brooksville Hospital. With a large senior citizen population, Spring Hill contains many nursing homes and rehabilitation facilities including Spring Hill Health and Rehab, Evergreen Woods Assisted Living Facility and Health South Rehab (an affiliate of Oak Hill Hospital.

Recent developments

JCPenney[9] opened a store on U.S. Route 19 (Commercial Way), just south of Spring Hill Drive in Spring 2008, adjacent to the store is a 250,000-square-foot (23,000 m2) shopping center that include many stores and restaurants, including: Best Buy,[10] Cracker Barrel,[11] Office Depot, Ross & Sports Authority.[12] A Kohl's[13] on Spring Hill Drive, just east of the Suncoast Parkway opened in Fall 2008; a Target[14] was constructed at the same location and opened in July 2009. Just a few miles south of Kohl's and Target off of the Suncoast Parkway at County Line Road and Anderson Snow Road is a new plaza called The Shoppes of Avalon. Their anchor store is Publix which opened fall of 2009. There is also a Nail Star, China Star & Leo Liquors. The newest businesses that have opened on SR 50 are Five Guys, Texas Roadhouse, Panera Bread, HHGregg, Marina and a Burger King.

Tourism

Nearby Weeki Wachee Springs is home to the famous live mermaid show and Florida's only spring-fed water park, Buccaneer Bay.[15]

Media

There are three print newspapers that serve the area: Tampa Tribune, the Hernando Times (a publication of Tampa Bay Times), and the Hernando Sun.

Spring Hill belongs in the Tampa media market, the 13th largest designated market area in the United States.

Notable residents

Geography

Spring Hill is located at 28°28′44″N 82°32′52″W / 28.47889°N 82.54778°W (28.478929, & 82.547732).[17] According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 54.8 square miles (142 km2), of which, 53.1 square miles (138 km2) of it is land and 1.7 square miles (4.4 km2) of it (3.12%) is water.

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
19806,468—
199031,117381.1%
200069,078122.0%
201098,62142.8%
source:[18]

As of 2010, there were 44,435 households, with 12.1% being vacant. In 2000, there were 28,274 households out of which 23.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.2% were married couples living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.6% were non-families. 21.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.74.

Spring Hill Demographics
2010 CensusSpring HillHernando
County		Florida
Total population98,621172,77818,801,310
Population, percent change, 2000 to 2010+42.8%+32.1%+17.6%
Population density1,649.0/sq mi365.6/sq mi350.6/sq mi
White or Caucasian (including White Hispanic)88.1%89.5%75.0%
(Non-Hispanic White or Caucasian)78.5%82.1%57.9%
Black or African-American5.1%5.1%16.0%
Hispanic or Latino (of any race)13.6%10.3%22.5%
Asian1.4%1.1%2.4%
Native American or Native Alaskan0.4%0.4%0.4%
Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian0.0%0.0%0.1%
Two or more races (Multiracial)2.5%2.0%2.5%
Some Other Race2.5%1.9%3.6%

In 2000, the CDP the population was spread out with 19.5% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 21.2% from 25 to 44, 24.2% from 45 to 64, and 29.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 48 years. For every 100 females there were 89.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.7 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $32,861, and the median income for a family was $37,608. Males had a median income of $30,076 versus $21,364 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $17,184. About 6.4% of families and 9.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.4% of those under age 18 and 5.6% of those age 65 or over.

Languages

As of 2000, English spoken as a first language accounted for 88.64% of all residents, while 11.35% spoke other languages as their mother tongue. The most significant were Spanish speakers who made up 5.96% of the population, while Italian came up as the third most spoken language, which made up 1.51%, and German was at fourth, with 1.13% of the population.[19]

Transportation

Spring Hill's location in Florida (red dot)

Mass transit

Bus service in Spring Hill is provided by THE Bus (The Hernando Express), which serves as Hernando County's main bus system, servicing both Spring Hill and Brooksville. Started in 2002, THE Bus has three main routes, two of which serve the main thoroughfares of Spring Hill, such as Spring Hill Drive and Mariner Boulevard.[20]

Roads

Tourism sign on US 19 just north of CR 578 (County Line Road)

There are several county roads in Spring Hill that serve as major thoroughfares for traffic traveling around and passing through Spring Hill. Below is a list of the county roads that pertain to Spring Hill:

CR # Name Direction
CR 572 Elgin Boulevard/Powell Road East/West
CR 574 Spring Hill Drive East/West
CR 578 County Line Road East/West
CR 585 Barclay Avenue/Anderson Snow Road North/South
CR 587 Mariner Boulevard North/South
CR 589 Deltona Boulevard North/South

Highways

Spring Hill is bordered to the west by US 19 (named Commercial Way), and to the north by SR 50 (named Cortez Boulevard). The Suncoast Parkway (SR 589) is a toll road that passes through Spring Hill and serves as a connection to Pasco and Hillsborough counties (and, by extension, Tampa) to the south.

Gallery

References

  1. ↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  2. ↑ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  3. ↑ http://factfinder.census.gov/
  4. ↑ http://www.deltona.com/history.asp
  5. ↑ http://fcit.usf.edu/florida/maps/countgal/drew56/27drew56.htm
  6. ↑ http://www.ibo.org/school/003284/
  7. ↑ http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/college/article1005804.ece
  8. ↑ http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/article937881.ece
  9. ↑ "JC PENNEY's Store Locator".
  10. ↑ "Best Buy Store Locator".
  11. ↑ "Cracker Barrel Restaurant Locator".
  12. ↑ "Sports Authority Store Locator".
  13. ↑ "Kohl's Store Locator".
  14. ↑ "Target : Store Locator : Store Details".
  15. ↑ http://weekiwachee.com
  16. ↑ "ArenaFan Online: Huey Whittaker". arenafan.com. Retrieved 8 May 2011.
  17. ↑ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
  18. ↑ "CENSUS OF POPULATION AND HOUSING (1790-2000)". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2012-05-14.
  19. ↑ Modern Language Association Data Center Results of Spring Hill, Florida.
  20. ↑ http://www.hernandobus.com/history.htm

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Spring Hill, Florida.