Citrus Park and Carrollwood are neighbors and share a lot of the conveniences of being a suburb of Tampa Bay. Citrus Park is a smaller community of homes and businesses that runs along the western edge of Carrollwood. Recently Citrus Park has begun several new building projects including homes, apartments, retirement communities and shopping areas. The community is growing and popular because of the large Citrus Park Mall that offers fine department stores, restaurants and theaters along with the accessibility to all the Tampa area recreation and leisure activities.

Citrus Park is also home to the Big Cat Rescue facility. This non-profit organization takes in large cats including lions, tigers, cougars and other non-domestic cats that have been abandoned by owners that found caring for these animals was more than they could deal with. The facility is open daily, but evening tours are the best because that is the time to see these animals as they prefer to be out after dark and when the warm Florida temperatures have dropped for the day.

The annual Taste of Citrus Park draws a large crowd each year to sample the great food that can be found in the area. And, speaking of food, Sickles High School is well known for having one of the best culinary arts programs in the country.

Another little known fact about Citrus Park is that it is the retirement home of J. Fred Muggs. Fred was the mascot for the NBC Today show from 1953 to 1957. He is a Chimpanzee and made a hit with audiences by keeping things entertaining during the shows. Fred is getting on in years, but he is enjoying retirement with his trainer and another companion Chimpanzee.

Citrus Park is an unincorporated census-designated place located in Hillsborough County, Florida . As of the 2000 census, the community had a total population of 20,226.

Here is a list of Citrus Park Neighborhoods:

Geography

Citrus Park is located at 28°4'15" North, 82°33'30" West (28.070769, -82.558275) GR1 .

According to the United States Census Bureau , the community has a total area of 28.2 km² (10.9 mi² ). 27.4 km² (10.6 mi²) of it is land and 0.8 km² (0.3 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 2.94% water.

Demographics

As of the census GR2 of 2000 , there are 20,226 people, 7,070 households, and 5,542 families residing in the community. The population density is 738.8/km² (1,913.1/mi²). There are 7,607 housing units at an average density of 277.9/km² (719.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the community is 81.50% White , 7.57% African American , 0.35% Native American , 3.18% Asian , 0.07% Pacific Islander , 4.59% from other races , and 2.73% from two or more races. 20.26% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 7,070 households out of which 43.2% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.8% are married couples living together, 11.4% have a female householder with no husband present, and 21.6% are non-families. 15.1% of all households are made up of individuals and 3.1% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.85 and the average family size is 3.18.

In the community the population is spread out with 28.8% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 35.9% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 6.6% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 34 years. For every 100 females there are 96.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 93.5 males.

The median income for a household in the community is $54,732, and the median income for a family is $60,165. Males have a median income of $35,360 versus $29,739 for females. The per capita income for the community is $22,162. 6.3% of the population and 4.8% of families are below the poverty line . Out of the total population, 7.1% of those under the age of 18 and 13.7% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Famous residents

As of 2004 Citrus Park is the home of famous chimpanzee J. Fred Muggs , who lives in the care of Gerald Preis, son of trainer Carmine "Bud" Mennella.

Attractions

• Big Cat Rescue is a non-profit sanctuary for large cats that is open to the public. It is located off Citrus Park Drive near Gunn Highway and Veterans Expressway.

This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License .