CITRUS PARK The Tampa Bay area of Citrus Park is another northwest neighborhood that offers easy access to all of the Tampa Bay area for entertainment, beaches, shopping, work and transportation. Sprinkled throughout the many neighborhoods of Citrus Park are small lakes with parks and also more rural areas as well from early settlers. Westfield Citrus Park Mall, with about 150 stores and over 20 restaurants and movie theatresis one of the largest malls in the Tampa Bay area. It is a Mecca of convenience that is surrounded by additional shopping and entertainment as well. A unique attraction to Tampa Bay Citrus Park offers tours to the public is the Big Cat Rescue, a non-profit permanent sanctuary for exotic cats. You will see over 100 animals of over 14 different species of Lions, Leopards, Cougars, Jaguars, Tigers, Cheetahs and more. The Upper Tampa Bay Trail is justminutes away for all you Bikers, inline skaters, walkers, joggers, equestrian riders and even fishermen. A few years ago and still in the making for the next 20 years, there are plans to develop an actual village community with a Town Centre in the Tampa Bay Citrus Park area, similar to that already developed in the Hyde Park area in South Tampa. The proposal that includes a balanced mix of land use will be centered on the corner of Gunn Highway and Ehrlich Road. Today, residential homes in this area range from $175,000 to over $400,000, while the average is about $250,000 for a 3 bedroom 2 bath 2 car garage home. The Enclave of Citrus Park is one of the newer developments of about 100 homes built in the Real Estate heydays of 2005-2006. Located off Sheldon Road and just minutes away from Westchase of Tampa and Citrus Mall with a zip code of 33626, this community only offers 2 story homes ranging in interior size of about 2500 to over 3000 square feet with 4 to 6 bedrooms each. Their smaller lot sizes of about 5500 sq ft offer no room for pools, but for those that want a newer, large home with minimal outside upkeep and great location, this community can’t be beat.  Fawn Ridge is a large deed-restricted community of about 700 homes, situated just north of The Enclave of Citrus Park and contains homes built in the 1990’s. A very nature-friendly oriented development with continual sidewalks, lakes, ponds and cypress wetlands running through the community of tree-lined streets. You will also experience benches to sit on, wildlife indicator signs, and picnic tables with restroom facilities, fountains, lighted tennis courts, baseball field, and basketball court, all for a low annual HOA (Home Owner Association) fee of about $250. This active community in Citrus Park with its own website maintains a visible presence with its homeowners to insure the maintenance of their property values and community standards. Home sizes range from the low 1300 to over 2200 sq ft situated on lot sizes over 7000 sq ft for their 3 and 4 bedroom models. Home prices today start around $150,000 and rise to over $300,000 depending.  Fawn Lake is a considerably smaller Citrus Park community of only about 275 homes, located just north of Fawn Ridge that was built around the year 2000 in Tampa Bay. This community contains its own playground, heated pool and cabana. For bikers, bladders and hikers, there is the Upper Tampa Bay Trail just a mile away. Its annual HOA fee of about $650 (larger due to fewer homes to spread the fee onto) and no CDD (Community Development District) fees are a real plus for this well-maintained neighborhood. Today home prices for these mostly 3 bedroom/2 bath single story homes range from the $200's and up into $300's for the larger ones with 1800 to 2200 sq ft on average on the inside. Citrus Pointe is an older, more affordable subdivision of about 250 homes located northeast of Fawn Lake on the other side of Sheldon Road off Gunn Highway. Built in the mid 1980’s, these smaller homes averaging 1300 sq ft are single story offering 3 bedrooms and 2 baths can be purchased anywhere from $100,000 to $175,000. Berkford Place homes is a small community of less than 75 homes built in the early 2000’s on lot sizes averaging 6000 sq ft but with larger interiors around 2200 sq ft. You will find a range of 3 to 4 bedrooms and single and two story homes priced around $250,000. Located off the corner where Sheldon Road and Gunn Hwy meet. Westmont Oaks is a newer gated villa community, that is maintenance free, tucked away just north of Linebaugh off Sheldon Road with about 125 homes offering 2 and 3 bedroom styles built in 2002. Located just east of the exclusive area of Westchase in Tampa Bay and very convenient to shopping off Sheldon Rd, this is a popular subdivision. No CDD fees and with a community pool  and low monthly maintenance fees of about $200 make this a popular haven of homes priced around $250,000.  Casa Blanca is a 60 townhome unit community of homes priced from $125,000 to $200,000 with community pool and small lake. Built around 2001, these 2 and 3 bedroom 2 story homes all offer 2 ½ baths and 2 car garages. Nestled away off Sheldon Road, just north of Linebaugh, this neighborhood is perfectly located within Citrus Park and adjacent again to the popular Tampa Bay Westchase area. Village Center Townhomes were built in 2007 north of Citrus Park Mall and south of Ehrlich just west of Gunn Hwy with energy efficiency and quality construction in mind. Priced around $250,000 for a 3 bedroom/2 ½ bath/2 car garage model, this luxury private village community of homes offers a tree-lined central park area, resort style community pool patio, community and fitness center and streets to meander on. |