Water, Water Everywhere-And Plenty of Sunny Places to Play

Almost everybody knows the first rule of buying real estate: Location, location, location. But what makes a good location? Drive around our region and you'll see one key ingredient-water.

There's the placid blue expanse of Tampa Bay, which stretches from Hillsborough to Pinellas counties, and the rolling emerald waves of the Gulf of Mexico, which kiss the soft, white sand of Clearwater's beaches.

Then there are the streams, springs, lakes and rivers of interior Pasco and Hernando counties, shaded by hammocks of moss-draped oaks.

Whether you're sipping an evening cocktail from the Gulf-view balcony of your Clearwater condominium, the deck of your lakefront home in rural Tampa" target="_blank">Pasco County or the terrace of your vintage mansion overlooking Tampa Bay, the sunsets are spectacular and the breezes are balmy.

While the seemingly endless selection of water views is definitely a big attraction, the almost endless sunshine is probably a bigger one.

On a slow news day in 1910, the publisher of the Evening Independent in St. Petersburg came up with a brilliant, but inexpensive, marketing plan. On days when the sun didn't shine, the afternoon paper would be free.

The idea was brilliant because it indelibly stamped the "Sunshine City" moniker on the laid-back community, which was already emerging as a choice destination for northern snowbirds. It was cheap because the sun shines an average of 361 days a year in the Tampa Bay area. Therefore, for the next 75 years, the paper was obligated to forego circulation revenue only rarely.

Indeed, during one remarkable, 768-day stretch between Feb. 9, 1967 and March 17, 1969, the sun shone every day, earning the city a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records.

But if the sun and the surf attract people to Tampa Bay, plenty of other recreational opportunities keep them here.

For lovers of the arts and sciences, there's the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, the Tampa Museum of Art and The Museum of Science and Industry, to name just a few high-profile venues.

Thrill-seekers can check out Busch Gardens, Adventure Island and the Ybor City nightlife. And sports fans can watch the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at Tropicana Field and the Tampa Bay Lightning at the St. Pete Times Forum. A number of professional baseball teams, including the New York Yankees, tune up during spring training games. The area has even hosted two Super Bowls.

Not surprisingly, this winning combination of natural beauty, plenty of leisure-time amenities and a thriving local economy have made the Tampa Bay Metropolitan Statistical Area among the fastest growing in the United States, with nearly 2.5 million people now occupying Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco and Hernando counties.

Despite the area's rapid growth, housing remains relatively affordable. According to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index, the median price of all homes sold in the Tampa Bay area was $183,000 during the third quarter of 2005.

Concurrently, the region's median household income was $52,200. Thus, according to the HOI's calculations, families earning the region's median household income could afford to purchase 49 percent of the homes actually being sold. That makes the Bay area more affordable than either Orlando or Miami.

And there's no sign that the region will run out of homes for the influx of new residents anytime soon. Tampa" target="_blank">Pinellas County, which is nearly built out, is starting to build up, with a boom in condominium construction. Meanwhile, although parts of Tampa" target="_blank">Hillsborough County are fully developed, wide expanses on the east side are sprouting amenity rich, master-planned communities.

Tampa" target="_blank">Pasco County, with the Suncoast Parkway running up its spine, has become another new frontier for development. And Tampa" target="_blank">Hernando County, also blessed with Parkway access, is hot on its heels.

Without a doubt, the Bay area offers a rich array of home choices. We can help you narrow it down.

Following is a neighborhood-by-neighborhood primer, in which you'll find everything from new master-planned developments to charming historic neighborhoods. Undoubtedly, there's a home just right for you and your family.

Tampa" target="_blank">Hillsborough County at a glance

LAND AREA (SQUARE MILES): 1,051
PERSONS PER SQUARE MILE (2000): 950.6
POPULATION (2004 ESTIMATE): 1,101,261
POPULATION INCREASE (1990-2000): 19.8 percent
COLLEGE GRADUATES: 25.1 percent
MEAN TRAVEL TIME TO WORK (MINUTES): 25.8
MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME (1999): $40,663

BRANDON

Settler John Brandon gave his name to this sprawling community in the 1850s. Then the railroad arrived in 1890. But not much else of significance happened here until 145 years later, when the giant Brandon Town Center Mall (now Westfield Brandon) opened.

Even then, plenty of cows were around to witness the hoopla. A herd of curious bovines, kept in a field near the mall, broke through a barbed wire enclosure and into the mall's parking lot, startling drivers and pedestrians alike and leaving odorous souvenirs behind on an otherwise festive opening day.

"Nowhere but Brandon would you see that," says Mary Odum, a local realtor for Coldwell Banker since 1984.

Cattle are getting rarer in Brandon, which has the advantage of being located conveniently at the end of the LeRoy Selmon Crosstown Expressway and near the junction of I-4 and I-75, creating easy access to both Tampa and Orlando.

In 1960, the first year a census was taken of Brandon, there were 1,655 residents. By 2000 there were 77,895. And the geographic boundaries have grown as well, with Brandon now encompassing an area south of I-4, east of I-75 and north of the Alafia River to Big Bend Road. The towns of Lithia, Seffner, Mango and a new rising star, Dover, are all considered part of the Brandon area.

Despite its size, Brandon isn't a city. Instead, it's one of the largest unincorporated communities in Florida. Indeed, newcomers are often surprised to learn that Tampa" target="_blank">Hillsborough County provides Brandon's police and fire protection as well as other governmental services.

A couple of decades ago, Brandon offered a wide array of solid if unremarkable homes attracting a large contingent of military families as well as retirees from nearby MacDill Air Force Base. The average price was around $50,000. Today, the median home price in Brandon is pushing $300,000-and there's no shortage of $1 million-plus homes.

Brandon has always been known for its family-oriented neighborhoods, a tradition that continues with FishHawk Ranch and FishHawk Trails, two large master-planned communities packed with amenities. And local schools are considered to be excellent, another big draw for buyers.

FishHawk Ranch, in Lithia, once a working ranch, is a breathtaking tract planned for some 5,000 homes as well as miles of walking trails, a skate park, community pools, a movie house, an aquatics center and even a roller hockey rink. FishHawk Trails, a gated custom-home community on the east side of Lithia-Pinecrest, offers beautiful new homes on half-acre-plus lots. Resales are available in Bloomingdale, a Brandon mainstay now built-out with more than 4,000 single-family homes.

There are several entertainment venues in the area. The Florida State Fairgrounds provides year-round events and festivals. The Ford Amphitheatre on the fairgrounds regularly presents pop, country and rock concerts.

The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, complete with a 50-foot-tall guitar at the entrance, offers live entertainment, restaurant and bar options and a full-service spa as well as slot machines and roulette wheels.

DOWNTOWN TAMPA

Tampa started out as a fort. President James Monroe approved a military post to be built at Hillsborough Bay in 1823 and, by the following year, Fort Brooke was completed. It seems the peninsular Tampa area, which juts out into Tampa Bay, has had a military presence ever since.

In 1898, during the Spanish-American War, Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders were stationed in Tampa, which was a major staging ground for 30,000 troops preparing to invade Cuba. And MacDill Air Force Base remains on the tip of the Interbay Peninsula, about eight miles from downtown.

For many years, downtown Tampa was only a place to work. Now it's increasingly becoming a place to live as well, with condominiums planned from the downtown core through the Channel District, adjacent to the Port of Tampa, and all the way to historic Ybor City.

Replicas of the city's 1920s-era historic streetcars make it easy and fun to get from one end of downtown to the other, and there's already plenty to do. The city's impressive skyline marks the bustling waterfront region and provides a gleaming glass-and-steel backdrop for many of the area's high-profile attractions. The St. Pete Times Forum, Channelside entertainment complex, Florida Aquarium, Yacht StarShip and Ybor City provide visitors and residents alike with plenty of opportunities for fun and relaxation on or near the water.

The west side of downtown, along the scenic Hillsborough River, is home to the Tampa Convention Center, Tampa Bay History Center, Tampa Museum of Art, University of Tampa, Henry B. Plant Museum (formerly the Tampa Bay Hotel) and Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center.

But there's probably no place in Tampa" target="_blank">Hillsborough County with a more active nightlife than Ybor (pronounced E-bore). This funky National Historic Landmark District-the second largest in Florida, after St. Augustine-was once home to cigar factories where Cuban immigrants toiled for hours, hand-rolling cigars as el Lector read newspapers and even novels to them.

Some of the red brick former cigar factory buildings and social clubs remain, as do a significant number of other structures built around the turn of the last century.

The influence of Cuban culture is still particularly strong along Seventh Avenue, the community's main drag. Within a few blocks, you can buy a Cuban-style cigar, eat authentic Cuban sandwiches or black beans, rice and plantains, and enjoy a caffeine kick with a cup of steaming Cuban coffee.

Among the district's most notable restaurants and bars are The Improv, Centro Ybor, Green Iguana, The Rare Olive and the century-old Columbia Restaurant, an Ybor landmark known nationwide for its Spanish cuisine. No fewer than 25 major events are celebrated each year in Ybor, including illuminated night parades, cultural and arts festivals and even a weekend farmers market.

Ybor's energy has also attracted a burgeoning creative class, including architects, engineers and designers. And on the east side, there's an industrial area teeming with manufacturers and distributors. Plus, today's "Cigar City" is becoming a place where newcomers want to live as well as work and play, and condo developers are struggling to keep up with demand.

"It's a mixture of folks moving into Ybor City," says Marc Hamburg, owner of Florida Real Estate Associates and chairman of the Ybor City Chamber of Commerce. "It's an up-and-coming place to live."

For example, the relatively new Camden Ybor City apartments were recently converted to condominiums while new multifamily projects are rising on long-empty lots. And many tiny shotgun-style homes-known locally as casitas-are being restored as private residences. Several have been preserved and relocated to a square near the Ybor City State Museum, where one is being used as an art gallery and another as a tearoom.

In addition to new residential developments both north and south of the Interstate, Hamburg says an influx of commercial developments has hit Ybor City. "There is plenty of reinvestment in the area, with people upgrading their facilities," he says, citing the Taverna Opa as an example.

Ybor, with all its patina and history, is adjacent to one of Tampa's newest and fastest-emerging residential communities, Channelside. A decade ago, few would have been brave enough to predict a condominium craze in this once gritty industrial seaport district. But considering the spectacular waterfront views from up high, it's surprising that it took so long.

In addition to the new condominiums, there are several mixed-use projects either announced or under way featuring ground-floor retail, restaurants or offices with residential towers above.

"I see Channelside and Ybor as eventually getting married, especially as the Tampa Park and Central Park projects get under way," says Hamburg. "Channelside has the water and the port while Ybor has the history. But both are urban environments that appeal to young professionals."

Century-old Seminole Heights, one of the city's first suburbs, is another thriving neighborhood in the downtown area. Blighted 20 years ago and located in the geographic center of Tampa" target="_blank">Hillsborough County, it's yet another Bay-area turnaround story.

When Hamburg moved there in the 1980s to be closer to downtown, he began buying older homes on the cheap and renting them to low-income tenants. Lately, as leases have expired, he's found buyers competing for his properties-and offering top dollar.

"Values have gone way up," Hamburg says. "Properties that were once rented are now being bought by professionals. The housing stock is making a big change."

The Hillsborough River anchors Seminole Heights, which is dotted with small parks. Private properties on the little river are selling for prices over $1 million-sums that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. But buyers came to realize that its tributary's direct access to the Gulf of Mexico was a premium Seminole Heights asset.

Neighborly porch parties are routine, giving new residents a chance to get to know each other and veterans the chance to gossip. And an annual Seminole Heights tour of homes is a popular event.

NEW TAMPA

Tampa Palms was the community that changed the course of Hillsborough residential development. But nobody would have expected that until Denver developer Ken Good came to town in the 1980s with fistfuls of cash and a vision of a neighborhood like no other.

For generations, Bruce B. Downs Boulevard had been known as "the Road to Nowhere," carved out so a few prominent families could access their hunting camps in northeast Hillsborough.

Eventually, much of the land was sold off in large tracts to developers, including Good, who developed 9,100 acres as Tampa Palms. In 1985 he convinced the city of Tampa to annex the land, which was barely contiguous to Tampa proper. It became the city's largest annexation of residential acreage in 100 years.

Good's grasp eventually exceeded his reach, but Tampa Palms survived his personal and financial travails, eventually inspiring a generation of developers to build similar amenity-rich, master-planned communities, which are now the backbone of New Tampa: Hunter's Green, West Meadows, Cory Lake Isles, Cross Creek, Heritage Isles, Pebble Creek, Richmond Place, Live Oak, Arbor Greene and Grand Hampton.

In 1993 a group of business leaders formed the Northeast Area Council and christened the area New Tampa, a name intended to give it a distinct identity while firmly tying it to Tampa proper. Today the organization is known as the New Tampa Community Council.

"It's a consistent neighborhood," says Dale Bohannon, a Coldwell Banker realtor. "Other areas were developed over time. You might see homes elsewhere from the 1930s or 1970s side-by-side with commercial development and mobile home parks. There is nothing 30 years old in New Tampa-no trailer parks, no industrial development. And there aren't any billboards, either."

Most New Tampa communities are gated and boast elaborate community centers with two or three swimming pools, spas, fitness facilities, walking and biking trails and parks. Many of New Tampa's 30,000-plus residents relocated from out of state.

Single-family homes in New Tampa are priced from approximately $180,000 to $4 million, says Joel Brumbach, of Keller Williams Realty. "The market has slowed down somewhat," he notes. "Appreciation has also slowed down. But New Tampa is still one of the best markets in the area."

Not only are residents attracted to the amenities, the good school systems and the array of home prices, says Brumbach, but they're also drawn by new commercial and industrial facilities that have begun to relocate to the area, including two giants that are fueling price increases and lack of inventory: Depository Trust Corporation and Key Mobile.

NORTHWEST HILLSBOROUGH

Carrollwood is a rapidly growing community 15 miles northwest of downtown Tampa. Lifetime resident and Real Estate Mart realtor Robbie Henderson explains its development in terms of two communities: "Original" Carrollwood and "New" Carrollwood.

Original Carrollwood is defined as the homes built from the 1950s through 1974 by developer Matt Jetton and his company, Sun State Builders. Those 983 homes, all with access to 200-acre Lake Carroll, sold at prices ranging from $20,000 to $40,000.

"The thing I always found fascinating was that to live on the lake, people paid an additional $1,000 to $2,000," says Henderson. "The difference today is $400,000. We had one buyer that paid $650,000 just for a teardown."

Demand in Carrollwood's older sectors is certainly extraordinary, even for less desirable properties. Henderson says a small home on a busy road recently sold for $220,000, "and had 10 contracts on it."

New Carrollwood is far more diverse, with approximately 30 communities offering homes in a variety of styles and price ranges. There are middle-income neighborhoods, such as Lake Magdalene and Northdale, and there are wealthy neighborhoods, such as Avila, where custom homes start at about 4,000 square feet. Among the more outrageous Avila homes is the 40,000-square-foot mega-mansion of former corporate raider Paul Bilzerian.

Westchase, a 2,000-acre master-planned community on the Hillsborough-Pinellas county border, has been one of the area's hottest new communities since the early 1990s. Its first homes were built in traditional suburban fashion, but more recently the community has adopted a New Urbanism approach, with homes arranged around a multi-use town center called West Park Village.

The once rural, rustic communities of Keystone and Odessa in Hillsborough's northwest area have been discovered in recent years by the moneyed. "If you drove through Keystone, you'd be blown away by all the lakes and million-dollar homes," Henderson says.

SOUTH TAMPA

Located just minutes southwest of downtown, South Tampa features the longest continuous sidewalk in the world-yes, the world-along beautiful Bayshore Boulevard overlooking Hillsborough Bay.

The bayfront is the site of Gasparilla, Tampa's longest-running and most renowned event. Since 1904, the city's movers and shakers in Ye Mystic Krewe Gasparilla have donned pirate garb, boarded a replica pirate ship and "invaded" the city. The colorful celebration, held each January or February, features parades, balls, fireworks and other festivities.

But South Tampa is home to more than the occasional festival. It also boasts a huge number of eclectic shops and outstanding restaurants.

The Palma Ceia Community and Country Club and Bayshore Yacht Club have traditionally been home to the city's power-elite. But all of Bayshore Boulevard, with its majestic homes and its see-forever views, is a magnet for the wealthy. Hyde Park, an early Tampa subdivision, is also a prestigious address. In addition to a healthy stock of renovated older homes, the community boasts an eclectic outdoor shopping district called Hyde Park Village.

MacDill Air Force Base sits at the tip of the Interbay Peninsula. Activated in 1941, MacDill became a major staging area for Army Air Corps flight crews and aircraft following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Later the facility was featured in the 1955 movie Strategic Air Command, starring Jimmy Stewart and June Allyson.

Today, MacDill is home to the U.S. Special Operations Command. It gained international prominence during Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm as the home base of U.S. Central Command and General Norman Schwarzkopf.

South Tampa also offers bicyclists and rollerbladers a link to Tampa" target="_blank">Pinellas County via the "old" Gandy Bridge to St. Petersburg. After a new bridge was completed in 1997, the circa-1924 span was spared demolition by elected officials, who were pressed by citizens and business groups. More than 500,000 people annually use the renamed Friendship Trail Bridge.

SOUTH SHORE

South Shore is a relatively new name for a geographic area of Tampa" target="_blank">Hillsborough County previously known, rather generically, as "South County." The emerging South Shore region includes the communities of Apollo Beach, Riverview, Gibsonton, Ruskin and Sun City Center. It's a rapidly developing area, with an estimated 15,000 new homes on their way and more in the pipeline right behind them.

Accommodating the population growth will be a challenge to the area's roads and infrastructure, says land-use attorney Michael Peterson, owner of Commerce Realty Services and chairman of the South Shore Roundtable, an umbrella group of community service organizations.

"Fortunately, our area has the benefit of coming after other areas where it didn't work out so well," Peterson says. "We started early to be a squeaky wheel through the South Shore Roundtable."

As a result of the Roundtable's efforts, the area's new government services center and regional library bear the name of South Shore, further helping the area establish its own identity.

Following, from north to south, are the communities of South Shore:

Riverview, first named "Peru," was settled on the banks of the Alafia River in 1856 and received its supplies from Tampa via a small steamboat. Now, thanks to modern roads, Riverview is just minutes from downtown yet maintains the feel of a small town, where residents can enjoy canoeing or fishing on the river or bay.

While the community is mostly built-out with single-family homes, it's now seeing a wave of multifamily development and new commercial projects, such as Westshore Development Group's huge Riverview Town Center at U.S. 301 and Gibsonton Road.

Gibsonton enjoys a global reputation for its ties to circus performers who winter there and affectionately call the community "Showtown USA." Appropriately, The National Showmen's Association is headquartered there, and a permanent museum is planned to commemorate the community's wilder days. It's still not uncommon to see a carnival booth parked in a front yard or even an occasional elephant lolling about.

The local café, Giant's Camp, was founded by two retired sideshow performers, Al and Jeanie Tomaini, who were billed as "The World's Strangest Married Couple." Al was a giant, at eight feet, four inches tall, and Jeanie, who was born without legs or a pelvis, was billed as "The Only Living Half Girl."

Al and Jeanie have died, but Giant's Camp remains a popular hangout.

Apollo Beach has a front-row waterfront seat on the bay as well as 55 miles of navigable canals, making it a haven for lovers of water sports. All that water provides a tranquil setting for outdoor events and festivals, including the Manatee Arts Festival. Visitors can learn even more about the gentle, but fatally slow, mammal at TECO Energy's Manatee Viewing Center.

Most of Apollo Beach's first homes were waterfront, ranch-style and modestly proportioned. Many are being remodeled, gaining more style and square footage. An increasing number, however, are being torn down to be replaced by mansions.

Ruskin was founded in 1910 as a socialist colony by George M. Miller, a Chicago lawyer and educator. It was named for British social philosopher John Ruskin, an active promoter of art education and museums for the working class. But Ruskin is now more associated with the prized plump tomatoes grown there than with any social philosophy.

In addition to its tomato patches, the community at the mouth of the Little Manatee River also boasts sun-dappled inlets and bright bay waters, mangrove islands and marshy canoe trails, all perfect for fishing, boating and swimming.

Ruskin is experiencing unprecedented growth as new communities rise around its many lakes. Newland Communities, for example, is developing MiraBay, Covington Park and its latest project, Waterside, on the east side of U.S. 41, west of I-75.

Sun City Center, about 25 miles southeast of Tampa, was one of the first active-adult communities in the country. It remains a popular place for busy 55-plus homebuyers. Residents enjoy more than 200 arts, social, craft and civic clubs as well as a plethora of activities and special events year-round. Then there's the most popular activity of all-golf.

WCI Communities, developer of Sun City Center, has maintained a steady construction pace of 300 new homes a year. The sprawling community will approach buildout in about five years.

PLANT CITY

Plant City, the self-proclaimed "Strawberry Capital of the United States," is one of the area's older communities. As early as 1839, Fort Hichipucksassa-named for an Indian village-was here, housing several hundred intrepid settlers.

In 1843 a town was platted bearing the same tongue-twisting name as the fort. But when a post office was established six years later, an Irish postmaster is said to have renamed the community "Cork" because of the not-so-surprising difficulty even locals encountered when trying to spell or pronounce the original moniker.

The area was incorporated as Plant City in 1885, but the name had nothing to do with strawberries or any other sort of agriculture; it refers to railroad magnate Henry B. Plant, who extended tracks to the burgeoning community.

Today, Plant City's downtown is charming and picturesque, with small shops and restaurants, an array of antique emporiums and three buildings on the National Register of Historic Places.

"We still have brick streets," says Marion Smith, president of the Plant City Chamber of Commerce. "It's a family-oriented community with character."

Plant City is also the world headquarters of the International Softball Federation and the future site of the World Softball Hall of Fame. But it's the city's agricultural heritage that's celebrated every February during the city's 11-day Strawberry Festival. The big event, which attracts more than 800,000 people, features strawberry shortcake made with locally grown berries sweet enough to make you sass your mother. Big-name country musicians, rides and exhibits further enhance the county-fair ambiance.

Despite its folksiness, Plant City's days as a small town are numbered. The population has topped 30,000-still no metropolis-but about 6,000 homes have been approved for construction over the next five years. Plus, another 40,000 people live just outside the city limits.

"Housing is just going through the roof here," Smith says. "We're facing some growth issues. It's going to affect traffic, schools and everything. It's something everybody's talking about."

Communities offering new homes include Magnolia Green, Reynolds Ridge, Trapnell Ridge, Walden Reserve, Alexander Oaks, Eunice Estates and Walden Point. On deck are Clairmore Estates, Eagles Crest, Wilder Meadows, Lake Side and Green Tree.

TEMPLE TERRACE

Sandwiched between Tampa proper and New Tampa, Temple Terrace may appear to be just another difficult-to-distinguish suburb, but this city of about 23,000 is one of only three municipalities in all of Tampa" target="_blank">Hillsborough County (the others being Tampa and Plant City) and has a rich history all its own.

Temple Terrace was originally conceived as a place where well-off, winter-weary Northerners could come to play golf and tend their own small citrus groves.

Burks Hamner, Vance Helm and D. Collins Gillette bought the land that would become Temple Terrace in 1920 and 1921 from the Potter Palmer family, who had been using it as a hunting preserve. The trio began carving home sites and a golf course out of what had been dense woods. Grove acreage was set aside so that homebuyers could also become small-scale, gentlemen farmers.

The city of Temple Terrace, named for the temple orange, was incorporated in 1925. Sadly, however, most of the orange trees were wiped out by freezes in the winter of 1927 and 1928. The stock market crash in 1929 put an end to most development. Only the golf course and about 80 homes had been built by then. Some additional buildings, mostly connected with the golf course, also had been completed, but Hamner, Helm and Gillette's downtown vision never materialized.

Residential development in Temple Terrace resumed during the housing boom following World War II. And although the city is now mostly built-out, planners have revived the idea of building a downtown district.

Among the sites of historic interest is Florida College, a Christian college founded in 1946. The original golf clubhouse is now the college's Sutton Hall, and the Morocco Club casino is, ironically, its student union.

THONOTOSASSA

Sandwiched between New Tampa and Plant City, Thonotosassa was settled by the Seminole Indians and named for its abundant stocks of flint. With rolling hills, orange groves, mature trees and beautiful 900-acre Lake Thonotosassa, the area is drawing people seeking rural beauty near urban amenities.

"It's very much Old Florida at its finest," says Kristen Towery, sales and marketing director for Stonelake Ranch, an upscale Thonotosassa community.

Nestled on the lake's eastern shore, Stonelake Ranch occupies property that encompassed a working ranch until 2003. Now, where cattle once grazed are 160 homesites ranging in size from 1.5 to 8 acres. Residents enjoy miles of equestrian trails and a 100-acre open meadow for riding as well as dock access and water skiing.

"We've got great numbers of people moving from Tampa, Lakeland, Brandon and Valrico," says Towery. "It's wonderful because there's a great sense of country living 25 minutes from downtown Tampa."

PINELLAS COUNTY AT A GLANCE

LAND AREA (SQUARE MILES): 280
PERSONS PER SQUARE MILE (2000): 3,292
POPULATION (2004 ESTIMATE): 926,146
POPULATION INCREASE (1990-2000): 8.2 percent
COLLEGE GRADUATES: 22.9 percent
MEAN TRAVEL TIME TO WORK (MINUTES): 23.6
MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME (1999): $37,111

BEACHES

Some of the region's best beaches lie on the west side of Tampa" target="_blank">Pinellas County, stretching 35 miles from Fort De Soto on the southern tip of the peninsula and stretching north to Fred H. Howard Park in Tarpon Springs. There are 12 beachfront communities from Dunedin south, each with its own government and its own idiosyncrasies. Here are some beach community highlights.

Fort De Soto, a county park, was chosen the best beach in the United States again in 2005 by "Dr. Beach," a.k.a. Dr. Stephen Leatherman, a coastal scientist who issues a Top 10 list of beaches each year. A visit to Fort De Soto will easily prove the wisdom of his choice; think generous drifts of sugar-soft sand combined with incredible views. There's also a beachfront campground where even dogs are welcome.

For those seeking more luxurious beachfront accommodations, head a little south to the historic Don CeSar Beach Resort, a pink confection of a structure opened in 1928.

Then, for a less formal drink and stroll, Pass-A-Grille's Hurricane Restaurant is a perfect stop-off point. Climb to the top of this landmark eatery for a panoramic beach view.

There are three other substantial beach parks in Tampa" target="_blank">Pinellas County. Sand Key Park, on the tip of the Sand Key barrier island, overlooks Clearwater Pass and the Gulf of Mexico. Honeymoon Island State Recreation Area, just across the causeway from Dunedin, was originally marketed in the 1940s as a getaway for newlyweds, who were invited to ensconce themselves in quaint thatched huts.

If you're looking to get even farther away, head to Caladesi Island. Accessible only by private boat or a ferry from Honeymoon Island, Caladesi is one of the few completely unspoiled islands left along Florida's Gulf Cost. You can loll by the seashore or hike the three-mile nature trail through the island's interior. Serious beach aficionados consider Caladesi's shoreline to be pretty much unsurpassed.

If you're looking for a single-family home along the Pinellas beaches, you'll find little new construction. Condominiums, however, are popping up in many areas.

Madeira Bay, a new waterfront development located across from the John's Pass Village shopping area, will include townhomes, condos, two restaurants and a 2,000-square-foot conference center. Across the street, construction of a retail complex at John's Pass is proceeding.

CENTRAL PINELLAS

While Pinellas residents play at the beaches, many live, work and shop in Central Pinellas. The cities of Seminole, Largo and Pinellas Park all seem to blend together, but their location in the middle of the Pinellas peninsula certainly make them convenient.

Much of the county's industrial heart is in the central region as well. While tourism remains Pinellas' biggest industry, manufacturing is making inroads. In fact, the county is second in the state in number of manufacturing employees.

Location has made condominiums near the west side of the Gandy Bridge popular for buyers who commute to Tampa, yet want to remain close to Pinellas' beaches and other amenities.

This densely populated area began booming in the late 19th century, when the Orange Belt Railroad made it a vital center of the Florida citrus industry.

Heritage Village in Largo is a testament to that era, where a park encompasses a village made up of 22 structures, some dating back to the mid-19th century. There's a log house, said to be the oldest existing structure in the county, and the Victorian-era Seven Gables House. You can even visit an old school, church, railroad depot and store.

CLEARWATER

When Scott Daniels met his future wife in Clearwater more than 20 years ago, he asked her to move up north with him and start their lives together. The idea received a less-than-enthusiastic response.

"I would never leave paradise!" Marcy Daniels emphatically told her husband-to-be.

Taking stock of the situation, Scott saw what his future bride saw and needed no further convincing. Today, Scott and Marcy are realtors for Coldwell Banker, selling Clearwater as their personal vision of the Garden of Eden.

The area's charms were spotted early. Spanish explorers discovered freshwater springs burbling from tall bluffs overlooking the harbor, and named the area "Clear Water." The springs are now gone, but the name lives on.

Fort Harrison occupied the bluffs during the Seminole Indian War. The fort was built as a recuperation center for soldiers, and offered views of Clearwater Harbor and the barrier island that is Clearwater Beach. Indeed, it's hard to imagine a nicer place to heal. These days, that same harbor view is accessible to everyone at Clearwater's Coachman Park, home each October to the annual Clearwater Jazz Holiday Weekend, as well as other musical and athletic events year round.

Clearwater became the county seat when Tampa" target="_blank">Pinellas County separated from Tampa" target="_blank">Hillsborough County in 1912. It's now the county's second-largest municipality, behind St. Petersburg.

Tourism also arrived early in Clearwater. When Henry Plant brought the railroad to town in 1897, he also built the Belleview Biltmore Hotel on a bluff just south of Clearwater proper in Belleair. The 247-room wooden structure, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, remains in business under the name Belleview Biltmore Resort.

While Clearwater is most famous as a winter tourist destination, it has also evolved into a bustling year-round community. The housing selection varies, but a popular address remains Countryside, a master-planned country-club community started by US Home in the late 1970s. Although it's now completely built-out, the average price for resale homes is approaching $300,000, with million-dollar sales around the golf course becoming more common.

"The library, the mall and the schools are nearby, so it's a very convenient location," says Joyce Lower, a RE/MAX Mutual realtor. "When I bought my house in Countryside from a retiree, the people next door were retirees and everybody on the street had gray hair. But now we have plenty of families. It's much more mixed than it used to be. It's a very pleasant place. I love it here."

With land ever more scarce, new residential development in Clearwater tends to be multifamily. Condominiums planned along the city's waterfront and in its downtown will continue to alter the skyline. The $40 million Station Square, with 126 units, is the first major new residential development downtown in 40 years.

But it's the beaches, across the newly built Clearwater Memorial Causeway Bridge from downtown, that are seeing the most activity as mom-and-pop motels are replaced with high-rises. Many of these projects are selling out long before the first earth is turned. The new fixed-span bridge to Clearwater Beach, which replaced the old drawbridge, makes access to these hot new communities even easier.

DUNEDIN

Dunedin's small but robust downtown should be the envy of many other cities that have tried but failed to breathe new life into their city centers.

The catalyst for this downtown's renaissance was the Pinellas Trail, an abandoned railroad corridor that now delivers gaggles of thirsty skaters and bicyclists directly to Dunedin's Main Street. Plenty of restaurants accommodate the crowds, some featuring outdoor seating. Popular choices include Casa Tina's, Kelly's for Just About Everything, Flanagan's Hunt Irish Pub, Dunedin Brewery and the Black Pearl.

Lucky Dunedin residents also have quick access to nationally ranked beaches across a causeway to Honeymoon Island State Park and via a ferry to Caladesi Island State Park.

Dunedin is the oldest city in Florida south of Cedar Key. It became a major seaport in the mid-1800s after a dock was built large enough to accommodate schooners and sloops. Originally called "Jonesboro," after a general store owner, it got its present name in 1882 when two Scottish merchants circulated a petition calling for the post office to be named Dunedin, after the city in Scotland.

Still proud of its Scottish heritage, modern-day Dunedin hosts a Highland Games each spring. In addition, art lovers flock to the Dunedin Art Harvest each fall while the Toronto Blue Jays come to town each year for spring training.

Waterfront properties, both single-family homes and condos, are extremely desirable in Dunedin but inventory is tight.

Susan Littlejohn, owner and broker of Susan Littlejohn Realty, has lived in Dunedin since 1952. "Through all the development, the downtown has stayed very charming," says Littlejohn, who's also president of the Dunedin Historical Society. "We went into a slump in the early '90s, and the Dunedin Merchants Association remade its image as cute and artsy. We lured new restaurants and we succeeded."

Most homes in the immediate vicinity of downtown are older. Of special interest are the vintage charmers lining Victoria Drive, many of which were built in the 1880s. "It's a wonderful, shell-crunched drive that hasn't changed in all this time, and nobody wants it to change," Littlejohn says. "If you were visiting downtown you would never know this drive was there. When I'm showing clients our city, I save it for last."

And what would a town with ties to Scotland be without a golf course? Donald Ross designed the original Dunedin Country Club course in 1927. The Dunedin Isles Country Club was privately held until the course was deeded to the city in 1938. Seven years later, the PGA leased the course and changed its name to the PGA National Golf Club, where it was headquartered during the 1950s.

In the 1970s, retirement condominium complexes such as Patrician Oaks, Heather Lakes, Douglas Arms and Heather Hills were built.

"Very few condos there are not intended for seniors," Littlejohn says. "There are hundreds of these units; you're lucky if there's one on the market on any given day."

But there are some luxurious new condominium projects under way that aren't age-restricted. The Dunedin Grand, for example, has just 18 units, and prices on available units range from $1.25 million to $2.7 million.

EAST LAKE/PALM HARBOR

East Lake and Palm Harbor sit side-by-side in northern Tampa" target="_blank">Pinellas County, divided by huge Lake Tarpon. Both communities are unincorporated, although Palm Harbor boasts a charming downtown with a number of historic buildings. Thousands come there for its many festivals, including the Palm Harbor Chamber Arts, Crafts and Musical Festival in December.

While most of Palm Harbor is built-out, two quaint villages with eclectic housing remain. Ozona, west of Alternate U.S. 19, is older than Palm Harbor and boasts its own post office as well as a popular circa-1900 recreation center, which was financed largely by bake-sale proceeds. The community, which began as a fishing village, was originally called "Yellow Bluff" because it sat on a high mound of yellow sand visible from the bay. The name was discarded because boosters feared it would bring to mind Yellow Fever.

The current, less frightening moniker may have been suggested by two doctors from Chicago and St. Louis who brought asthmatic patients to the area for treatment. Although "ozone" doesn't have entirely favorable connotations today, at the time it was thought to suggest invigorating breezes.

A little north of Ozona-and decidedly off the beaten track-is Crystal Beach, a tiny, Key West-style community with an eclectic assortment of homes.

"Somebody local has to take you by the hand to show you where it is," says Lori Polin, a realtor with RE/MAX Mutual. "It's definitely worth the trip."

Until about 20 years ago, there were more cows than people in East Lake, which was home to sprawling Boot Ranch. Today, the only vestige of the community's ranching heritage is the "Boot Ranch" name on a subdivision and an Albertsons/Target complex. A huge orange concrete cowboy boot that once marked the edge of Boot Ranch now welcomes grocery shoppers.

Most homes here are newer and built on larger lots or in master-planned communities. However, the county managed to keep one piece of land in the area pristine, to remind residents what the area looked like before development. The 8,000-acre Brooker Creek Preserve, located on the Tampa" target="_blank">Pinellas County border with Tampa" target="_blank">Pasco County, is truly a wilderness oasis in the midst of suburbia.

While most people call the area East Lake, residents typically have Palm Harbor, Oldsmar or Tarpon Springs addresses.

Unsurprisingly, the real estate market is strong in both East Lake and Palm Harbor. While homes no longer sell within minutes of going on the market, as they did during the housing boom's peak, Polin says activity remains brisk. The median new-home price is about $300,000, she says.

Another reason for the area's popularity is the presence of nationally ranked Palm Harbor University High School.

OLDSMAR

Maybe it makes sense that a city founded by Ransom E. Olds, of Oldsmobile automobile fame, was until recently mostly thought of as a place you had to drive through to get somewhere else.

Indeed, for decades Oldsmar was best known for its huge flea market and the nearby Tampa Bay Downs horse track. But local boosters wised up in recent years, recognizing that the city's strategic location at the top of Tampa Bay and on Tampa" target="_blank">Pinellas County's border with Tampa" target="_blank">Hillsborough County made it a desirable relocation destination for business, manufacturing and industry.

And even as road widening made the trip through the center of Oldsmar faster, motorists started finding more reasons to slow down and stop. One of the region's largest movie houses, AMC Woodlands 20, is located here. A variety of retailers put down roots. And, in a business recruiting coup, A.C. Nielsen, the research firm that measures television viewership, relocated its international headquarters here from Dunedin in 2004.

North and south of Tampa Road, Oldsmar is two distinct communities in many ways. The southern part, tucked between Tampa Road and Old Tampa Bay, is the portion founded by R.E. Olds. But many of the modest older homes that sit on the city's long shoreline on the top of Tampa Bay are being torn down and replaced with million-dollar-plus mansions.

North of Tampa Road, in The Estuary at Mobbly Bay, Hannah Bartoletta Homes is building about 80 custom homes with prices starting at $650,000. And two mixed-use projects with residential elements will break ground soon.

The Oldsmar Galleria, with shops, offices and condominiums, will be in the redeveloped Town Center area along State Street. The city is negotiating with the same developer for Olds Square, a 600,000-square-foot office and retail project with 100 to 125 residential units. Jerry Custin, president and CEO of the Upper Tampa Bay Regional Chamber of Commerce, says two additional live-work projects and a new library will debut in downtown Oldsmar this year.

SAFETY HARBOR

It was the springs bubbling up on the shores of Tampa Bay that first brought people to Safety Harbor. The Timucua Indians, who called the area "Tocobaga," were here when the Spanish explorers Panfilo de Navarez and Hernando de Soto dropped by. De Soto, who was looking for the legendary Fountain of Youth, was particularly interested in the springs, which he named "Espiritu Santo."

The springs continue to lure those seeking to stem the ravages of age. The world-famous Safety Harbor Spa and Resort, which attracts visitors from across the country, is built over the springs and still uses its healthful waters for some spa treatments.

But mostly, Safety Harbor remains a bedroom community for Tampa.

"Its close proximity to Tampa is a real attraction for Safety Harbor," says Coldwell Banker's Marcy Daniels. "Each neighborhood offers a variety of different housing styles. There are brick streets lined with century-old shade trees, and many bayfront homes have a view of Tampa's skyline."

Safety Harbor also has the distinction of being the home of the first non-native settler on the Tampa" target="_blank">Pinellas County peninsula. Count Odet Philippe, who claimed to be a friend and personal physician of Napoleon Bonaparte, acquired 160 acres of land in Safety Harbor in 1842.

Philippe is credited with introducing citrus growing and cigar making to the area. The 122-acre Philippe Park, overlooking the bay, was part of the original Philippe plantation. Moderately hilly and shaded by large oaks, the park provides a cool respite on a sunny day.

ST. PETERSBURG

St. Petersburg has undergone a complete personality change in the past 15 years. The once-sleepy city, nicknamed "Heaven's Waiting Room" for the plethora of senior citizens who spent their final winters here, is now bursting at the seams with new energy, new residents and new architecture.

In other words, this isn't your grandfather's St. Petersburg anymore.

In fact, the burgeoning city is a leader in urban redevelopment, channeling a series of bold new projects into its downtown waterfront district. A slew of hotels, condominium towers, museums, restaurants and retail shops are either under way or on the drawing board.

Downtown St. Pete is already vibrant. There's the BayWalk entertainment complex, with restaurants, shopping and a 20-screen movie theater. Baseball lovers can cheer on the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at Tropicana Field. And the city becomes an urban racetrack once a year when the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg comes to town.

Add to that plenty of good restaurants, antique shops, a historic pier and a series of waterfront parks along Tampa Bay and you get a community that ranks high on any quality-of-life index.

"St. Petersburg is undergoing a classic urban revitalization," says Mary Potter, a sales associate with Tourtelot Brothers. "I was once told that you truly know that a downtown is revitalized when it has a grocery store and a gas station. We have Publix now, and I'll bet someone is getting ready to put a gas station in."

Realtors are seeing another interesting phenomenon: families buying condominiums in town so the youngsters can be closer to their grandparents.

"For a long time, we couldn't find any children here," says Potter. "That's changing by the hour."

St. Petersburg proper got its start in 1875, when developer John Williams of Detroit bought 2,500 acres of land on Tampa Bay. He planned a city with parks and broad streets, features still there today.

But while Williams had a vision for a city, it was a Russian aristocrat who helped him make the vision a reality. Williams made a deal with Piotr Alexeitch Dementieff, an exile of noble birth, offering him an interest in the land if Dementieff would build a railroad into the territory. In 1888 the enterprising Russian, who had simplified his name to Peter Demens, made good on his part of the deal when the first train on the Orange Belt Line chugged into town carrying empty freight cars and a shoe salesman from Savannah.

The rail line was costly, however, and Demens fell into debt. The situation became so dire that laborers and creditors were constantly threatening to lynch him for nonpayment.

But Demens did get something in return for his effort. The story goes that Williams and Demens tossed a coin to decide a new name for the town. Demens won, and the city was dubbed "St. Petersburg," after the majestic Russian city from which he hailed. As a consolation prize, Williams named the city's first hotel, dubbing it The Detroit after his own hometown.

Downtown St. Petersburg is surrounded by a variety of neighborhoods, generally boasting plenty of trees, wide streets and sidewalks ideal for evening strolls. Old Northeast, for example, is a shady historic district dating back to the early part of the 20th century. There you'll find an array of architectural styles, including Bungalow, Colonial, Mediterranean and even Prairie-style homes.

All that, plus residents enjoy a waterfront city park that offers an Olympic-size pool, tennis courts, baseball fields, walking/biking trails a