Rotonda West, Florida

Rotonda is a census-designated place located in Charlotte County, Florida. As of the 2000 census, the CDP had a total population of 6,574.

History

Rotonda West is an unincorporated, deed restricted community situated in west Charlotte county, FL. It was originally developed by the Cavanagh Communities Corporation, which sold the entire Rotonda complex in 1980 after several years of financial difficulties. It is an unusual subdivision, in that it is shaped like an incomplete wagon wheel. A closed, fresh-water canal system surrounds the outside of the "wheel" and travels inside each of the "pie-shaped" wedges forming the areas of the development. The development is linked to land by three bridges that cross over this canal system to the mainland. A protected wetland to the south prevents development of that area. Alligators, great blue herons, egrets, and many other birds and animals inhabit the area.

The oldest and most-developed, Oakland Hills, once sported Ed McMahon as a home owner. In the 70's, a television show called "The Superstars" (like Battle of the Network Stars except with athletes) was filmed here. What is now the community center was a bowling alley. A local track was where the track and field events were held.

As conceptualized, each development was supposed to have its own golf course. The theory was the developers could draw residents by offering "a course a day to play." But beleagured GDC wasn't able to carry through with their promises, and many developers took turns building out the area.

Although the area struggled for a while during the real estate bust period of the 80's, in 2005 it is one of the hottest areas to build in, with development escalating in nearly all of the sections and several new golf courses.

Many of the homeowners are seasonal "snowbirds" from northern states and only live in the area part-time during the winter.

While the area is at risk of flooding from storm surge, it is located towards the center of the Cape Haze peninsula and hasn't flooded in recent memory. During Hurricane Charley in 2004, it was located on the left front quadrant of the storm and although the eyewall came within a couple of miles of the area, most homes escaped major damage. Several large trees were downed, and many shingle roofs were damaged by winds. Quite a few pool cages and screened-in porches were blown down or damages, but few houses sustained more than relatively minor damage. After Charley, most of the area had power back on in 13 hours, due in no small part to the fact that utilities such as power, phone, and cable are all run underground. Several overhead main feeder lines supply power to transformers in the area, but they were quickly repaired.

The Rotonda West Association is the committee in charge of managing and enforcing deed restrictions. In 2003 they came up against a firestorm of controversy when they attempted to push a new community center to a vote during the summer when many seasonal residents were up north. The new community center was overruled by property owners, and at the next election, several incumbents were voted out.

Homeowners pay an annual association fee that is used for canal and vacant lot maintenance, among other things.

Geography

Location of Rotonda, Florida

Location of Rotonda, Florida

Rotonda is located at 26°53'16" North, 82°16'17" West (26.887875, -82.271262)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 29.0 km² (11.2 mi²). 28.5 km² (11.0 mi²) of it is land and 0.5 km² (0.2 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 1.61% water.

Weather

Located in southwest Florida on the Gulf coast, the weather usually stays relatively mild. In the summer, it's not uncommon for temperatures to get into the mid-90's in summer months, but this is tempered by sea breezes from the Gulf. At night in the summer, temperatures quickly drop to the low to mid 70's. In the winter, hard freezes are rare, but occasionally occur. It's more common to have frost on the ground briefly in pre-dawn hours, but it melts shortly after sunrise. This usually only happens 2 or 3 times during the winter. Temperatures average 50 - 70 degrees during the winter. On a sunny winter day, it's rare for the temperature to stay below 50 degrees for long.

Summer thunderstorms are not uncommon. Florida is known as the lightning capital of the world. The dry season is in the spring.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 6,574 people, 3,181 households, and 2,287 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 230.7/km² (597.4/mi²). There were 3,961 housing units at an average density of 139.0/km² (359.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 98.16% White, 0.44% African American, 0.23% Native American, 0.35% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.32% from other races, and 0.50% from two or more races. 1.34% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 3,181 households out of which 11.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.3% were married couples living together, 4.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.1% were non-families. 24.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.05 and the average family size was 2.39.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 11.0% under the age of 18, 2.9% from 18 to 24, 12.3% from 25 to 44, 29.1% from 45 to 64, and 44.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 63 years. For every 100 females there were 89.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.8 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $38,636, and the median income for a family was $43,844. Males had a median income of $28,046 versus $18,616 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $21,437. 4.0% of the population and 1.7% of families were below the poverty line. 6.5% of those under the age of 18 and 2.7% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.