Carrollwood is an unincorporated community in Hillsborough County, about 10 miles north of downtown Tampa and about 7 miles north of Tampa International Airport, served by North Dale Mabry Highway, Busch Boulevard, Fletcher Avenue and Bearss Avenue. It grew in two stages: original Carrollwood, begun in 1959 around private, 210-acre Lake Carroll, and Carrollwood Village, begun in 1972 around what is now the 27-hole Carrollwood Country Club. It is not part of the city of Tampa, though its homes carry Tampa mailing addresses.
Living in Carrollwood
Developer Matt Jetton and his company, Sun State Homes, started original Carrollwood in 1959, and more than 900 homes were built near Lake Carroll by 1970. Carrollwood Village followed in 1972 to the west, eventually covering roughly 1,800 acres with about 4,000 homes on loop streets laid out around the golf course. This page covers both, plus the connected Carrollwood Meadows and Carrollwood Springs subdivisions and a few condominium communities that carry the Carrollwood name. Most homes are single-family houses from the original 1959 to 1970 phase or from the Village's build-out after 1972. Lake Magdalene lies to the north and Citrus Park to the west.
Lake Carroll
Lake Carroll is a private lake of about 210 acres, with an average depth of about 10 feet and a maximum of about 25 feet, according to the Tampa Bay Water Atlas. Original Carrollwood was built around it, so its shoreline holds many of the area's lakefront homes. The Water Atlas lists the lake as private, with no public access.
Parks, golf and things to do in Carrollwood
Carrollwood Village Park, a county park at 4680 West Village Drive, is open daily from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. It has a skate park, separate large and small dog parks, a splash pad, a playground, paved walking trails, fitness equipment, picnic shelters, outdoor chess boards, ping pong tables and a bike repair station.
Carrollwood Country Club, at 13903 Clubhouse Drive, is a private club with 27 holes of golf designed by Dan Maples, eight Har-Tru tennis courts, a heated junior Olympic-size pool, a fitness center and a double-sided driving range. Carrollwood Village's loop streets wrap around the course.
The Carrollwood Cultural Center at 4537 Lowell Road has a stage and art studios, and hosts classes, concerts and gallery shows through the year.
Getting around Carrollwood
North Dale Mabry Highway is the main north-south road, with Busch Boulevard, Fletcher Avenue and Bearss Avenue running east-west. The Veterans Expressway runs through neighboring Citrus Park to the west. Citrus Park Town Center, a regional mall anchored by Dillard's, JCPenney and Macy's, is about 3 miles west of Carrollwood Village Park.
