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Polk County
Quality of Life
Polk County is centrally located in the middle of Florida , about equal distance from the East coast and West coast, halfway between the Georgia-Florida border and Florida 's Southern tip. It is estimated that approximately 7.5 million people live within 100 miles of Polk County . The County is about the size of the State of Delaware , covering 2,010 square miles with 554 natural freshwater lakes. A population of about 541,840 calls Polk County home and about 10,000 more people move here each year. Polk County 's largest city is Lakeland , with about 90,000 residents.
Education
Polk County's public schools serve approximately 85,300 students in grades K-12. About 7,600 students attend private schools and another 3,500 or so are home schooled. The Polk County school system offers a comprehensive education and a friendly atmosphere aimed at providing students with vocational, social and cultural bases from which they can grow into productive members of society.
Economy
Polk County 's economy is centered on three industries: phosphate, agriculture and tourism. The $878 million citrus industry employs approximately 8,000 people in Polk County . Polk ranked first in the state for total citrus picked for the 2003-04 season with an estimated total of 42.2 million boxes harvested. Polk also ranked first in the state in the amount of commercial citrus groves with approximately 95,050 acres. Polk was ranked third in the state in 2004, in number of beef cattle with an estimated 105,000 head of beef and dairy cattle.
The world's largest deposit of phosphate rock, known as the "Bone Valley Deposit." This deposit, which encompasses approximately 500,000 acres in Polk, Hillsborough, Hardee, and Manatee Counties , provides approximately 75 percent of the nation's phosphate supply and about 25 percent of the world supply. Approximately 200,000 acres have been mined for phosphate rock. Chemical manufacturing plants located in Polk County are used to convert the insoluble phosphate rock into soluble products, such as diammonium phosphate and monoammonium phosphate, which are used in fertilizers and other products. Today, Mosaic Co. employs more than 3,000 workers in Polk County at five active mines, Four Corners, Fort Green , Kingsford, South Fort Meade and Hookers Prairie; and fertilizer plants, Bartow, Green Bay , New Wales, and South Pierce.
With the dedication of Bok Tower Gardens in 1929 by President Calvin Coolidge and the establishment of the world famous Cypress Gardens in the mid 1930s, Tourism is a strong economic force in Polk County and has some historical significance to the area as well. Today, millions of people visit Polk County each year to enjoy the many attractions like Fantasy of Flight and the Sun 'n' Fun Air Museum. Polk County is located one hour from the Walt Disney World resort area, Universal Studios, Sea World, and Busch Gardens . Polk is also the spring training headquarters for the Detroit Tigers ( Lakeland ) and the Cleveland Indians ( Winter Haven ) baseball teams.
The housing market remains strong in Polk County . The total number of homes sold in 2004, was 5,300, an increase of 7.8% over a total of 4,918 homes sold in 2001. The median home value for a single-family home in Polk County is $83,300.
Parks and Recreation
Polk County maintains 4,303 acres of public parkland, which is owned and managed by both the county and municipalities. Lake Kissimmee State Park, which consists of 48,156 acres, is also located in Polk County and offers boating, kayaking, canoeing, full camping facilities, primitive Camping with no facilities, fishing, nature trails and observation of natural wildlife including w hite-tailed deer, bald eagles, sandhill cranes, turkeys, and bobcats .
With 554 natural, freshwater lakes and numerous rivers and flooded phosphate pits, Polk County is a haven for the boating and fishing enthusiast. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission estimates that over 74,000 people fish Polk County 's lakes annually. Pleasure boating is also a popular outdoor activity. Polk County owns and maintains 53 boat ramps and municipalities own an additional 34 boat ramps. These boat ramps provide public access to 88 lakes. Polk County has long been recognized as the "Water Ski Capital of the World." For the golfer, Polk has 32 public and 13 private golf courses located throughout the County.
Lakeland
The City of Lakeland is Polk County 's largest provider of leisure activities, sponsoring over 400 separate programs at 45 parks, playgrounds and other venues all over Lakeland . These programs and facilities are enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of area citizens year-round. Lakeland 's central location offers travel to the Walt Disney World Resort, the newly refurbished Cypress Gardens Adventure Park, or some of Florida 's most beautiful beaches in less than 1 hour by car.
Host to Florida 's largest convention - the Sun'n Fun EAA Fly-In - attracts approximately 300,000 conventioneers and contributes over $25 million to the economy each year, while involving nearly 3,000 volunteers and 20 service organizations.
Lakeland is the spring home of the Detroit Tigers who have been training in Lakeland since 1934. The organization has a year round presence and operates one of their minor league teams and developmental squads in Lakeland . The City of Lakeland is currently overseeing a $10 million renovation/expansion to Joker Marchant Stadium (where the Tigers play). This project guarantees that the Detroit Tigers will remain in Lakeland for at least another 15 years.
Offering free wireless Internet access in the downtown area, Lakeland is prepared for technological expansion in the 21st Century. T hese are only a few of the reasons Money Magazine named Lakeland as one of the TOP 10 places to live in America for medium sized cities in the south.
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CENTURY 21® Shaw Realty Group
1725 Highway 60 East
Valrico, FL 33594
ph: 813-689-2121
toll: 1-800-382-0021
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