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Punta Gorda is located on the south bank of the Peace River and to the east of Charlotte Harbor. Geographically,this small city is approximately 25 miles to the north of Ft. Myers and 50 miles south of Sarasota. Exit 164 on I-75 is about 1 1/2 miles to the east of the Historic Downtown. Southwest Florida International Airport is serviced by 25 airllines at the time of this writing and is conveniently located 35 minutes to the south of us. Although Charlotte County has a population of around 160,000, Punta Gorda has a small population of possibly 17,000. The City of Punta Gordais the county seat. For additional demographics and information, log onto:
http://www.ci.punta-gorda.fl.us/ as well as www.PureEconomics.org.
The principal neighboring communities which make up the Punta Gorda area are: Punta Gorda Isles, Burnt Store Isles, Seminole Lakes, Burnt Store Meadows, Burnt Store Lakes, and Burnt Store Marina. Although Deep Creek is located on the north side of the Peace River, the community is generally considered a part of Punta Gorda. Each community has its unique characteristics.
In the late 50's, a developer named Punta Gorda Isles, Inc. (known as PGI) began developing the area. The first community to be developed was the waterfront community known as Punta Gorda Isles. Following this extremely successful project, Burnt Store Marina, Burnt Store Isles, Burnt Store Meadows, Burnt Store Lakes, and Deep Creek were then developed. The common thread among these communities are the sensible deed restrictions, public sewer and water, and paved streets.
Punta Gorda suffered a direct hit from the fury of Hurricane Charley in 2004. Many of the older, more vulnerable properties were either destroyed during the storm or damaged beyond repair. In a broad sense, following the storm, the citizens of Punta Gorda had two or three choices. The residents could patch up their own property and wait for FEMA and others to subsidize them, or they could be proactive and take control of their own destiny. If they made the easy choice of sitting back and allowing things to take care of themselves, out of town developers could buy up land and build whatever fit their own objectivres without regard to long range planning or aesthetic appeal.
I am both pleased and thankful that the easy road was not taken. A small, grassroots group of concerned citizens with a true appreciation for this wonderful little town got together to discuss what needed to be done to make Punta Gorda "The Best Place to Live" once again. Money magazine awarded Punta Gorda that distinction a few years earlier.
This small group became more and more focused and in November of 2004, it officially became TEAM Punta Gorda. TEAM is an acronym which stands for Together Everyone Achieves More. The group recognized one of the first orders of business was to have a well designed blue print for the future. They researched urban planners and determined Jaime Correa and Associates from the University of Miami was widely recognized as one of the leading urban planners in the Nation. Mr. Correa previewed the area and agreed to take on the project- but not without a price. The initial cost would be $200,000. The hard work began to raise the money and almost overnight, TEAM Punta Gorda raised $250,000, all coming from local citizens, businesses, and the Charlotte Community Foundation.
In less than a year, Jaime Correa and Associates presented TEAM Punta Gorda and the City of Punta Gorda the 2005 Citizens Master Plan. The Master Plan describes the recommended architectural styles new and renovated construction should follow, the need and location for adequate partking, improved traffic patterns and much, much more. The Master Plan has been embraced by the City and today, Developers are consulting with TEAM Punta Gorda to make certain their construction plans conform with the Master Plan.
The first Annual Meeting was in November 2005. At that time, there were over 1,200 members and growing. Additionally, to help Developers coordinate their projects with the plan, TEAM Punta Gorda has various beautification projects ongoing and also taking a proactive position to aid with affordable housing. To learn more about this amazing organization, go to www.teampuntagorda.org. If you have an interest in Punta Gorda, I encourage you to join the "TEAM" and make a tax deductible contribution. Further, the "TEAM" also welcomes individuals who care about Punta Gorda to join the other hundreds of volunteers working together to achieve more!
Click on one of the communities below to continue your review of Punta Gorda:
Punta Gorda * Punta Gorda Isles * Burnt Store Isles
Seminole Lakes * Burnt Store Marina * Burnt Store Meadows Deep Creek * Port Charlotte * Riverwood * Charlotte County |