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Cape Coral is a city located in Lee County, Florida, United States, on the Gulf of Mexico. Founded in 1957 and developed as a planned community, the city's population has grown to 194,016 as of the 2020 Census, a rise of 26% from the 2010 Census, making it the 130th most populous city in the United States. With an area of , Cape Coral is the largest city between
Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...
and Miami in both population and area. It is the largest and principal city in the Cape Coral – Fort Myers, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city has over of navigable waterways, more than any other city on earth.


History

Cape Coral’s history began in 1957 when two brothers from
Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...
, Leonard and Jack Rosen, flew over the peninsula known as Redfish Point, across the Caloosahatchee River near present-day Fort Myers. Cape Coral was founded as Redfish Point. The brothers, who were real estate developers, purchased a tract known as Redfish Point with a small group of partners for $678,000 and in 1958 began development of the city as a planned community. The Gulf American Land Corporation (GALC) was formed to develop the area. GALC developed a marketing model that was a departure from traditional selling methods. Approval was secured from Lee County to master-plan the entire property into lots. Instead of listing the lots with real estate agents, GALC developed the land sales, dinner-party model, operating from banquet rooms in local hotels. People were invited to attend by offering a free dinner for two. The model, referred to as team-selling, allowed for a well-trained team to close deals in 90 minutes. Buyers would sign a contract and agree to come to the property within six months and cancel if not satisfied. Ezio Valentini, an Italian real estate developer, joined GALC and became director of sales. The program was so successful that offices were opened in 24 states, and an arrangement was made with an airline to charter flights to fly buyers to the property. Instead of borrowing from banks and lenders, the developers factored the sales contracts to pay for building the infrastructure. Canals were dug, streets paved, houses and businesses built. Cape Coral was promoted like no other Florida development. Celebrities were brought in to tout the benefits of "the Cape", as it is known locally. The first building in Cape Coral was the Rosens' sales office. It was built where George's Auto now stands, at Cape Coral and Coronado Parkways. Cape Coral's first permanent resident was Kenny Schwartz, the Rosens' general manager. Cape Coral's first four homes were completed in May 1958, on Riverside and Flamingo Drives. Development continued through the early 1960s, mostly on Redfish Point, south of Cape Coral Parkway. By 1963, the population was 2,850; 1,300 buildings had been finished or were under construction; of road had been built, and of canals had been dug. The public yacht club, a golf course, medical clinic and shopping center were up and running. A major addition for Cape Coral was the construction of the 3,400 feet (1,000 m) long Cape Coral Bridge across the Caloosahatchee River, which opened in early 1964. Before the bridge, a trip to Fort Myers was more than via Del Prado Boulevard and over the Edison Bridge to cross the river. The city incorporated in August 1970, and its population continued to grow rapidly until the real estate slowdown that gripped the region beginning in 2008. On September 28, 2022, Cape Coral suffered major damage when
Hurricane Ian Hurricane Ian was a large and destructive Category 4 Atlantic hurricane that was the deadliest hurricane to strike the state of Florida since the 1935 Labor Day hurricane. Ian caused widespread damage across western Cuba and the southeast Unit ...
made landfall nearby.


Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (9%) is water. Cape Coral is a large
peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...
and is bordered in the south and east by the Caloosahatchee River and in the west by Matlacha Pass. Fort Myers lies across the Caloosahatchee River to the east, and
Matlacha Matlacha ( "MAT-la-shay") is a census-designated place (CDP) in Lee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the CDP had a population of 598. It is part of the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Matlacha ...
and Pine Island lie across Matlacha Pass to the west. Matlacha Pass is home to Matlacha Pass National Wildlife Refuge and the Matlacha Pass Aquatic Preserve.


Flora and fauna

The area supports waterfowl, wading birds, migrant songbirds,
gopher tortoises ''Gopherus'' is a genus of fossorial tortoises commonly referred to as gopher tortoises. The gopher tortoise is grouped with land tortoises that originated 60 million years ago, in North America. A genetic study has shown that their closest relat ...
, dolphins and reptiles. Rotary Park is home to wading birds, raptors,
butterflies Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...
, foxes and other wildlife. Nature enthusiasts can track exotic birds and native fish from the boardwalk at Lake Kennedy and watch the West Indian manatees at Sirenia Vista Park. Cape Coral is home to the largest population of burrowing owls in Florida.


Invasive species

Cape Coral is home to three
invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...
, the green iguana, the
spiny-tailed iguana ''Ctenosaura'' is a lizard genus commonly known as spinytail iguanas or ctenosaurs. The genus is part of the large lizard family, Iguanidae and is native to Mexico and Central America. The name is derived from two Greek words: ctenos (κτε ...
, and the
Nile monitor The Nile monitor (''Varanus niloticus'') is a large member of the monitor family (Varanidae) found throughout most of Sub-Saharan Africa and along the Nile, with invasive populations in North America. The population in West African forests and sa ...
, which was discovered in 2009. The iguanas are found throughout southern Florida and generally do not pose a threat. The Nile monitor is however a large (3–7 feet), fast traveling, fast swimming carnivore with a wide diet, which can include fish, fowl, and small mammals. The city's many waterways work against its capture and provide an easy transportation route around the city.


Climate

The city features a borderline tropical savanna climate ( Köppen climate classification: Aw), bordering on a tropical monsoon climate ( Köppen climate classification: Am). The area averages 355 days of sunshine per year and experiences precipitation on 145 days per year. While the summers are very warm, humid, and rainy, the winters in Cape Coral are dry with moderate temperatures. The city receives about 56 inches of rain each year, the majority of which falls from June to September. During the summer months, afternoon rains are heavy yet brief. The city is affected by the annual hurricane season, which begins officially on June 1 and continues through November.


Demographics

, Cape Coral is the eighth largest city in Florida by population. Nearly 60% of the population is between the ages of 18 and 64; residents under 25 outnumber residents over 65. Southwest Florida's 18–24 age group is growing at a faster rate than the state of Florida and the United States. The population is 50.2% female. , there were 74,387 households. The median income for a household in the city is $65,282. The per capita income for the city was $34,586. 9.9% of the population are below the poverty line. As of 2000, 87.18% of residents spoke only English at home, while 7.61% spoke Spanish, 1.70% spoke German, 1.20% spoke Italian, 0.61% spoke French, and 0.41% spoke
Tagalog Tagalog may refer to: Language * Tagalog language, a language spoken in the Philippines ** Old Tagalog, an archaic form of the language ** Batangas Tagalog, a dialect of the language * Tagalog script, the writing system historically used for Tagal ...
. In total, 12.81% of the total population spoke languages other than English.


Economy

The economy in Cape Coral is based on health care services, retail, and real estate/construction. The city's Economic Development Office promotes and incentivizes business relocation to Cape Coral. In 2016 the city's top five employers were the Lee Memorial Hospital, Lee County School System, Publix Supermarkets, City of Cape Coral and Walmart. Acute care is provided by Cape Coral Hospital. Trauma Services are provided by Gulf Coast Medical Center in Fort Myers or Tampa. In December 2012, the Lee County VA Healthcare Center opened on Diplomat Parkway, providing a large range of medical services to veterans. Lee Health plans to expand healthcare services throughout the 2020s. Lee Health is planning to open a new hospital by 2030. Lee Health is expanding the ICU at Cape Coral Hospital from 22 beds to 34 beds. Furthermore, Lee Health is partnering with
Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...
to bring an Internal Medicine Residency Program to Cape Coral Hospital. Lee Health will also open a new outpatient center as a part of the Bimini Basin project near Downtown Cape Coral. Other plans include expansion of the existing outpatient center. In 2021, Bayfront Health, now Shorepoint, opened a freestanding Emergency Room & Urgent Care in Northeast Cape Coral along Del Prado Blvd. The following year, HCA Florida opened a 24/7 Freestanding Emergency Room along Pine Island Rd. In 2022, Encompass Health opened a 40-Bed inpatient rehabilitation hospital at the corner of NE Pine Island Rd. and Pondella Rd.


Arts and culture

Mike Greenwell founded an amusement park named Mike Greenwell's Bat-A-Ball & Family Fun Park that opened in February 1992. The facility changed ownership in April 2019, and it was renamed to Gator Mike's Family Fun Park. The facility includes a mini-golf course, Go-Karts, zip lining, bungee jumping, and more. Both city libraries are part of the Lee County Library System. Cape Coral Lee County Public Library had 175,000 books in 2002. Northwest Regional Library holds over 70,000 items.


Parks and recreation

Parks and recreation includes: *SunSplash Water Park. * A sandy beach and fishing pier on the Caloosahatchee River at the public Yacht Basin and Club. *Over 30 recreational parks which includes playgrounds, open fields, pavilions, workout equipment, walking paths, and golf courses. *The largest population of burrowing owls in Florida. *Ecological preserves, and an elevated nature trail through Florida mangroves at Four Mile Cove Ecological Preserve.


Government

The city of Cape Coral operates under the council–manager form of government. City Council members are elected at large from seven districts. The mayor is also elected at large and is the eighth member of the council. The mayor presides over council meetings. On January 13, 2021, Mayor Joe Coviello died, and the City Council unanimously decided to appoint a mayor, rather than have a special election. The City Countil voted 6–1 to appoint council member John Gunter to the position of mayor. The City of Cape Coral provides police and fire services within the city.


Education

Cape Coral has continuously expanded public and private school systems with high performance standards. Cape Coral is part of the Lee County School District, which is operated by the Lee County Board of Education. , the Board of Education operated 8 elementary, 6 middle, and 5 high schools in the Cape. There are four public high schools in Cape Coral:
Cape Coral High School Cape Coral High School is located in Cape Coral, Florida. It is one of six high schools in the city of Cape Coral and is also a part of the Lee County School District system. As of the 2020-2021 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,602 ...
, built in the late 1970s; Mariner High School, which opened in 1987; Ida S. Baker High School, founded in 2004 and named after one of the early principals of Cape Coral High School, which opened in 2005; and the newest, Island Coast High School, which opened its doors for the 2008–2009 school year. Cape Coral has created a municipal charter school system, known as Oasis Charter Schools. The system consists of two elementary schools,
Oasis Middle School In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical im ...
, and Oasis High School. The charter schools use the Core Knowledge and Cambridge Curricula. Since the system is public, there is no tuition. The municipal charter schools are available exclusively to children who live in Cape Coral. The main campus of Florida SouthWestern State College is located immediately east of Cape Coral in Fort Myers. The college offers associate and bachelor's degrees, plus technical training in fields such as allied health programs, computer networking & programming, business administration, paralegal, criminal justice and fire science. 2009 enrollment was more than 16,000 students on four campuses. One of Florida's youngest state universities, Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU), opened in 1997 in nearby Fort Myers and now serves more than 12,000 students. FGCU has established a Cape Coral satellite facility, which provides Cape students with a growing offering of core courses. The university offers undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees, including an executive master's program, a college of business and engineering and biotechnology programs. Other colleges and universities serving the area are
Hodges University Hodges University is a private university in Fort Myers, Florida. Founded in 1990 as International College, it was renamed Hodges University in 2007 in recognition of a $12 million donation from local residents Earl and Thelma Hodges. The Hodge ...
,
Southwest Florida College Southwest Florida College (SWFC) was a private career training college in Florida. It has campuses in Fort Myers, Tampa and Port Charlotte, as well as a "learning site" in Bonita Springs. In 2014, Southern Technical College Suncoast LLC, acquire ...
and
Rasmussen College Rasmussen University is a private for-profit university with multiple locations throughout the United States. It offers associate's, bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees at 23 campuses in Minnesota, Illinois, North Dakota, Florida, Wisconsin ...
. Cape Coral Technical College is a postsecondary educational institution operated by the Lee County public school system. It provides training in medical, computer and food-science fields. Employer-specific training, both on and off-site, is available through Business and Industry Services of Lee County which maintains an office in Cape Coral.


Infrastructure


Canals

The city has over of canals. Most of the canals are navigable, and some have access to the Gulf of Mexico. Cape Coral's canal system is so extensive that local ecology and tides have been affected. The system provides many residents with waterfront living with access to the Gulf of Mexico via the broad Caloosahatchee River and Matlacha Pass. The Parks and Recreation Department maintains three public boat launching facilities. The Gulf of Mexico provides access to smaller tropical islands, rookeries, and
sports fishing Recreational fishing, also called sport fishing or game fishing, is fishing for leisure, exercise or competition. It can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is professional fishing for profit; or subsistence fishing, which is fishing ...
grounds.


Roadways and bridges

Interstate 75 passes within of Cape Coral and connects northward to
Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...
; and southeastward to Miami. Cape Coral borders on
U.S. Highway 41 U.S. Route 41, also U.S. Highway 41 (US 41), is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs from Miami, Florida, to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Until 1949, the part in southern Florida, from Naples to Mi ...
. U.S. 41 and I-75 can be accessed from State Route 78 (Pine Island Road). Within the city a network of arterial roadways are established. Cape Coral has approximately of roadways. In general, the north/south routes are evenly spaced apart every one or two miles (3 km), and most of them have at least four lanes. Cape Coral is connected to the south side of the Caloosahatchee River by two bridges. The 3,400 feet (1,000 m) long Cape Coral Bridge connects Cape Coral Parkway to College Parkway in McGregor. The Midpoint Memorial Bridge connects Veterans Parkway to Colonial Boulevard in Fort Myers. Several other bridges span the Caloosahatchee River east of Cape Coral in adjoining
North Fort Myers North Fort Myers is an unincorporated area and census-designated place (CDP) in Lee County, Florida, United States. The population was 42,719 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Geo ...
. In 2026, the Lee County Department of Transportation and the City of Cape Coral plan on constructing a new westbound span for the Cape Coral Bridge. The westbound span, which was built in 1964, does not meet requirements set forth by Lee County. The $185 million dollar project will include a new pedestrian bridge, an expansion to 6 lanes on both spans, removal of the toll booth on the Fort Myers side, and an expansion of the Cape Coral Parkway and Del Prado Boulevard intersection.


Transportation

Public transit services in Cape Coral are provided by
LeeTran LeeTran is the transit bus service operated by the Lee County Transit Department, providing service to Bonita Springs, Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach Fort Myers Beach is a town located on the North end of Estero Island in Lee County, ...
. LeeTran operates 18 fixed-route bus services, including six within Cape Coral. Cape Coral is from Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW), which serves nearly 10 million passengers annually. In 2010, eighteen national and two international airlines, as well as the two major cargo companies, served the airport. Cape Coral is also served by Page Field, a general aviation airport in Fort Myers eight miles (13 km) from Cape Coral. Punta Gorda Airport (PGD) is located in Punta Gorda, north of Cape Coral.


Utilities

In 1977, Cape Coral became the first municipality in the United States to use the
reverse osmosis Reverse osmosis (RO) is a water purification process that uses a partially permeable membrane to separate ions, unwanted molecules and larger particles from drinking water. In reverse osmosis, an applied pressure is used to overcome osmotic pre ...
process on a large scale with an initial operating capacity of per day. By 1985, the city had the largest low pressure reverse osmosis plant in the world, capable of producing 15 MGD (56,780 m³/day). Sewage is collected and highly treated to produce
reclaimed water Water reclamation (also called wastewater reuse, water reuse or water recycling) is the process of converting municipal wastewater Sewage (or domestic sewage, domestic wastewater, municipal wastewater) is a type of wastewater that is produce ...
, locally known as "rescued water". Reclaimed water is distributed throughout the city through a dual water pipe system and used for irrigation. Alternatively, reclaimed water can be discharged into the Caloosahatchee River. The Cape was among the first in Florida to deploy the new 4.9 GHz pre-WiMax wireless channel authorized by the FCC in 2003 for exclusive public safety use.Cape Coral: Growth Engine of Southwest Florida, Publication, CCEDO 2009


Notable people

* Nate Allen,
NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...
safety *
Pat Burke Patrick John Burke (born December 14, 1973) is an Irish former professional basketball player. Burke (whose family moved from Tullamore, Ireland, to Cleveland, Ohio, when he was three years old) competed in the National Basketball Association ( ...
,
NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
player * Stacy Carter, professional wrestler * Dustin Diamond, actor *
Earnest Graham Earnest Graham Jr. (born January 15, 1980) is an American former college and professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons. He played college football for the University of Florida, ...
, NFL running back * Mike Greenwell, MLB player * Jessica Holmes, TV host and news anchor *
Hilary Hemingway Hilary Hemingway (born 1961) is an American author. She grew up in Miami Beach, and, as of 2016, lives on Cape Coral. Many of her earlier published works were co-authored with her husband, Jeff Lindsay. She produced a 2002 documentary for PBS ti ...
, author and niece of Ernest Hemingway * Jeff Lindsay, author * Joseph Mercola, physician and alternative medicine proponent * Seth Petruzelli, mixed martial arts fighter * Niko Price, mixed martial arts fighter * Jason Smith, Olympic curler *
Greg Spires Gregory Tyrone Spires (born August 12, 1974) is a former American football defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the New England Patriots in the third round of the 1998 NFL Draft. He played college football at F ...
, NFL player *
Angela Watson Angela may refer to: Places * Angela, Montana * Angela Lake, in Volusia County, Florida * Lake Angela, in Lyon Township, Oakland County, Michigan * Lake Angela, the reservoir impounded by the source dam of the South Yuba River Fiction * Ange ...
, actress *
Michael Wendler Michael Wendler (born Michael Skowronek, 22 June 1972; legal name after his marriage in 2009 Michael Norberg; also known as ''Der Wendler'') is a German pop singer and television personality. Since his breakthrough in 1998, he has won several awa ...
, German singer *
Karey Lee Woolsey Karey Lee Woolsey (born July 12, 1976) is an American singer-songwriter, who built a successful music career touring Florida and the East Coast with his band 3 Days Apart before he became involved in an organization bringing marijuana into the sta ...
, singer-songwriter * Mike Zunino, MLB catcher * Tony Bruno, Radio personality


References


External links

*
Cape Coral Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control Cities in Lee County, Florida Populated places on Charlotte Harbor Cities in Florida Former census-designated places in Florida Planned communities in Florida 1957 establishments in Florida Populated places established in 1957