Temple Terrace, Florida
Temple Terrace is a city with several faces. Being that it is bordered by older, metropolitan Tampa to the south, the rustic and rural Thonotosassa to the east, the happening, young New Tampa to the north – and home to the University of South Florida, the second largest university in the southeast on a sprawling 1,700+ acre campus with residence halls and extensive health and medical learning facilities – the face of Temple Terrace you might see on any given day changes often. From charming 1920s neighborhoods with restored red-roofed Mediterranean Revival-style homes to inner-city housing clusters; from hustling, bustling strip malls to acres of open land, riverfront and nature preserves—this is Temple Terrace.
Centrally located near all major thoroughfares, with I-275 to the west, I-75 to the east and I-4 to the south, Temple Terrace, population just under 25,000 and situated on six-and-a-half square miles, is considered an older community with a “new vibe.” Its roots are not forgotten though.
In 1911, the Potter Palmer family of Chicago purchased a 6,000-acre winter hunting preserve, which included the land where Temple Terrace sits now. After Mr. Potter died in 1918, the land was sold to two development companies, one of which developed Temple Terrace’s golf course and residential area, the other of which developed a 5,000-acre orange grove—the largest grove in the world in 1922. The city’s name comes from a popular variety of oranges grown in those groves, which were terraced—temple oranges.
With its fine Golf and Country Club, Temple Terrace became a haven for the well-to-do and tourists; during its heyday in the roaring 20s, the Temple Terrace Golf and Country Club was the social center of the south, bringing big name entertainment like Al Jolson to town. Approximately 80 homes from this era remain tucked here and there within the residential section of Temple Terrace today; the lovely restored structures reflect the exotic architecture of Spain and the Mediterranean, including red-barreled tiles imported from Cuba when they were built in the 20s.
Homes in Temple Terrace
The median home price in Temple Terrace today is $190,000, although homes values range wildly from $125,000 to $800,000—and up. The area east of 56th Street bounded by the Temple Terrace Golf Course is primarily residential: there, you will find beautiful homes shaded by towering trees on quiet streets, as well as million-dollar waterfront homes along the Hillsborough River. The Golf Course makes the neighborhood even more unique; it meanders through the residential development creating a park-like setting along the streets, which are often filled with families cycling, skating or walking, enjoying the lighted after-dinner hours.
However, because Temple Terrace is a “college town,” many rentals are also available; 54% of homes in Temple Terrace are multi-family units. Many condominiums and townhouses are available as well, ranging in price from $75,000 upwards. Tracts of land are also still available, as Temple Terrace is growing, annexing, spilling its bounds. The Villas of Meadowood Oaks is a popular community; it offers single-story and twin villas in a quiet wooded setting surrounded by more than 300 towering oaks. The Terrace of River Landings offers an intimate community of 46 townhouses on the banks of the Hillsborough River. At Hidden Oaks on Terrace Springs Drive, you will find beautiful, contemporary home designs in several models, up to 2,400 square feet. The Preserve at Temple Terrace, a gated community, offers condominiums starting at $135,000.
Temple Terrace Schools
Children in Temple Terrace attend one of four elementary schools: Lewis Elementary, an “A” school; Riverhills Elementary, next to the beautiful Riverhills Park right on the bank of the Hillsborough River; Temple Terrace Elementary and USF/Patel 9 on the University of South Florida campus – the first charter school established by a public university. Children in K-4 may also attend Village of Excellence Academy, a school for underperforming students who need extra help. Greco Middle serves students in grades 6-8; while King High, offering an International Baccalaureate program, serves high-school-aged students.
As mentioned, Temple Terrace is also home to the University of South Florida’s main Tampa campus, which alone serves more than 30,000 students; USF is considered one of Florida’s top three research schools. USF Tampa is also home to the acclaimed Moffitt Cancer center, a non-for-profit cancer research and treatment facility. Also within Temple Terrace is Florida College, a private Christian residential university; the school’s dormitories are housed in the building that was the original Temple Terrace Golf Course clubhouse.
Shopping and Dining in Temple Terrace
Shopping and dining options abound, especially along Fowler Avenue near the University. All the typical chains call the area home—Applebee’s, Carrabbas, IHOP—as do many smaller, mom-and-pop restaurants that take advantage of the area’s large, hungry student population. Locals rave about Savvy Jack’s on 56th Street, which does a brisk business from open to close; Jack’s offers southern cooking with a decidedly Mediterranean twist, such as the popular Chardonnay Beef sandwich. Word has it that CDB’s is the place to go for pizza and Italian; the company has been in business for more than 30 years—a sure sign that it’s doing something right. Lupton’s Barbeque on Busch just past 56th is another favorite; it offers award-winning barbeque, country cooking and an all-you-can-eat buffet.
The ethnic diversity of USF’s student population is reflected in Temple Terrace establishments as well. Head west of the library on 56th Street and about two blocks outside of Temple Terrace proper to Busch Plaza: there you’ll find the Sahara Grocery, the Taj Mahal Indian Grocery and the King Tut Egyptian Furniture Shop. Or, try the Kirin Indian Kitchen on Fowler Avenue.
Temple Terrace residents are also looking forward to a soon-coming downtown, river-walk expansion. Plans are to redevelop 22 acres at Bullard and 56th, where old, dilapidated shopping centers now sit, into a pedestrian-friendly, new-urban-style community center along the banks of the Hillsborough River complete with retail outlets, residential properties as well as office, restaurant and community/cultural space. Other planned improvements in the 56th-street area call for updated roads and utility systems, as well as new, luxury townhouses and a riverfront park.
Leisure and Play in Temple Terrace
There’s always something happening in or around Temple Terrace. The city itself provides two community-based recreation centers, three athletic facilities, five community and five neighborhood parks, three tennis facilities, five pools, and three nature preserves.
The Family Recreation Complex on Whiteway Drive is the big “to-do” in town, with six lighted clay tennis courts, a gymnastic academy and three multi-use gymnasiums, basketball courts, racquetball courts, two pools (one with a 152-feet water slide)…and much more.
Riverhills Park, right next to Riverhills Elementary in the residential district, is a beautiful park providing ramp and dock access to the Hillsborough River, a picnic area with tables, grills, a gazebo and boardwalk under towering cypress and oaks. The boardwalk winds along the dark red-colored river; the red color coming from the tannin in the cypress leaves. Riverhills Park also offers a large kid-friendly playground and tennis courts.
The Temple Terrace Golf Course is another popular place to unwind; the course, which runs through the older but well-kept residential area of town, was designed by the famous Scottish course designer Tom Bendlow, who arranged the course so that no two holes sit side-by-side.
Also nearby is Busch Gardens Tampa and Adventure Island, with its 30-acres of wet, watery fun—all this right down 56th Street at Busch Boulevard. And there’s always something happening at the USF Sundome on Fowler, which hosts 300+ events a year—sports, concerts, trade shows, rodeos, boxing matches, political rallies, and more. Elton John, Frank Sinatra, TobyMac and Britney Spears are some of the headliners who’ve stopped by at the Sundome. Also on Fowler Avenue, between I-75 and 56th Street, is the family-friendly and widely popular Museum of Science and Industry, better known as MOSI (pronounced like cozy but with an m). MOSI, with its IMAX dome theatre, planetarium and educational exhibits, is a favorite weekend stomping ground for families from all around the Tampa Bay area.
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