Coral Springs is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, Coral Springs had a population of 134,394. Approximately northwest of Fort Lauderdale, it is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area. It has an arts center, history museum, hosts the "Our Town" annual festival, and has Florida's only covered bridge.

The city, officially chartered on July 10, 1963, was master-planned and primarily developed by Coral Ridge Properties, Inc., which was acquired by Westinghouse in 1966. The city's name is derived from the company's name, and was selected after several earlier proposals had been considered and rejected. Despite the name, there are no natural springs in the city; Florida's springs are found in the central and northern portions of the state.

During the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s the young city grew rapidly, adding over 35,000 residents each decade. Coral Springs has strict building codes designed to maintain the city's distinctive aesthetic appeal. The city government's effective fiscal management has maintained high bond ratings, and the city has won accolades for its overall livability, its low crime rate, and its family-friendly orientation.

History Coral Springs is a planned community. Prior to its incorporation as a city in July 1963, the area which is now Coral Springs was part of of marshy lands bought by Henry Lyons between 1911 and 1939. After several floods in 1947, Florida created the Central and Southern Florida Flood Control District (now the South Florida Water Management District). Canals and levees drained much of the area upon which Coral Springs was built. After the land was drained and cleared, most of the area was used as a bean farm. After Lyons' death in 1952, his heirs changed the focus to cattle.

A post-World War II real estate boom in South Florida attracted the interest of developers. Coral Ridge Properties, which already had several developments in Broward County, bought of land from the Lyons family on December 14, 1961, for $1 million. The City of Coral Springs was chartered on July 10, 1963. Other names that were considered for the new city included "Curran Village", "Pompano Springs" and "Quartermore". By 1964, the company had developed a master plan for a city of 50,000 residents. On July 22, 1964, the first sale of 536 building lots netted $1.6 million. The landmark covered bridge was built that same year to promote the town. In 1965, Coral Ridge Properties bought an additional from the Lyons family, increasing the city's land area to . The first city government elections were held in 1967.

The city added 19 public schools, a regional mall, shopping centers and parks between 1970 and 2000 in response to rapid population growth. The biggest shopping mall in the city is Coral Square, which opened in October 1984 with of retail space and more than 120 stores. The construction of the Sawgrass Expressway in 1986 brought even more growth. A museum and a theater opened in the 1990s. The city reached residential build-out in 2003 and is very close to a commercial build-out.

Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and of which is water (0.83%). Coral Springs is bordered by the cities of Parkland to the north, Coconut Creek to the east, Margate and North Lauderdale to the southeast and Tamarac to the south. To the west lie The Everglades.

Cityscape Coral Springs is a sprawling city, with few tall or prominent structures. The tallest building in the city is a 12-story condominium (Country Club Tower), with five more buildings topping out at or near 10 stories, including four office buildings lining University Drive, one of the city's main roads. Buildings include the University Place at City Center, Coral Springs Executive Tower, Bank of America Center, and the Briarwood Towers. The Coral Springs Financial Plaza was the first major office building in the city; built in 1974 as the Bank of Coral Springs Building, it had 10 floors and 123,469 sq ft of office space; it was demolished in 2021. University Place at City Center, at 3111 N. University Drive, is the largest office building in the city in terms of office space—it has 10 floors and . It opened as the Preferred Exchange Tower in 1985.

Coral Ridge Properties established strict landscaping and sign laws for the city—a question in the original version of Trivial Pursuit noted that the city hosted the first McDonald's without the distinctive Golden Arches sign. Restrictions on commercial signs, exterior paint colors, roofing materials, recreational vehicle and boat storage, and landscaping specifications are all strictly enforced; consequently, real estate values in the city are significantly higher than the county as a whole. In 2006, the median price of a single family home in Coral Springs was US$415,000, while the median price county-wide was US$323,000.

The city's downtown at the intersection of Sample Road and University Drive is the focus of an extensive redevelopment plan, estimated to cost close to US$700 million. The plan to revitalize the city's core started with an open-air shopping and entertainment center—"The Walk"—and progressed with the construction of "One Charter Place", opened April 2007. When completed, the redeveloped downtown area will offer office, retail, and a new government center, encompassing approximately three million square feet of floor space, in addition to approximately 1,000 residential units and a new hotel. The city's new $38 million city hall complex opened in January 2018, replacing the old building which was demolished later that year. The current downtown project in development, "Cornerstone Downtown Coral Springs", will feature two residential towers, a hotel, and a shopping, office and entertainment complex. The project began construction in 2022, following the demolition of the Coral Springs Financial Plaza at the end of 2021.

The City of Coral Springs' Parks and Recreation Department operates over 50 municipal parks, including a water park and a skate park, encompassing over . Coral Springs' largest park is Mullins Park (70 acres). Of the four natural conservation areas in the city, Sandy Ridge Sanctuary is the biggest, at .

Climate Coral Springs experiences a tropical rainforest climate (Köppen climate classification: Af). Average monthly rainfall is higher from April to September, with January and February as the driest months. The average monthly rainfall ranges from in January and February to in June. The hurricane season is from June to November, with September as the month during which hurricanes are most likely to occur. The most powerful hurricane to strike Coral Springs since its incorporation was Wilma in 2005; the eye of the hurricane passed directly over the city. The city estimated that "as a result of the numerous hurricanes and storms that hit Coral Springs in 2004/2005, and especially as a result of Hurricane Wilma, the tree canopy coverage throughout the city has been reduced by about one third". A 2017 study put Coral Springs in fourth place for US cities most vulnerable to coastal flooding, with 115,000 residents living within FEMA's coastal floodplain.

Demographics

Historical demographics20202010200019901980White (non-Hispanic)36.8%51.6%69.9%87.3%95.3%Hispanic or Latino29.4%23.5%15.5%7.1%3.0%Black or African American (non-Hispanic)22.5%17.1%8.9%3.2%0.8%Asian and Pacific Islander (non-Hispanic)5.6%5.1%3.6%2.0%1.0%Native American (non-Hispanic)0.1%0.1%0.1%0.2%Some other race (non-Hispanic)1.4%0.6%0.4%0.1%Two or more races (non-Hispanic)4.3%2.0%1.6%N/AN/APopulation134,394121,096117,54979,44337,349

2010 and 2020 census +Coral Springs – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop. 2000Pop. 2010% 2000% 2010White (NH)82,14962,49649,51769.88%51.61%36.84%Black or African American (NH)10,41220,71330,1978.86%17.10%22.47%Native American or Alaska Native (NH)1471671470.13%0.14%0.11%Asian (NH)4,1176,0917,4403.50%5.03%5.54%Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian (NH)7954420.07%0.04%0.03%Some other race (NH)4956901,8460.42%0.57%1.37%Two or more races or Multiracial (NH)1,9172,4435,7331.63%2.02%4.27%Hispanic or Latino (any race)18,23328,44239,47215.51%23.49%29.37%Total117,549121,096134,394100.00%100.00%100.00%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 134,394 people, 42,504 households, and 32,507 families residing in the city.

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 121,096 people, 40,975 households, and 32,256 families residing in the city.

2000 census As of 2000, 19,151 (43.2%) households had children under the age of 18 living with them, 26,875 (60.6%) were married couples living together, 7,663 (17.3%) had a female householder with no husband present, and 8,387 (18.9%) were non-families. 5,922 of all households (13.4%) were made up of individuals, and 1,408 (3.2%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.11 and the average family size was 3.45.

In 2000, the city's age distribution was as follows: 38,335 residents (27.8%) under the age of 18, 14,560 (10.5%) from 18 to 24, 35,927 (26.0%) from 25 to 44, 39,821 (28.8%) from 45 to 64, and 9,358 (6.8%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.7 males.

In 2000, the median income for a household in the city was US$69,808, and the median income for a family was $76,106. Males had a median income of $47,427 versus $34,920 for females. The per capita income for the city was $29,285. About 5.8% of families and 7.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.1% of those under age 18 and 2.1% of those age 65 or over.

As of 2000, those who spoke only English at home accounted for 74.6% of residents. Other languages spoken at home included Spanish (15.0%), French Creole (2.2%), Portuguese (1.4%), French (1.1%), and Italian (0.8%.)

As of 2000, 2.1% of the city's population was from Haiti, 2.1% of the population was from Colombia, and 1.7% of the population was from Cuba.

Crime Coral Springs enjoys a low crime rate, and was listed as 24th on the list of Florida's Safest Cities of 2020, by the independent review site SafeWise.

Economy

Employment Of residents aged 16 years and over, 72.6% were in the labor force, 95% were employed and 5% unemployed. 39.5% of the population worked in management, professional, and related occupations; 32.9% in sales and office occupations; 12.8% in service occupations; 7.6% in construction, extraction, and maintenance occupations; 7% in production, transportation, and material moving occupations; and 0.1% in farming, fishing, and forestry occupations. The industries for which Coral Springs inhabitants worked were 17.6% educational, health and social services; 16.1% retail trade; 12.9% professional, scientific, management, administrative, and waste management services; 10.1% finance, insurance, real estate, and rental and leasing; 8.2% arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation and food services; 7.0% manufacturing; 6.6% construction; 5.0% wholesale trade; 4% transportation, warehousing, and utilities;, 4.9% other services (except public administration); 3.7% information; 3.6% public administration; and 0.2% agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining. 85.2% of workers worked in the private sector, 9.6% in government, 5% self-employed in unincorporated businesses, and 0.3% as unpaid family workers. The predominant method of commuting was driving alone in own car, accounting for 81.5% of commuting trips, followed by 11.2% who were carpoolers and 7.4% who used other methods or worked from home.

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