locals. The first building was a four-plex at the corner of Coronado and Cape Coral Parkway. This building was the Rosen's company headquarters and the temporary home of Cape Coral's first permanent resident, Kenny Schwartz, the Rosens' new general manager. Cape Coral's first four homes were completed in May 1958 on Riverside and Flamingo drives.

Through the rest of the 1950s and early 1960s, development moved quickly, 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; 80 miles of road had been built, and 160 miles of canals had been dug. The 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 Cape Coral Bridge, which opened in early 1964. Before the bridge, a trip to Fort Myers was more than 20 miles, following the long haul up Del Prado, then over to the Edison Bridge to cross the river.

Since its inception Cape Coral had been known as a "sleepy" community with its large retirement population. This all changed with the population boom of the 1990's that brought with it young working class families. There is still a larger than normal retirement population. While some of the community still has to cross the river to Fort Myers for work and entertainment, this has become less of a requirement with new stores, restaurants and nightclubs opening up every year. Today, Cape Coral offers a lively strip of restaurants and stores along Cape Coral Parkway, Del Prado Blvd. and Pine Island Road. Also, there is an array of activities within the city including Sun Splash Family Waterpark, Mike Greenwell’s Family Fun Park and the brand new, 27,000-sq.-ft. Eagle Skate Park.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 102,286 people, 40,768 households, and 30,209 families residing in the city. The population density was 972.4/mi² (375.4/km²). There were 45,653 housing units at an average density of 434.0/mi² (167.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.01% White, 2.00% African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.92% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 2.20% from other races, and 1.56% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.33% of the population.

There were 40,768 households out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.2% were married couples living together, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.9% were non-families. 19.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 2.85.

In the city the population was spread out with 22.6% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 25.3% from 45 to 64, and 19.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 94.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $43,410, and the median income for a family was $47,503. Males had a median income of $32,320 versus $25,068 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,021. About 5.3% of families and 7.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.2% of those under age 18 and 5.6% of those age 65 or over.

Economy
Tourism is a major economic driver in the area. In addition, many seasonal residents live in the area during the winter months, as temperatures in south Florida stay very moderate during that time of year.

Attractions
Beaches in the following locales:

• Bonita Beach
• Cape Romano
• Fort Myers Beach
• Longboat Key, offshore from Bradenton and Sarasota
• Marco Island, offshore from Naples
• Naples
• Sanibel and Captiva Islands, offshore from South Fort Myers (renowned for the quality of shells that wash ashore)
• Sarasota
• Siesta Key
• Ten Thousand Islands
• Venice (renowned for sharks' teeth that wash ashore)

Attractions including:

• Brighton Seminole Indian Reservation (where the Seminole nation operates a sizable casino)
• Edison and Ford Winter Estates in Fort Myers
• Lake Okeechobee renowned for fishing and ecotourism.
• Naples Botanical Garden
• Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens
• Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota
• St. Armand's Circle in Sarasota

Transportation
Southwest Florida is served by several major highways, including the Tamiami Trail (U.S. 41) and the Interstate 75 freeway, both of which connect the area to Tampa to the north, and Fort Lauderdale/Miami to the east. Long-term cooperative infrastructure planning is coordinated by the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council (web site), and in heavily populated Lee County, the Metropolitan Planning Organization.

Greyhound Lines serves several locations in Southwest Florida, including Bradenton, Fort Myers, Naples, Port Charlotte, Punta Gorda and Sarasota.

Southwest Florida International Airport, located in South Fort Myers, served over 7.6 million passengers in 2006 and offers non-stop flights to 3 cities in Europe and 2 in Canada, in addition to 36 domestic airports. The area's secondary airport, Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport, served 1.42 million passengers in 2006.

The Port of Manatee provides a full range of port services for commercial, industrial and cruise ship purposes.

Seminole Gulf Railway provides freight services throughout Southwest Florida.