Learn More About Odessa, Florida
Learn More About Odessa, Florida
Odessa is a rapidly-growing community in Pasco County, Florida. The census-designated place is located northwest of Tampa, which has contributed significantly to its growth over the years. Although it lies entirely within Pasco County, Odessa has areas outside the county using its mailing address. It is an excellent place for families around the Tampa Bay Area.
The origin of this community is traced to a Russian immigrant known as Peter Demens, who is also credited with the establishment of the city of St. Petersburg, Florida. Demens founded the CDP in the 1880s and named it after one of the places he was wont to visiting back in his home country. He was said to have financed the Orange Belt Railway, which extended from Sanford to St. Petersburg. It received its first post office in May 1900, with Peter Strand named as the first postmaster. By the second decade of the 20th century, Odessa had become a thriving mill town home to thousands of people. There used to be a large sawmill in the area which provided jobs for locals until it was destroyed in a 1922 fire.
The rapid expansion of the city of Tampa is a major driver of development in Odessa, which was previously used for horse properties and ranching. The CDP's population of just 3,173 in 2000 rose by about 130 percent to 7,267 in 2010. The areas using the its mailing address extends into Hillsborough County. The address overlaps portions of another CDP, Keystone, even though they do not overlap physically. Odessa boasts well-educated residents, with the proportion of adults having at least a Bachelor's degree higher than that of an average city in the U.S.
A large portion of the homes in Odessa were built in recent years to cater to the needs of more and more people moving there. The proximity to Tampa makes homes in the community highly sought-after and this often reflects in price. The expansion in the bigger city is making many of those working there to move to this CDP for more affordable accommodation. This has led to the rising of numerous suburban property developments in the area.
Many of the residents here are office workers and professionals, a high percentage of which are in sales and administrative occupations. A popular community among home buyers in the area is Keystone Park Colony, a neighborhood of well-educated people boasting a higher percentage of adults with a college degree than the entire CDP and Tampa Metro.
Odessa appears like one of a handful of family-friendly locations you can find in the Tampa Bay Area. Many families and their children live in this community with a very high number of single-family, owner-occupied homes. The overall crime rate around the CDP is lower than that of a typical American city. And that is in addition to the lure of having well-educated people as neighbors. Odessa is definitely a community worthy of consideration for raising kids to be responsible individuals in the society.
With low crime rate and well-educated residents, Odessa is a great place that is ideal not only for families, but also anyone who would love to live in a relatively safer community. Its closeness to Tampa means residents can explore opportunities of a major urban center.
