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33-471: The Port Charlotte Town Center is a mall in Port Charlotte, Florida . The mall serves Port Charlotte and the neighboring communities of North Port , Englewood , and Punta Gorda . The anchor stores are Recreational Warehouse, Regal Cinemas , Bealls , Dillard's , and JCPenney . There are 2 vacant anchor stores that were once Sears and Macy's . All anchors have one floor. The mall began in 1987, with

66-780: A golf tournament held in 1969 at the Port Charlotte Golf & Country Club on the LPGA Tour . Kathy Whitworth won the event. Public schools in Port Charlotte are operated by Charlotte County Public Schools . For the 2007-08 school year, all schools in Port Charlotte received A's from the Florida Department of Education . Port Charlotte High School is the only traditional public high school located in Port Charlotte, although some parts of Port Charlotte are considered part of Charlotte High School's area, and students have

99-407: A tropical wet and dry climate ( Köppen climate classification : Aw ). The summers are long, hot and humid with frequent afternoon thunderstorms. The winters are mild to warm with a pronounced drop in precipitation. Year round, the diurnal temperature change averages around 20 degrees Fahrenheit (11 degrees Celsius). The area of northwestern Port Charlotte where State Road 776 intersects US 41

132-472: A conspiracy charge. Their convictions and sentencing would come along with two other corporate executives, Torre DeBella, senior vice president of marketing and Richard Reizen, the marketing vice president. DeBella was sentenced to 8 years in prison and 40 counts of fraud, while Reizen got a maximum 5 year sentence and a charge of conspiracy. Functional assets held by GDC in various cities were turned over to their respective governments thereafter. Subsequent to

165-623: A crowd of over 25,000. The Maas Brothers store, which was planned to open in 1990, was put on hold in early January 1990, before parent company Allied Stores filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy . Dillard's and Montgomery Ward were announced as additional anchors in September 1991, by which the Maas Brothers anchor was considered "abandoned". The Belk-Lindsey store at the mall was sold to Burdines in February 1994, and renovated that summer. Regal Cinemas

198-557: Is also known as Murdock . Since Port Charlotte is unincorporated, it is governed by the Charlotte County Board of County Commissioners . The county is governed by a 5-person county commission. They take turns rotating into the commission chair position every year. County commissioners frequently sit on other regional boards involving other municipalities and counties. As of the 2020 United States census , there were 60,625 people, 25,925 households, and 16,077 families residing in

231-655: Is home to three small higher education facilities, including Charlotte Technical College, Southern Technical College 's Port Charlotte campus, and Southwest Florida Bible Institute. The Mid-County Regional Library and the Port Charlotte Library are located in Port Charlotte. They are included in the Charlotte County Library System. General Development Corporation Florida Canada Corporation would be incorporated in 1928 in Canada originally under

264-588: The North Port-Bradenton, Florida Combined Statistical Area . Port Charlotte was named to the "10 Best Places to Retire", in the United States for the year 2012 by U.S. News & World Report . The Calusa originally settled around the Port Charlotte area. In 1819, Florida was ceded by the Spanish and became a U.S. territory, and in 1845 Florida became the 27th state. For the first 100 years of statehood,

297-458: The 1,000,000 sq ft, 6-anchor mall in one phase, projected to be finished by Fall 1989. At this time, Sears had been confirmed as the fourth anchor. Mall anchors J. C. Penney, Sears, and Belk-Lindsey opened before the mall on July 29, 1989. The J. C. Penney opening was attended by Miss Universe Angela Visser . A "Gala Preview" of the mall was held August 1, 1989 in a party headlined by Jack Jones . The mall opened, on schedule, on August 2, 1989 to

330-622: The 1950s, the now defunct General Development Corporation led by the Mackle brothers decided to take advantage of the Florida land boom and developed land primarily on both of Florida's coastlines. Among the areas they planned and developed was the Port Charlotte area. Ultimately, Port Charlotte became the most populous community in Charlotte County, although like most GDC developments, Port Charlotte remained an unincorporated community . Port Charlotte

363-450: The CDP. According to Sperling's Best Places, as of July 2015 the family median income in Port Charlotte was $ 48,911, and household income was $ 40,049. The per capita income was $ 22,681. Port Charlotte's unemployment rate was 5.50%, compared to 6.30% for the United States overall. As of the 2010 United States census , there were 54,392 people, 24,501 households, and 15,658 families residing in

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396-527: The CDP. As of the census of 2000, there were 46,451 people, 20,453 households, and 13,601 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 2,085.9/sq mi (805.3/km ). There were 23,315 housing units at an average density of 1,047.0 per square mile (404.2/km ). The racial makeup of the CDP was 89.23% White , 6.53% African American , 0.28% Native American , 1.14% Asian , 0.05% Pacific Islander , 1.18% from other races , and 1.59% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.16% of

429-425: The area around Port Charlotte was mostly undeveloped. Maps of the area at the turn of the 20th century show that most of the roads and railroads leading into southwest Florida had bypassed the Port Charlotte area. Aside from some cattle ranches and small farming, the area was mostly uninhabited. This would change when the post-World War II boom opened people's eyes to the possibility of developing land in Florida. In

462-555: The bankruptcy auction. On September 28, 2022, The Bealls was damaged by Hurricane Ian along with DSW and Dillard’s. Port Charlotte, Florida Port Charlotte is a census-designated place and unincorporated community in Charlotte County, Florida , United States. The population was 60,625 at the 2020 census, up from 54,392 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Punta Gorda, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area , included in

495-516: The city of Punta Gorda. It is 100 miles (160 km) south of Tampa and 65 miles (105 km) north of Naples . According to the United States Census Bureau , the CDP has a total area of 32.3 square miles (83.7 km ), of which 28.4 square miles (73.6 km ) is land and 3.9 square miles (10.1 km ) (12.01%), is water. Port Charlotte has a warm humid subtropical climate ( Köppen climate classification : Cfa ) bordering on

528-522: The company leadership and the company itself. The company itself would plead guilty to federal mail fraud charges on March 16, 1990. Prior to this, it had been investigated by the federal government for two years for falsely inflating the prices of houses. In a plea agreement, GDC "agreed in principle" to make a restitution fund for those who bought homes between January 1, 1982 and December 31, 1989. It would later file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April. It

561-687: The company's operations had been concentrated in Floridian real estate and ended up changing their name to Florida Canada Corporation. Also that year, the 4 subsidiaries, which were jointly owned by each other, would be merged into one subsidiary: General Development Corporation. The Mackle Co. would be founded by Frank E. Mackle, Sr. in 1908 in Jacksonville and was the largest homebuilding company in Florida at one point. It would end up moving its operations to Miami in 1937. When Frank died, his three sons, Elliott, Robert and Frank Jr., would end up taking over

594-452: The company's president from 1965 to 1970. Starting in the late 1970s, liabilities grew for promised construction for thousands of lots, but when construction started, money became low. To solve this problem, the company decided to buy, plan and sell more lots to get more money flowing and develop the lots sold a decade earlier. In the late 1980's, GDC's management team was accused of fraudulent home sales, which led to criminal indictments of

627-631: The company. Both Florida Canada and the Mackle firm would be merged into one entity in 1958. The Mackle brothers would end up leaving GDC after getting into a dispute with the company's chairman, Gardner Cowles and ended up forming the Deltona Corporation in 1962, which would be a competitor to GDC. Charles H. Kellstadt, the former chairman and CEO of Sears would become both the CEO and chairman of GDC after he left Sears in 1962. He would serve in both roles until stepping down in 1973 and then served as

660-467: The eye of the storm. Ian caused severe damage to Port Charlotte, mostly wind-related, and to the rest of the surrounding area. Maximum sustained winds of 115 miles per hour (185 km/h) and a wind gust of 132 miles per hour (212 km/h) were reported by a private weather station in Port Charlotte. Port Charlotte is located at the north end of the Charlotte Harbor Estuary , northwest of

693-468: The homes in the county and caused heavy ecological damage to sensitive wetlands in the area. Just over 18 years later, Port Charlotte was once again severely impacted by a major hurricane, this time Hurricane Ian on September 28, 2022. Ian made landfall as a Category 4 storm in Cayo Costa State Park before moving north-east into Charlotte Harbor, with south-eastern Port Charlotte going through

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726-404: The indictments and convictions of senior management, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals exonerated the men, reversing their convictions and directing that all charges against them be dismissed (see US v. Brown, 79 F.3rd 1550 (1996) for a complete discussion of the case and a general exoneration of General Development Corporation. Atlantic Gulf Communities was created with GDC's bankruptcy. Ehrling

759-456: The name of Chemical Research Corporation . Chemical Research devoted its activities towards developing "technical process," along with equipment for the mining and petroleum industry. Both the Mackle Company and Chemical Research would create 4 subsidiaries for developing property on both coasts of Florida during October 1954. Over time, the company became more diversified and by 1956, most of

792-548: The option to attend Charlotte Virtual School, a charter school, a special needs school, or a different traditional public high school through school choice. There are numerous private schools in Port Charlotte, including Family Christian Academy (formerly known as Community Christian School), Charlotte Preparatory School (formerly known as Charlotte Academy), Genesis Christian School, Joyful Noise Learning Center, Port Charlotte Adventist School, Port Charlotte Christian School, and St. Charles Borromeo Catholic School. Port Charlotte

825-404: The population. In 2000, there were 20,453 households, out of which 20.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.2% were married couples living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.5% were non-families. 28.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size

858-713: The purchase of 132 acres of land from the General Development Corporation by developer Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation . Phase 1 was announced to include 600,000 sq ft of mall space with 3 department store anchors, one announced to be J. C. Penney, and 195,000 sq ft of outparcels. Phase 2 would include 2 more department store anchors and an additional 435,000 sq ft in "peripheral businesses". In September 1987, Maas Brothers and Belk-Lindsey were announced as 2 additional anchors, along with an unnamed fourth anchor. Groundbreaking ceremonies were held on December 8, with plans dropping "Phase 2" and instead planning to open

891-402: Was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.71. In 2000, in the CDP, the age distribution of the population shows 18.7% under the age of 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 21.0% from 25 to 44, 24.2% from 45 to 64, and 30.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 49 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.2 males. Port Charlotte

924-463: Was built at the mall in 1999. Montgomery Ward closed at the mall in 2001 following their bankruptcy; Bealls opened in the space the following year. Burdines became Burdines-Macy's in 2003, before converting to Macy's in 2005. On December 28, 2018, it was announced that Sears would be closing as part of a plan to close 80 stores nationwide. The store closed in March 2019. The 2020 show, PBS Kids Talk About

957-468: Was decided that Chairman David F. Brown and President Robert F. Ehrling would be prosecuted separately from the company. Both had resigned a week prior to the company, pleading guilty to mail fraud. Both Ehrling and Brown would be convicted in August 1992 and sentenced on January 6, 1993. Ehrling would receive 40 counts of fraud and a 10 year prison sentence while Brown got a maximum five year sentence, along with

990-470: Was filmed in a portion of the former Sears. On January 6, 2021, it was announced that Macy's would be closing in March 2021 as part of a plan to close 46 stores nationwide. The mall was owned by Washington Prime Group but was auctioned due to the Washington Prime's bankruptcy, and Washington Prime's creditors were the winning bidder. As of July 2022, the mall continues operations as normal following

1023-628: Was home to the Charlotte Stone Crabs , which is a member of the Florida State League and Class High-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays , which also hold its spring training at Charlotte Sports Park until 2020. The Rays also hold extended spring training in Port Charlotte, and have a Florida Complex League team which began to play in June 2009. The Port Charlotte Invitational was

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1056-661: Was released from prison in 1996 after his convictions were overturned via appeal. Once leaving prison, he reconnected with Reizen, who had also been released from prison after an appeals court ruling. The two would get into real estate development once again and buy over 3,000 vacant lots from Atlantic. It was part of a plan by Atlantic to get $ 200 million to sell off half of the 87,000 acres and 9 water processing plants it had, but this idea "never fully materialized," with Atlantic filing for bankruptcy protection in 2001. New Vista Properties would end up being created after these purchases from Atlantic. As each community began to be developed,

1089-435: Was severely impacted by Hurricane Charley on August 13, 2004. The hurricane, predicted to hit Tampa as a Category 2 hurricane, took a last-minute right hand turn and intensified into a Category 4 storm as it made landfall near Charlotte Harbor and caused severe damage in the city of Punta Gorda and in the Port Charlotte area. The storm's 145 miles per hour (233 km/h) maximum sustained winds destroyed almost half of

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