Plantation is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census the population was 84,955.^[7] It is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area. The city's name comes from the previous part-owner of the land, the Everglades Plantation Company, and their attempts to establish a rice plantation in the area.^[8][9][10]

By 1980, Plantation's population had reached 48,653.^[45] This year is when the city was first designated as a 'Tree City' by the Arbor Day Foundation.^[8][51] The Plantation Library was renamed to the Helen B. Hoffman Plantation Library in the following year.^[32]

In 1983, the city opened Plantation Central Park: a 77-acre recreation complex, including any Olympic swimming pool, gym, and spaces for softball, football, soccer, tennis and basketball.^[8] That same year, the former Plantation Chamber of Commerce building (a 1,000 square foot office building) was moved over a mile by truck to a new location. The intent was for the building to be used as a museum building by the Plantation Historical Society; however, it was subsequently vandalized and fell from its foundation, requiring demolition as a result.^[8] Instead, an alternative, Plantation Historical Museum (founded by Genevieve Veltri) is dedicated in June 1985.^[32][8]

The city's landscape department established the 'Plantation Landscaping Award for Nurturing our Town' (PLANT) awards in 1984, developed as part of the Tree City USA program to reward outstanding landscaping and maintenance.^[8] The same year also saw the first opening of the Plantation Heritage Park to the public.^[8]

In 1988, 10 years after the opening of the Broward Mall, two new shopping malls were opened in the city: The Fountains Shopping Mall (450,000 sq ft., at a cost of $60 million) and the Fashion Mall at Plantation (660,000 sq ft, featuring Macy's and Lord & Taylor as its anchor stores).^[52][8]

The population reached a 66,116 by 1990.^[45] The following year, Plantation's PLANT awards recognized Marjory Stoneman Douglas (then 100 years of age) as the "First Lady of Conservation" for her efforts to preserve the Everglades.^[8]

The insurance company Kemper National Services first opened operations in Plantation in 1993, and in the following year, announced plans to double its office space in the city and hire up to 800 additional employees. At the time, the city's largest employers were American Express, followed by Motorola.^[53]

During the 100th anniversary of the modern Olympic Games in 1996, the relay run of the Olympic Flame passed through Plantation city center.^[54] In September of that year, a fire at the Plantation Towne Mall became the city's largest fire to date, impacting 56,000 square feet of the mall.^[55][8] Following the fire, the area was re-built as Plantation Towne Square, including a new Publix anchor store.^[8]

The year 2000 census established the city population at 82,934, spanning 15 distinct ethnic groups.^[56] New city developments around this time included the 11,500-square-foot (1,070 m²) Volunteer Park Community Center (1999), the Park East Multicultural Garden (2001), the Community Bus Service (2001), Jim Ward 16,000 sq ft (1,500 m²) Community Center (2002), Jack Carter Harmony Park (2002), Happy Tails Dog Park (2002), the Plantation Equestrian Center (2005), and the Plantation Preserve Golf Course and Club (2006).^[8]

Plantation celebrated its 50-year golden anniversary in 2003, with a one-week celebration and updating of the city's time capsule.^[8]

Hurricane Wilma hit Plantation on Monday, October 24, 2005, causing significant damage and power outages.^[8] The resulting damage led to the subsequent closure of the Fashion Mall in 2006.^[57]

In 2007, the Broward Mall was acquired by the Westfield Group, received a multimillion-dollar renovation, and was renamed to Westfield Broward.^[8]

The city was first named one as of the nation's "100 Best Communities for Young People" by America's Promise Alliance in 2008.^[58] It has won this award on other subsequent years, including 2010^[59] and 2011^[60]

The 2010 census established the city's population at 84,955 people.^[61] During this year, the vacant former Fashion Mall was planned for auction, but the auction was cancelled after the property owner paid a court judgement.^[62][63]

In 2011, Diane Veltri Bendekovic, daughter of previous long-running mayor Frank Veltri, was elected as mayor of the city.^[64][65]

The city's 60th anniversary in 2013 saw the publication of a new book dedicated to its history: Images of America: Plantation.^[8]

The developers of the previously closed Fashion Mall filed for bankruptcy in October 2014. The property was then sold in a bankruptcy auction on April 2015 for $37.7 million.^[66] Demolition of the former Fashion Mall then began in 2016 (leaving the existing hotel, office and parking areas), to make way for 'Plantation Walk' (previously known as '321 North'^[66]): a new $350 million complex including 700 apartments, 200,000 square feet of retail and restaurants, and remodeled versions of the existing 160,000 square foot office tower and Sheraton hotel.^[67][68][69] In September 2018, a settlement was reached, dismissing legal conflicts between the area's bankruptcy trustee and other parties previously involved in the redevelopment. The development is now targeting completion in 2021.^[66][70]

The American Express office in Plantation closed in 2017, when company relocated to a newly built facility in neighboring Sunrise.^[71] In response to the move, committee review began on 'Plantation Midtown': a new 25-acre (0.10 km²) mixed-use development, encompassing the site of the former American Express office.^[72]

On July 6, 2019, 23 people were injured, two seriously, by a gas explosion at The Fountains shopping plaza on South University Drive, which caused extensive damage to it and nearby buildings.^[73]

Source:

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantation,_Florida