If you drive through Tamarac today, you’ll see a bustling city of roughly 75,000 residents that feels like the heartbeat of western Broward County. It is diverse, busy, and full of life—living up to its motto, “The City For Your Life.” But if you rewind the clock just over 60 years, this entire area was almost unrecognizable.
For anyone looking at homes for sale in Tamarac today, understanding the history gives you a lot of context on why the city is laid out the way it is and why the housing stock is so varied. What started as a singular vision for a quiet retirement village has morphed into a dynamic, multigenerational community. The transformation wasn’t accidental; it was a mix of ambitious development in the 1960s and a major demographic shift that really took hold in the 2000s.
Let’s take a look at how a patch of wetlands and orange groves became one of South Florida’s most interesting real estate markets.
The Visionary and the Orange Groves (early 1960s)
The story of Tamarac starts with a man named Ken Behring. He wasn’t a native Floridian; he was actually a car salesman and developer from Wisconsin who came south looking for opportunity. In the early 1960s, western Broward County wasn’t exactly a hotbed of luxury living. It was mostly wetlands, cow pastures, and citrus groves.
Behring had a specific idea that was revolutionary at the time: the “active adult” community. He wanted to build single-family homes that offered the privacy of a house but the maintenance-free lifestyle of a condo. The concept was simple: you buy the house, and the community association takes care of the lawn and exterior maintenance.
On July 19, 1963, Tamarac was officially incorporated. The first neighborhood, Tamarac Lakes, offered homes at prices that sound impossible today—roughly in the $13,000 to $20,000 range. These homes were snapped up quickly, proving that Behring’s vision of a hassle-free lifestyle in the sun was exactly what retirees were looking for.
The Great Debate: How Did Tamarac Get Its Name?
If you ask locals how the city got its name, you will almost certainly hear a specific story involving a car wash. The popular legend goes that Ken Behring owned a chain of car washes called “Car-A-Mat,” and if you spell that backward, you get “Tamarac.” It is a fun bit of trivia that has circulated for decades.
However, while Behring did own those car washes, he eventually admitted to the Tamarac Historical Society that the story was a myth—albeit an entertaining one that he didn’t mind perpetuating.
The truth is a little more grounded in local geography. Behring named the new city after the nearby Tamarac Country Club, which was located in Oakland Park. There are also stories about it being named after a Tamarack tree or a Native American chief, but the country club connection is the historically accepted origin.
Rapid Expansion: The Mainlands and The Woodlands
Once the proof of concept was established with Tamarac Lakes, the development went into overdrive during the late 1960s and 1970s. This era defined the city’s footprint. Behring’s company launched the Mainlands of Tamarac Lakes, a massive expansion of that maintenance-free villa concept. If you are looking at homes for sale in Mainlands of Tamarac today, you are seeing the direct result of that aggressive building phase.
But Behring didn’t just want volume; he wanted prestige. Around 1968, he launched The Woodlands, a luxury golf course community designed to attract wealthier buyers who wanted estate-sized lots and country club amenities. Even today, homes for sale in The Woodlands Tamarac stand out because of their custom architecture and golf course views, which differ significantly from the compact villas in the Mainlands.
One thing you might notice on a map is that Tamarac has very irregular boundaries. It doesn’t look like a perfect square. That is because Behring was buying up land parcels wherever he could find them. If a farmer was willing to sell, he bought it and built on it. This piecemeal acquisition strategy is why the city limits twist and turn around other municipalities.
Incorporation and Geographic Growth
As the 1970s and 80s rolled on, Tamarac had to transition from a developer-controlled town into a properly functioning independent municipality. Originally, the area was almost purely residential—great for sleeping, but not great for generating tax revenue to pay for city services.
This led to a period of “annexation wars,” where the city strategically annexed commercial zones to support its tax base. Securing the commercial corridors along State Road 7 (441) and the areas near the Florida Turnpike interchange was crucial. These moves ensured that residents didn’t just have homes, but also had local grocery stores, services, and a stable city budget.
A Demographic Shift: From Retirement Village to Multigenerational City
For the first few decades of its existence, Tamarac was synonymous with “55+ living.” However, starting in the 1990s and accelerating through the 2000s, the city underwent a massive identity shift.
Several factors drove this change. First, the original deed restrictions in many neighborhoods began to expire or were amended. Second, as the original generation of residents aged out, younger buyers discovered that Tamarac offered incredible value compared to eastern Fort Lauderdale.
Hurricane Wilma in 2005 also played a surprising role in this history. The storm caused significant damage to older roofs and structures, which led to a wave of renovations and turnover. As homes were repaired and sold, a new wave of residents moved in.
Today, the median age in Tamarac hovers around 47.5 years—a stark drop from its early days. The city is now home to a vibrant mix of cultures, with significant Hispanic and Caribbean populations. It has truly become a multigenerational city where households of all ages live side by side.
Tamarac Today: Infrastructure and Amenities
Fast forward to 2026, and the city has embraced this new identity. You can see it in the “One Tamarac” Multicultural Festival, which celebrates the diversity of the current population. The city has also poured investment into parks and recreation to serve this broader demographic.
Facilities like the Caporella Aquatic Complex and Waters Edge Park are hubs of activity for residents. Whether you are looking at living in Tamarac FL for the parks, the commute, or the community feel, the infrastructure has caught up to the population shift. It’s no longer just a place to retire; it’s a place to live an active life at any age.
The Evolution of Tamarac Real Estate
The real estate market here has evolved right alongside the people. In the beginning, it was almost exclusively flat-roofed, “Bermuda style” villas. Now, the Tamarac FL real estate market is a mix of those charming original homes, sprawling golf course estates in the Woodlands, and modern two-story townhomes and single-family houses constructed in the last two decades.
For buyers, this history translates to variety. You can still find the efficient, low-maintenance HOA lifestyle that Behring envisioned, but you can also find larger family homes without the restrictive age requirements of the past. It remains one of the most practical and affordable alternatives to the pricier coastal markets, keeping the founder’s original promise of a good life at a good price alive, just in a new form.
Frequently Asked Questions
Tamarac was founded by Ken Behring, a car salesman and real estate developer originally from Wisconsin. He envisioned the area as a maintenance-free active adult community when he began development in the early 1960s.
While a popular myth suggests it is “Car-A-Mat” (Behring’s car wash chain) spelled backward, the city was actually named after the nearby Tamarac Country Club in Oakland Park. Ken Behring confirmed this later in life, though he admitted the car wash story was more entertaining.
The city was officially incorporated on July 19, 1963. It celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2023, marking six decades of growth from a small developer town to a major city.
No, Tamarac is no longer exclusively a 55+ community. While it retains some age-restricted neighborhoods, the city has evolved into a multigenerational area with households of all ages and a median age under 50.
