Beverly Hills

Beverly Hills is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in central Citrus County. It began around 1960, when developer Sam Kellner bought about 3,500 acres of former cattle land and started building single-storey homes. By the spring of 1962 the first 20 homes stood, and by the end of 1965 there were around 400.

Living here

Most homes here are single-storey, a direct result of how the community was planned. Building continued under later owners, the last of them Morrison Homes, which stopped selling new homes here in 1999.

Daily life is practical: the Central Ridge Library is in Beverly Hills, Citrus County Transit's Orange route serves the community, and County Road 491, North Lecanto Highway, runs along its northwestern edge.

Beverly Hills suits buyers who want a single-storey home in a central location, with Crystal River, Inverness and Lecanto all within about 25 minutes.

Nature and things to do

Beverly Hills is inland and away from the big lakes, so outdoor time happens in the county parks nearby or a short drive away.

• Central Ridge Community Park on Lake Beverly Drive, a county park with tennis, shuffleboard, a jogging trail and what the county calls the largest horseshoe compound in Florida.
• The Withlacoochee State Trail in Hernando, about four miles northeast along CR 491 and US 41.
• Kings Bay and the springs of Crystal River, about 20 minutes west.

Getting around

CR 491 runs about four miles northeast to US 41 and about five miles southwest to State Road 44 in Lecanto, where the Suncoast Parkway toward Tampa now ends. Two hospitals are each about 25 minutes away: HCA Florida Citrus Hospital in Inverness and TGH Crystal River.

Approximate driving distances and times from the centre of Beverly Hills, calculated with OpenStreetMap routing. Real travel times depend on traffic.

Good to know

• Many homes date from the 1960s to the 1990s. Ask about the age of the roof, the air conditioning and the plumbing.
• Ask whether a home falls under deed restrictions or an association, and read the documents before you make an offer.
• Listings in Citrus and Hernando County are shared through the regional MLS.