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West Orange County Communities

DR. PHILLIPS

201 S. Rosalind Avenue
Orlando, Florida 32801
(407) 836-3111
www.orangecounty.net
Incorporated: 1845
Millage: 4.4347
Mayor: Richard T. Crotty

Dr. Philip Phillips was a pioneer in the citrus industry, responsible for several key innovations in the processing and packaging of orange juice. He owned thousands of acres of groves, stretching across nine Central Florida counties. Dr. Phillips eventually sold the bulk of his property to Minute Maid in the 1950s. The property he owned in southwest Orange County was sold to developers who built Bay Hill and other subdivisions.

The area has experienced explosive growth in the last 30 years, due largely to the location of two key local industries: defense and tourism. Initially, it was the construction of defense giant Martin Marietta (currently Lockheed Martin) that had the greatest impact on Dr. Phillips, but that was only until the arrival in 1971 of Orlando’s most famous resident, Mickey Mouse. The impact of Walt Disney World on all of Central Florida has been huge, but nowhere is it more recognizable than in southwest Orlando and the Dr. Phillips area.

The Dr. Phillips area has been able to maintain its superb quality of life by timely upgrading the infrastructure and controlling growth. Many people move to the Dr. Phillips area due to the reputation of the public schools alone. Located on the eastern shore of the Butler Chain of Lakes, many residents are active in boating and water sports. The Dr. Phillips area also boasts a great town center and numerous first-rate restaurants on Sand Lake Road. The area has just welcomed a 43-acre state-of-the-art county park, named after its namesake, Dr. P. Phillips.

The Dr. Phillips Rotary organization has been serving the community since 1979 and has been active in a number of area events. Community festivities include the Annual 4th of July Celebration sponsored by the Dr. Phillips Rotary and the high school drama club, and the Annual Dr. Phillips Founders Day celebrated on the birthday of Dr. Phillips.

GOTHA

201 S. Rosalind Avenue
Orlando, Florida 32801
(407) 836-3111
www.orangecounty.net
Incorporated: 1845
Millage: 4.4347
Mayor: Richard T. Crotty

Nestled among mighty oaks and peaceful lakes in West Orange County is the community town of Gotha. It was founded in 1885 by Henry Hempel and named after his hometown in Germany. Gotha has been protected as a historical preservation district since 1995.

Along main street Hempel you can find Palm Cottage Gardens, which was home to Henry Nehrling, a property listed on the National Register of Historical Places; the Zion Lutheran Church, founded in 1915; and the Yellow Dog Eats Café, housed in the historic Fishers Country Store. Also in the area is a community park for numerous outdoor activities and the Gotha Community Center that was originally a one-room schoolhouse.

It hosts Dance of Life Yoga classes as well as monthly covered dish dinners for the residents and other community functions. Ten minutes from downtown Orlando, the town of Gotha’s large lot requirements, protective community association and highly desirable schools have made this community a premier place to live.

HORIZON WEST

201 S. Rosalind Avenue
Orlando, Florida 32801
(407) 836-3111
www.orangecounty.net
Incorporated: 1845
Millage: 4.4347
Mayor: Richard T. Crotty

Located in southwest Orange County, Horizon West is a new community designed using principles of Garden Cities and New Urbanism to create self-sustaining, mixed-use villages. As the community is established over the next few decades, these principles ensure that new development will contribute to a sense of place, environmental preservation, excellent architectural design, quality bicycle and pedestrian facilities, and vibrant community gathering places.

The Horizon West planning area is located south of John’s Lake, west of Windermere to the Lake County line. Horizon West includes nearly 23,000 acres that were citrus groves until the devastating freezes of the 1980s, which created the impetus to do appropriate master planning for the area’s urbanization over time.

This process began in 1994, when property owners and area residents, with county support, created a detailed community vision for Horizon West. In 1996, Orange County designated Horizon West with the Village Future Land Use designation, which allows only one residence per ten acres until a detailed Specific Area Plan is done to create a master plan for a new village. When completed, Horizon West will include five residential villages and a Town Center to serve Horizon West villages with commercial, office, workplaces and higher density residential areas.

These villages are comprised of two to four neighborhoods, each centered around a community elementary school, with housing located within a half-mile walking distance to the school and its neighboring park. Each village also includes a Village Center with retail and services that support residential areas. Villages are separated by greenbelts, include extensive bikeway and pedestrian networks and take into consideration existing environmental features to support the overall vision for Horizon West. This community vision is fast becoming a reality, as all six villages have been adopted by the Borad of County Commissioners. These are Lakeside, Bridgewater, Town Center, Village F, Village H (soon to be called Village Hickory Nut) and Village I. Two of the Villages, Lakeside and the Village of Bridgewater, have significant development.

It is anticipated that 42,000 residential units will be built in Horizon West. Today, about 8,000 residents call Horizon West their home. Horizon West has won numerous state and regional awards for planning, including recognition from the state of Florida as a Sector Plan, which exempts the Horizon West area from the Development of Regional Impact regulatory process. Horizon West provides a meaningful alternative to the leapfrog development pattern of sprawl by creating self-sustaining villages that provide housing close to regional workplaces and community services. The original vision of property owners and residents is being achieved by the village concept and comprehensive long-term planning to ensure a bright future for Horizon West and southwest Orange County.

LAKE AVALON

201 S. Rosalind Avenue
Orlando, Florida 32801
(407) 836-3111
www.orangecounty.net
Incorporated: 1845
Millage: 4.4347
Mayor: Richard T. Crotty

Orange County’s rural communities are important to the county’s quality of life, lifestyle and history. To preserve these community assets, the County’s Rural Settlement designation establishes policies and corresponding land uses that retain these communities’ rural character. In west Orange County, the Lake Avalon community was designated a Rural Settlement by the Orange County Board of County Commissioners in May 2004. Based on a community planning process with Lake Avalon residents, the new Rural Settlement designation helps to provide a transition between Lake Avalon’s rural development pattern and adjacent development in Horizon West.

In the Lake Avalon Rural Settlement, residential properties have densities that vary from one residence per acre, one residence per two acres, and one resident per five acres. Limited neighborhood, commercial and office uses are allowed in the Rural Settlement to support the community’s residents. However, the scale and type of this development must be compatible with the rural development pattern and must comply with the Lake Avalon Rural Settlement Commercial Design Guidelines.

With its history dating from the 1920s, the Lake Avalon community is a cornerstone of West Orange County. The Lake Avalon Rural Settlement designation will help to ensure that this community’s legacy remains in place for the next several decades, while maintaining and enhancing the community’s quality of life for the residents of Lake Avalon.

METROWEST/ORLANDO

One City Commons
400 S. Orange Avenue
P.O. Box 4990
Orlando, FL 32802-4990
(407) 246-2121
www.cityoforlando.net
Incorporated: 1875
Millage: 4.9307
Mayor: Buddy Dyer

Since its beginnings in the mid-1980s, the quality of life was a priority at MetroWest. Landscaping was treated like fine architecture, carefully chosen and planted to grow into what many now describe as an oasis in a busy city. Islands of trees and flowering shrubbery separate traffic. Gentle curves were chosen over harsh corners.

Well-respected builders followed, creating beautiful new neighborhoods, shops and daycare centers. MetroWest Elementary School was dedicated to “miracles in the making” in 1986, and continues today to offer award-winning teaching and leadership to the neighborhood children.

This “Master Planned” community, located just minutes from Orlando’s downtown business district, offers opportunities for retail and commercial growth (always under the watchful eye of the developers and the MetroWest Master Association). MetroWest’s business neighbors include SunTrust, Hilton Grand Vacations, Hard Rock Café Corporate Headquarters, Sunterra Resorts and more. In addition, Veranda Partners LLC has created Veranda Park, Orlando’s newest mixed-use town center. Referred to as a “Lifestyle Center” by the industry, Veranda Park will feature a combination of signature restaurants, state-of-the-art cinema and top-notch entertainment, brought together in an architecturally distinct, open-air center. Additionally, the town center features professional office space, luxury condominium residences, entertainment and specialty retail.

MetroWest business leaders and investors applaud the community’s continuing growth and look to the future with confidence and excitement.

OAKLAND

220 N. Tubb Street
P.O. Box 98
Oakland, FL 34760
(407) 656-1117
www.oaktownusa.com
Incorporated: 1887
Population: 2,200
Millage: 5.9245
Mayor: Kathy Stark

Surrounded by enormous moss-draped oak trees, the town of Oakland is located on the southern shores of Lake Apopka. Incorporated in 1887, Oakland now has about 2,200 residents within its quiet, serene country atmosphere. Due to rapid growth in and around Oakland, maintaining its image of “Nestled Among the Oaks,” has been one of Oakland’s greatest feats. In addition to the residents, Oakland is home to the West Orange Trailhead and the Oakland Nature Preserve. The Trailhead brings thousands of recreation seekers to the area annually, and the Oakland Nature Preserve provides them with the pristine beauty of Florida’s flora and fauna.

Today, Oakland remains a quaint, unhurried rural community much like it was in 1887, when the town was incorporated. The oak tree-lined clay streets are nostalgic reminders of an era when life was peaceful and everyone knew all their neighbors. The town folks still meet and greet their neighbors every morning when they pick up their mail at the Oakland Post Office. A 700-student charter elementary school is Oakland’s most recent achievement, affording area residents with a choice in their child’s education.

A day spent in Oakland will take you back in time to the old small Florida towns of yesterday.

OCOEE

150 N. Lakeshore Drive
Ocoee, FL 34761
(407) 905-3100
www.ci.ocoee.fl.us
Incorporated: 1925
Population: 34,000 plus
Millage: 4.2919
Mayor: S. Scott Vandergrift

When Florida was a comparatively young state, people traveled from the north to the area now known as Ocoee. After the Civil War, confederate soldiers and their families founded the city of Ocoee. Captain Bluford Sims and General William Temple Withers were the first to settle in the area. It was Captain Sims who gave Ocoee its Indian name, which means “not cold.” For General Withers, Ocoee was his home only during the winter months for health reasons, therefore making him Ocoee’s first “snowbird.”

The city of Ocoee is a shining example of the notion that growth and history can be successfully blended. The Ocoee Christian Church and the Withers-Maguire House and Museum are locations where Ocoee’s history is faithfully preserved for future generations. The city’s past culture is observed in the beautiful parks, brick roads and historic buildings. This past intertwined with the growth and expansion of businesses including Manheim Orlando, Health Central Hospital, West Oaks Mall and Sysco Foods make Ocoee the “Center of Good Living.”

Ocoee has come a long way since 1881, when Civil War Captain Bluford M. Sims acquired a 74-acre parcel of land in what is now considered downtown Ocoee. Ocoee’s population then totaled only 115 residents. Since then, Ocoee has been inviting people to share in its beauty and good fortune and now is home to more than 34,000 people.

While the city’s pioneers may have believed Ocoee to be an appropriate name, meaning “not cold,” the many newcomers to the area would probably say a more fitting interpretation would be “all roads lead here.” With the Florida Turnpike, the East/West Expressway, State Road 50, and the new Western Beltway all leading to or passing through Ocoee, residents can reach downtown Orlando, the airport and all of the major attractions within 20 minutes.

The hard work and dreams of the founders of Ocoee laid the foundation for all that we know today. With Ocoee averaging a residential building rate of about one new home a day for the past seven years, all roads do lead here to the “Center of Good Living.”

ORLO VISTA

201 S. Rosalind Avenue
Orlando, Florida 32801
(407) 836-3111
www.orangecounty.net
Incorporated: 1927
Millage: 4.4347
Mayor: Richard T. Crotty

Orlo Vista means “View of Orlando” in Spanish. In the early 1900s, there were approximately 300 inhabitants of Orlo Vista, including grove workers, winter visitors and native Floridians. Today, Orange County records indicate there are about 7,000 residents who call Orlo Vista home. The Orlo Vista community is defined by Orange County as being south of Colonial Drive with western bounds at Hiawassee Road, eastern bounds at Pine Hills Road to Old Winter Garden Road to Ring Road, southern bounds at the City of Orlando boundaries and Carter Street.

One of the original settlers of Orange County was Aaron Jernigan. He and many of his family and descendants are interred at the Lake Hill Cemetery south of Orlando Winter Garden Road and west of Kirkman Road. In 1927, Orlo Vista was incorporated as a city. The city was abolished by a vote of residents in May 1929 as a result of the Great Depression. Since that time, Orlo Vista has been a part of Unincorporated Orange County.

Today, Orlo Vista is a dynamic, culturally diverse community made up of hard working individuals and families. Orlo Vistans are fiercely proud of their community. Many of the residents work in the tourist industry brought about as a result of the creation of Walt Disney World in the early 1970s. However, there is a mix of individuals living here who work in other fields of endeavor. State Senator Daniel Webster is proud to call Orlo Vista home. Orlo Vista is home to Orange County Fire Station 30, one of the busier stations in Orange County.

Orlo Vista is home to over 30 churches of different faiths. One of the original churches built in 1925, Irwin Memorial Methodist Church, is still serving the community as God’s Missionary Church located at 22 South John Street. Another historic church in the community is Lake Hill Baptist Church, built in 1926 and still serving the community today at 301 South Hudson Street.

PINE HILLS

201 S. Rosalind Avenue
Orlando, Florida 32801
(407) 836-3111
www.orangecounty.net
Incorporated: 1845
Millage: 4.4347
Mayor: Richard T. Crotty

To this day, many Pine Hills families trace their residency here to Martin Marietta’s (now Lockheed Martin) defense facility development. Still others will recount the days when much of Pine Hills were rolling groves of citrus. More recently, a good many residents look to the tourism industry as the magnet for their migration to Pine Hills.

Comprised of some 35,000 households in a four-square-mile area, Pine Hills is a community of many neighborhoods housing an ethnically and occupationally diverse population. As one of Orange County’s oldest communities, Pine Hills is also the location of quality ranch-style houses, many on over-sized lots, which are especially suited to growing families.

Much of Pine Hills is well positioned to benefit from the dramatic growth of Orange County as the older residents transition into smaller units in other areas. The community has the needed infrastructure and is in close proximity to all employment centers to provide attractive, affordable housing for the generational turnover. Community leaders are also working diligently to affect a town center design plan that will greatly enhance community assets and serve as a retail-commercial-cultural nucleus for this predominantly residential community.

WINDERMERE

520 Main Street
Windermere, FL 34786
(407) 876-2563
www.town.windermere.fl.us
Incorporated: 1925
Population: 2,300-plus
Millage: 3.228
Mayor: Gary Bruhn

For luxury living at its best, look no further than the town of Windermere. Pristine sand bottom lakes surround this small West Orange community. The largest lake, Lake Butler, is located on the west, Lake Down on the east, and Lake Bessie on the southeast side of town. The boating enthusiast will revel in the system of canals that connects eight lakes known as the Butler Chain of Lakes. This chain of lakes makes waterfront living in Windermere a sight to see.

Windermere was bestowed its name from Dr. Stanley Scott, whose father purchased 160 acres in this picturesque location in 1885. Dr. Scott built his home on the shore of Lake Butler, and it is believed by many that he named this town after England’s famous Lake Windermere.

Windermere was mainly a resort area in the early 1900s. Many visitors built winter cabins to enjoy the local fishing. The 1920 census recorded the population of Windermere at 182. In 1925, the town was incorporated, thereby restricting its boundaries, and the census decreased to 153. Windermere also played a part in history during World War I. The ladies of the town would meet regularly during the war to make surgical dressings. This resulted in the formation of the “Windermere Women’s Club.” In 1927, their clubhouse was moved to its present location in the center of town and is now the town hall. Today, Windermere is a quaint architectural mixture ranging from cabins to estate homes with sand roads to preserve the town’s chain of lakes and its history.

Today, more than 2,300 people inhabit the town of Windermere. The community, however, has not based its success on how rapidly it grows, but on how natural and pleasant a community in which it is to reside. Windermere tries to focus on preserving the town’s natural state and strong community atmosphere. The town’s quality of life is its most distinguishing feature. In fact, many of the town streets remain unpaved to continue their commitment to retain the pristine nature of the Chain of Lakes. Windermere has been named “Tree City USA” for its commitment to a natural environment for 10 consecutive years. For luxury living in a small-town atmosphere, look no further than the town of Windermere, where there is “Luxury Living with a Small-Town Charm.”

WINTER GARDEN

251 W. Plant Street
Winter Garden, FL 34787
(407) 656-4111
www.wintergarden-fl.gov
Incorporated: 1903
Population: 30,065
Millage: 3.3866
Mayor: John Rees

Fondly referred to as a modern-day Mayberry USA by residents, Winter Garden is becoming a destination…only without pretense. Stroll down Plant Street in the Historic Downtown District and witness the renaissance of a vibrant community. Art studios and live theatre, bicycle stores and flower shops, and a wide range of restaurants flank the West Orange Trail.

Ranked as one of the fastest growing suburbs by Forbes.com, Winter Garden is much more than just another bedroom community. It is a place for growing families and businesses.

LIVE
From bungalows to art-deco, antebellum to modern, architectural styles abound in Winter Garden, with a place that is sure to feel like home. For the environmentally conscience, homebuyers may select a home in Oakland Park which is “green with pride” and the first certified green community in Central Florida.

LEARN
Orange County Public School District operates five elementary schools, one middle school, one technical school and one high school within municipal boundaries. Yet, educational possibilities are expanded with a myriad of cultural opportunities available in Winter Garden.

THE GARDEN THEATRE
www.wgtheatre.org
The recently restored 1930s era Garden Theatre, a performing arts center, is located in the heart of the Winter Garden Historic Downtown District. Live theatre, ballet, orchestra and musicals are now easily accessible to residents of West Orange County with ticket prices that are actually attainable to the general public.

MUSEUMS
The Winter Garden Heritage Foundation operates two museums in Winter Garden. The Heritage Museum, located at the corner of Plant Street and Main Street, houses an extensive collection of over 5,000 artifacts documenting the area’s past. The Central Florida Railroad Museum showcases the influence the railroad has had in the development of Florida.

MUSIC
The Heritage Foundation produces MusicFest – an annual three-day celebration featuring over 20 genres of music. The Winter Garden Rotary Club brings the Orlando Philharmonic to Winter Garden each year for an Evening at the Pops. Both events are free.

WORK
As with most communities founded in the early 1900s of rural Florida, Winter Garden’s economy relied heavily on agriculture. A year-round growing season and fertile soil enabled the production of fruits and vegetables; rail provided direct transportation routes to northern markets; and local orange groves were Florida’s gold.

In the late 1960s, central Florida’s economy changed. A new mouse was on the block–Mickey Mouse, that is. Tourism quickly became the new gold. Winter Garden’s proximity to Orlando and the Walt Disney properties made it an ideal spot for growth. Not content to be another bedroom community, the Winter Garden City Commission embarked upon an aggressive economic development strategy.

PLAY
The West Orange Trail system is intertwined throughout the western sector of Orange County and boasts biking, walking, hiking and equestrian trails, adding another dimension to this unique community. Running through the heart of the Winter Garden Historic Downtown District, trail enthusiasts may stop for coffee or a cool drink at one of the many cafes. For those that consider shopping a form of play, Winter Garden Village at Fowler Groves is a shopper’s haven.

Much more than a bedroom community, Winter Garden is a place to live, learn, work and play. Winter Garden—a charming little city with a juicy past.

Winter Garden has sped up and simplified the process of attracting job growth with the launch of www.WinterGardenFLProspector.com. The website answers key questions companies always ask regarding: building and land availability; market characteristics and demographics; and business synergies, clusters and opportunities at the click of a mouse. The message is clear: Winter Garden is open and ready for business.

Added benefits for companies include an expedited permitting process and dedicated staff for economic development projects.