Our Towns-Osceola and Lake counties

KISSIMMEE

"Big-time attractions, small-town hospitality." Although much has changed during the past several decades, that onetime slogan for Kissimmee still largely rings true.

This is a friendly, down-to-earth community still best known for its biannual Silver Spurs rodeo and its genuine cowboy panache. It just happens to exist alongside Walt Disney World, the world's No. 1 tourist attraction.

Kissimmee, formerly called Allendale, had its beginnings as a tiny trading post on the northern bank of Lake Tohopekaliga. Following the Civil War, a Philadelphia businessman named Hamilton Disston bought 4 million acres of swampland, paying 25 cents per acre, and drained it. He then built sugar plantations and lumber camps.

The community was incorporated in 1887 and renamed Kissimmee. It later became the Osceola County seat and, by the 1930s, cattle rivaled citrus as its main industry. Looking to diversify in the 1950s, Kissimmee launched a major campaign to attract relocating retirees. But when Disney opened in 1971, people of all ages came in droves.

The population multiplied while the employment base shifted from agriculture and cattle ranching to service industries related to tourism. Today, more than 100 hotels and motels are located on or near Irlo Bronson Highway, along with countless restaurants and strip shopping centers.

And the growth continues, highlighted by burgeoning Osceola Parkway, along which both residential and commercial development has mushroomed. Today, more than 41,200 people call Kissimmee home.

"Osceola County has small-town charm with big-city conveniences," says Rajia Ackley with Coldwell Banker Ackley Realty of Kissimmee. "From equestrian estates to affordable townhomes, there's something for everyone in every price range."

The Hispanic relocation market is particularly vibrant here. Two large communities, in particular, have been magnets: Buenaventura Lakes and Poinciana, both of which are marketed heavily in Latin America and in Northeastern cities with large Hispanic populations.

To make certain that at least some of Kissimmee's heritage is preserved, the city's Community Redevelopment Agency has actively sought to improve the historic downtown district through such projects as a cowboy-themed arched gateway at Main Street and U.S. Hwy. 192 and several major streetscape efforts.

In addition, the Italiante Osceola County Courthouse, built in 1890, was renovated when a new government complex was built in 2000, and still houses county offices. The entire country got a look during last year's presidential campaign, when CNN's Paula Zahn hosted a nationally broadcast "town meeting" there.

Kissimmee is also a sporting paradise, with numerous boat ramps on the shores of Lake Tohopekaliga, which is known for excellent bass fishing. Southport Park offers covered pavilions, grills and campgrounds while picnic areas abound at Partin Triangle Park and Whaley's Landing. Hunters can enjoy the wide-open Osceola Plain, home to turkey, white-tailed deer and fox squirrels.

ST. CLOUD

St. Cloud has been called "A Soldier's Colony," "The Friendly Soldier City," "The Wonder City" and "The City of Schools."

It's also been known as an inexpensive place for tourists to stay while visiting Walt Disney World, although city officials are now actively downplaying the once-ballyhooed tourism connection and promoting the charms of St. Cloud as a great place to live.

The military references hearken back to 1909, when the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization for union soldiers who had served in the Civil War, bought 35,000 acres for development as a community for veterans.

Property in "The New Town of St. Cloud" was offered by lottery, and more than 1,200 old soldiers snatched up lots at $50 each. Within a year, more than 2,000 people had relocated. Following the stock market crash in 1929, city boosters actually gave away lots to attract more new residents, including veterans of all wars.

In the 1970s, St. Cloud teamed with much-larger Kissimmee to market itself internationally as an affordable alternative for vacationers wishing to explore the theme parks without paying resort-hotel prices for accommodations.

Although the affiliation still exists, the city has recently begun an effort to reposition itself. A logo redesign has dropped Disney's ubiquitous Cinderella castle and replaced it with a sailboat, with the words "Soldier City" and "Celebrating Small Town Life."

Indeed, St. Cloud already boasts one of Central Florida's most charming downtown districts, replete with antique shops occupying vintage storefronts. Several excellent restaurants, a historical museum and Veteran's Memorial Park are located downtown.

In a salute to its heritage as a soldiers' colony, the city has also recently voted to expand 95-year-old Mount Peace cemetery, where hundreds of veterans are buried.

LAKE COUNTY

The Citrus Tower, built in 1956, once drew awestruck tourists to its observation deck for panoramic views of Orlando" target="_blank">Lake County's sprawling citrus groves. For as far as the eye could see, there were dark, leafy rows over which a seemingly infinite number of oranges were sprinkled. When the season was right and the wind was gently blowing, the fragrance of orange blossoms could be even more intoxicating than the view.

The tower-now considered a kitschy relic of a bygone era-is still there, but the landscape has changed. Now you'll see thousands of new homes on the rolling hills that have always distinguished burgeoning Orlando" target="_blank">Lake County from its topographically challenged neighbors.

Which isn't to say that sprawl has destroyed Orlando" target="_blank">Lake County's charm, at least not yet. There are still groves, woods, barns and more than 1,400 lakes scattered across 221 square miles. The county's unpretentious municipalities still boast Mayberryesque business districts with mom-and-pop shops.

But like other previously rural areas in Central Florida, Orlando" target="_blank">Lake County is struggling to accommodate growth without compromising its country credentials. That's a particular challenge in south Orlando" target="_blank">Lake County, which has increasingly become an attractive suburban alternative for people who work in more populous Orange and Seminole counties.

The city of Clermont, population 10,000, is ground zero for the county's housing boom. The stage was set with the opening of the 1.2-million-square-foot Lake Lotta Mall and construction of the turnpike system's Western Beltway, which made a once-daunting Orlando commute quite manageable.

Further complicating matters, growth in neighboring Ocoee and Winter Garden, located in Orlando" target="_blank">Orange County, has spilled over. Indeed, the 28,000-acre Horizon West development, which will ultimately contain more than 20,000 homes, abuts an area of south Orlando" target="_blank">Lake County that is rural for now but almost certainly won't be in just a few years.

Clermont and Orlando" target="_blank">Lake County officials have signed a joint-planning agreement that would address how unincorporated areas south of the city will grow. This expanse of pastures and groves, which is being squeezed by Clermont to the north and Horizon West to the east, will likely evolve into a large suburb fueled by easy access to Horizon West's 4,000-acre town center, which will include shops, offices, restaurants and hotels.

Although most of its growth has come in the past decade, south Orlando" target="_blank">Lake County's heritage goes back thousands of years, when Timucuan Indians called the area home. Reminders of their presence can be found at more than 1,000 archeological sites scattered throughout the county.

White settlers started moving into Clermont immediately following the Civil War. But there was little activity until 1884, when a landowner named T.J. Hooks sold 100 acres to New Jersey investors, who in turn formed the Clermont Improvement Company and began selling lots to other northerners. Orlando" target="_blank">Lake County, carved from Orange and Sumter counties, was chartered in 1887.

Clermont is truly at the crossroads of Florida, located at the intersection of S.R. 50, which runs east and west, and U.S. Hwy. 27, which runs north and south. Bordered by Lake Minnehaha on the south and Lake Minneola on the north, Clermont is on a chain of 16 lakes connected by the Palatlakaha River in the Ocklawha Basin of tributaries of the St. Johns River.

"The Gem of the Hills," as Clermont is sometimes called, is also popular among triathlon enthusiasts. South Lake Hospital's 15-acre, all-in-one-campus is home to the USA Triathlon National Training Center, which is designed to meet the needs of all ages and fitness levels. Triathletes in particular appreciate the physical challenge of trudging along the area's rolling hills and the opportunity to train year-round in sunny weather.

Wine enthusiasts may also be familiar with Clermont through the Lakeridge Winery & Vineyards, one of only three wineries in Florida. Located on 35 acres and surrounded by land abundant with grapevines, the winery offers free tours, tastings and retail sales. At capacity, it produces more than 1,250 cases of wine per day.

In east Orlando" target="_blank">Lake County Mount Dora, population 10,300, is the center of attention and the focus of development.

The aptly named "New England of the South" was founded in 1874, when homesteaders first discovered the gently sloping lakeside hills that rise to 184 feet, hardly a mountain but a formidable height by Central Florida standards. The city hugs the shores of 3,600-acre Lake Dora, named for Dora Ann Drawdy, who homesteaded two miles south with her husband in 1846.

In 1884 the Lakeside Inn, still in operation today, was opened for business. The town also began to take shape, but when it was incorporated in 1910 there were no paved streets, no sidewalks and no community water system. The Inn was a catalyst for growth, attracting tourists from all over the United States including such luminaries as President Calvin Coolidge and inventor Thomas Edison.

Today, downtown Mount Dora contains dozens of historic buildings housing antique shops, art galleries, boutiques and restaurants. Tree-shaded Donnelly Park occupies a full block in the center of town, inviting picnickers and tennis players to enjoy its lush surroundings. Within walking distance is Palm Island Park, adjacent to Gilbert Park, which boasts one of the most beautiful nature trails in the state.

Downtown also hosts an annual art festival as well as numerous antique and craft fairs, specialty automobile shows and historic home tours. The city has a respected community theater, an art center and a historical museum.

Notable homes include the circa-1893 Donnelly House, which is one of the few remaining examples of so-called steamboat gothic architecture in Florida. The ornate structure has been a Masonic lodge since 1930.

On the outskirts of Mount Dora, Renninger's Antique Mall is a huge attraction. Sprawling across acres of property, the mall features hundreds of vendors selling everything from fine furniture to quirky collectibles. It has helped Mount Dora gain its reputation as the "Antique Capital of the South."

Smaller nearby communities such as Howey in the Hills and Monteverde have personalities all their own, and are attracting new residents by offering an appealing balance of seclusion and convenience.

IT TAKES A (BIG) VILLAGE

Despite its rather bucolic name, The Villages is no sleepy backwater hamlet. At least, not anymore. Indeed, this 23,000-acre active-adult mecca between Leesburg and Ocala has the distinction of being the fastest-growing master-planned development in the United States.

In 2004, The Villages sold 3,995 new homes for nearly $807 million-setting records for the third consecutive year. Homes range in price from the mid-$100s to more than $400,000.

The Villages straddles three Central Florida counties-Lake, Sumter and Marion-and now boasts more than 20,000 homes and nearly 40,000 residents. Best projections hold that by 2014 The Villages will have some 55,000 homes and more than 100,000 residents-none of them under 19 years of age.

It all started in 1983 when Harold Schwartz, a former radio station owner and hospitality industry executive from Michigan, bought the 400-unit Orange Blossom Gardens Mobile Home Park along U.S. 27 just north of Lady Lake.

Along with his son Gary Morse, a former advertising executive, Schwartz began buying vast parcels of adjacent land and plotting a large-scale retirement development loosely modeled on Del Webb's "Sun City" projects.

Now, 22 years later, "Florida's Friendliest Hometown" boasts some 18 golf courses, dozens of tennis courts, two bowling alleys, a movie-theater complex and two "downtown" retail/entertainment/dining areas.

Residents of The Villages can choose from more than 200 clubs and special interest groups. And the development-owned daily newspaper, radio station and cable TV channel keep residents informed-although, as journalists unaffiliated with this in-house media empire are fond of pointing out, "There's never any bad news in The Villages."

Even if there was, who'd notice? An on-site microbrewery produces beer for the community's popular pub and, with its happy hour specials-two glasses for a dollar-The Villages reportedly boasts the highest per-capita beer consumption rate in Florida.