Small Towns, Big Plans

Earlier this year, industry pros attending the International Builders' Show piled into shuttle buses at the Orlando" target="_blank">Orange County Convention Center to travel to the luxurious New American Home, a project built in conjunction with IBS to highlight state-of-the-art home design and technology.

Although it was a mere 15-minute drive to the site, the magnificently designed and coiffed showhouse sat amidst dirt roads and vacant land, making it seem almost as if it were in the middle of nowhere.

It wasn't. Or at least it won't be when Lake Burden at the Lakes of Windermere and the new communities slated to surround it are fully developed.

In fact, Central Florida's rapidly growing housing market is expanding outward from the western and southwestern edges of Orlando, rolling toward the Lake, Polk and Osceola county lines.

Until fairly recently, the thriving citrus-producing communities clustered in this region felt far removed from the urban core. Freezes in the 1980s, however, devastated crops and opened vast tracts for development. Today, the erstwhile small towns clustered along S.R. 50-most notably Ocoee and Winter Garden-are no longer so small, as new communities offering homes in an array of styles and price ranges continue to sprout.

Meanwhile, Windermere continues to be synonymous with upscale living, paced by venerable Bay Hill and Isleworth as well as newer communities offering homes in the seven-figure stratosphere.

Indeed, the sprawling southwest region now is home to a diverse population-everyone from old-timers who still remember the overwhelming scent of orange blossoms to celebrities and soccer moms.

That's part of the region's charm and its strength, says Stina D' Uva, president of the West Orange Chamber of Commerce.

"You have your residents who were born here, and they hold onto the culture and history of the area," D' Uva says. "And you have many transplants. People have moved out here because they like what they saw." What they saw was top-rated schools and fashionable homes set among towering oaks and along picturesque lakes, most notably the relatively pristine Butler Chain of Lakes.

Also attractive to homebuyers is the southwest sector's proximity to major employers, such as Lockheed Martin on Sand Lake Road and Valencia Community College on Kirkman Road, as well as Walt Disney World and other local attractions, says David Heath, deputy county administrator for Orlando" target="_blank">Orange County.

An abundance of buildable lots has caught the attention of developers and builders, among them Orlando builder Alex Hannigan, who chose southwest Orlando" target="_blank">Orange County as the setting for this year's New American Home-despite a lack of power, water and roads at the construction site.

"I like that area of town," Hannigan says. "There are a lot of neat things in that area that are attractive to people. [C.R.] 535 goes right to Downtown Disney, yet the attractions aren't in your backyard. And it's convenient to everything, any kind of nightlife."

Southwest residents also have access to protected green spaces and sparkling waterways. The 128-acre Oakland Nature Preserve, set along the southern shores of Lake Apopka, boasts a boardwalk that winds through wetlands and two miles of hiking trails in the upland section.

Hikers and cyclists also traverse the West Orange Trail, which starts in Oakland and snakes through Winter Garden, stretching northeast to Apopka. The project was conceived as part of the Rails to Trails program, through which abandoned railbeds nationwide were converted to public use.

And the Butler Chain of Lakes received the "Outstanding Florida Waters" designation by Florida's Department of Environmental Regulation for its water quality and abundant wildlife habitats. "Nobody has lakes like we have lakes," says D' Uva.

Lakefront property in and around Windermere has attracted wealthy homebuyers such as Tiger Woods, Shaquille O'Neil and actor Wesley Snipes. Those famous folks, along with lesser-known luminaries from the business world, live in exclusive Isleworth.

Affluent homebuyers also flock to upscale Bay Hill and the Dr. Phillips area because of abundant lakes and top-rated public schools.

Others, however, are attracted to the region by the laid-back, Old Florida feel they encounter in places such as Oakland and Gotha, where residents revere a slower pace of life.

Oakland, for example, is referred to as a town, although this picturesque rural enclave incorporated as a city in 1959. In the past, local voters have even rejected proposals to pave narrow clay streets for fear that asphalt would attract traffic.

Still, mainly as a result of new gated communities, the town's population has tripled during the past three years and will grow to 5,000 by 2010. Unincorporated Gotha, with its tree-lined, one-block commercial district, is even smaller than Oakland. But it, too, is growing, as new custom homes are built on scattered lots and more intimately scaled gated communities make their presence felt.

It's not as if southwest Orlando" target="_blank">Orange County residents live in the boonies, although some parts might briefly make you feel that way. In fact, they have access to nearby healthcare and educational facilities, as well as shopping and entertainment centers, without driving into Orlando. Winter Garden, for example, boasts the ultra-modern Health Central Hospital and Westside Tech, a state-of-the-art vocational training institute. Ocoee is home to West Oaks Mall and one of the country's largest auto auctions. "West Orange county is made up of municipalities and master-planned developments and rural settlements," D' Uva says. "Each of those has their own character and appeal, but because they have so much shared history, the communities work very well together."

History, in fact, is something the region's boosters are scrambling to preserve. In Winter Garden, for example, a $4.5 million downtown revitalization effort in 2000 spurred private investment, bringing new construction and a significant increase in property values.

This former citrus hub, just west of Ocoee on the southern shores of Lake Apopka, spruced up its well-worn historic district with restored brick streets, remodeled historic buildings and the new Centennial Fountain, a salute to the city's citrus-growing heritage.

Oakland restored its historic town hall and built a charter school with an $8 million, 30-year bond issue. Even quiet Windermere, which remains strongly growth-averse, has revamped its downtown area, expanding parking lots, bricking streets and adding roundabouts to improve to its roads.

But that's about as far as many Winderemere residents are willing to go. Developer Kevin Azzouz, who owns much of the property in the business district, has created controversy with plans to build a $50 million town-square complex. Longtime residents who oppose the idea say the town's quality of life stems from its small-town feel-including its low-key business center. At this writing, Azzouz and Windermere's elected officials were embroiled in an increasingly hostile dispute over how the property will be developed.

In keeping with the ambiance of the region's existing small towns, many new communities are also adopting a historical theme by combining principles of New Urbanism and Traditional Neighborhood Development. That typically means high-density residential areas flanking walkable town centers and amenities such as parks and recreation areas.

For example, a new community set on a 258-acre tract between Oakland and Winter Garden will include more than 74 acres of parks and preserved wetlands connected by walkways and trails. At buildout, the lakefront development, known as Oakland Park, will include five neighborhoods with amenities such as a full-service marina, community pool, village green and restaurant.

More than 40 new-home communities are currently under way within Winter Garden's corporate limits, and the city plans to annex a tract of mostly undeveloped land south of Florida's Turnpike to the Orlando" target="_blank">Lake County line where some 3,600 homes could ultimately be built.

To the south of downtown, along C.R. 535 and S.R. 545, communities totaling 25,000 new homes are expected to be built, most of them in Horizon West, a huge master-planned community defined by the area north of Walt Disney World, west of the Butler Chain of Lakes and south of Johns Lake.

The original concept included nine villages and a town center on 38,000 acres. Plans have since been scaled back, allowing thousands of acres to become the Lake Avalon Rural Settlement. Still, the current Horizon West planning area will encompass nearly 36 square miles.

With that project and others will come many of the same challenges faced by other Central Florida regions: traffic, affordable housing and how to preserve a "sense of place" during the evolution from rural to suburban.

"Money for roads is still an issue," D'Uva says. "Making sure that we have enough schools. These are growing pains."

At a West Orange Regional Conference held earlier this year, area officials discussed some of the region's concerns. David Heath, deputy county administrator of the Orlando" target="_blank">Orange County Planning Department, spoke about the challenge of providing affordable housing for working-class families.

"It's a puzzle because you have a preponderance of jobs dealing with tourism, which are typically lower-paying jobs, but [the tourist sector] is surrounded by an area where housing is perhaps the highest of anywhere in the county," Heath says.

The New American Home, for example, which is within one of Horizon West's villages, likely will fetch $4 million or more when it's sold. But then again, this fantasy home is tricked out with such amenities as a laundry/craft room, a second-story outdoor kitchen, a massage room and a two-story office/library.

Or, if you'd like to live down the street from Shaq, check out Isleworth. How much should you expect to spend? If you have to ask, you can't afford it.

HORIZON WEST: MAKING THE CASE FOR MASTER PLANNING

After freezes in the 1980s decimated citrus crops, an organized group of property owners developed a plan to revitalize their agricultural land by initiating a massive master-planned community now called Horizon West.

The reason? To avoid piecemeal growth that spawn those two dreaded words: suburban sprawl.

Sprawl happens, and it's easy to see why.ÊCities and counties approve a subdivision here, a community there, and before you know it, you've got sprawl.

Smart growth, on the other hand,Êrequires long-term planning. Horizon West, which has been in the works since the early 1990s, was not conceived to be just another subdivision, but rather a system of interconnected villages.

The 36,000-acre project embraces the principles of New Urbanism, which means it will feature self-sustaining or mixed-use villages and a walkable town center, all built with a commitment to environmental protection and appropriately traditional architectural design.

Each village is planned to have up to four neighborhoods of about 500 acres each, with an elementary school serving as a community focal point. The schools, which will be sized to correspond to the number of housing units, are planned to be no more than one half-mile walking distance from the neighborhoods.

Pedestrian-friendly communities can offer residents several benefits, including lower transportation costs, a healthier environment and better social interaction. Residents can walk or ride their bikes to school, shops and perhaps even work, which cuts down on automobile pollution and encourages neighbors to get to know one another.

The Horizon West plan is expected to include six individual villages, plus one rural settlement, two championship golf courses and two high schools. Currently, two villages-Lakeside Village and the Village of Bridgewater-are under construction.

The town center is designed to offer a full range of employment with shopping, housing and recreational opportunities. More than 1,000 hotel rooms and a conference center are planned as well. Horizon West will contain as many as 18,000 homes at buildout.