Sizing up 25 communities in the Orlando metro area

Winter Park’s Park Avenue (courtesy of City of Winter Park Communications Department)

What makes Greater Orlando one of the best places to call home is not just the stereotypical answers you hear so often about the theme parks or easy driving distance to either coast’s beaches. Rather, it’s the individual communities that each offer their own unique character and charm. Some towns are rich in history, while others are seeking to make new history with ambitious projects taking flight to help usher in an even brighter future.

Our inaugural Top Towns report examined these factors more closely to be able to devise our rankings. To do so, we collected data from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the U.S. Census Bureau and local tax collectors, and the Florida Department of Education. We then devised a formula that combined average property values and taxes, crime incidents reported per 1,000 residents, and high-school performance, which factored in SAT scores, the number of AP classes offered and graduation rates.

It should be noted, however, that several featured towns, such as Bay Hill or Reunion, are technically census-designated places; essentially, towns that are governed by county rather than local officials. On the flip side, while some communities such as College Park or Lake Nona might seem worthy of town status, they are in fact neighborhoods within Orlando’s city limits and were therefore not included.

Claiming the top spot this year is Windermere, a picturesque town that boasts high property values and is also well-known for its stellar schools, bustling retail shops and quality dining options from casual spots to white-tablecloth eateries.

Make no mistake, though: Any of the towns listed in the Top 5 could easily jockey for the No. 1 position, as they were separated by the slightest percentages after we crunched the numbers. In fact, most of the other towns on the list offer a similarly desired quality of life. No matter where you call home, one thing is for sure: Greater Orlando is the place to be.

Top 25 Overall

1. Windermere
2. Bay Hill
3. Gotha
4. Winter Park
5. Dr. Phillips
6. Celebration
7. Maitland
8. Reunion
9. Alafaya
10. Oakland
11. Winter Garden
12. Williamsburg
13. Altamonte Springs
14. Belle Isle
15. Conway
16. Eatonville
17. Hunter’s Creek
18. Edgewood
19. Ocoee
20. Kissimmee
21. Orlo Vista
22. Lockhart
23. Pine Castle
24. Azalea Park
25. Pine Hills

Top 10 Big Towns

1. Winter Park
2. Dr. Phillips
3. Maitland
4. Alafaya
5. Winter Garden
6. Altamonte Springs
7. Conway
8. Hunter’s Creek
9. Ocoee
10. Kissimmee

Top 10 Small Towns

1. Windermere
2. Bay Hill
3. Gotha
4. Celebration
5. Reunion
6. Oakland
7. Williamsburg
8. Belle Isle
9. Eatonville
10. Edgewood

A Look Around
Development projects, community news and more from a busy year across Greater Orlando

Altamonte Springs

• Last June, the $10 million renovation of Cranes Roost Park was completed, with work including updated boardwalks, sidewalks, canopies, stage and fountain. The park, which is the site for the city’s Red, Hot & Boom Independence Day festival, usually attracts one million visitors annually.
• To ease some of the community’s notorious gridlock, city officials are sizing up a plan that would give motorists an alternate to S.R. 436 and potentially encourage development around the SunRail station.

Bay Hill

• In March, the Bay Hill Club and Lodge unveiled a 13-foot, 1,392-pound statue of Arnold Palmer—a fitting tribute for the giving sports legend who was a looming presence at the club for nearly a half-century until he passed away last year. And in an equally appropriate gesture, the statue has no ropes or fences around it, making it just as approachable as Palmer himself.

Celebration

• In March, residents welcomed Celebration Unleashed with a formal ribbon cutting and grand opening. As the name implies, the community’s latest amenity is an off-leash dog park that’s open to Celebration residents from dusk till dawn. However, pre-registration is required to take advantage of it.
• Additionally, Florida Hospital Celebration Health has announced plans to add a sixstory patient tower to its Osceola County campus. Expected to open in 2019, the expanded facility will bring the hospital’s total number of beds to 393.

Dr. Phillips

• Despite Dr. Phillips being one of Greater Orlando’s better places to live, it can be a bit difficult for visitors to know when they’re officially in the community. Accordingly, Orange County commissioners have announced plans for a “gateway” entrance for it and other similarly positioned communities, such as Pine Hills. The entrance will be designed to highlight Dr. Phillips’ unique personality.
• Some new eateries have sprung up in Dr. Phillips, too, such as Rasa Asian Street Food and a Huey Magoo’s.

Eatonville

• Back in December, voters approved a revised town charter, marking the first update since 1998. The new charter brought the town’s rules into compliance with state law, in addition to giving elected officials and citizens additional powers.

Edgewood

• December saw the debut of Sugar Daddy Bakery and Coffee Company, which opened in the former home of First Southern Bank. The key attraction to Sugar Daddy’s owner Christopher Westfall was the drive-through window to maximize customer convenience.

Kissimmee

• Orlando Health will build a standalone, 60,000-squarefoot emergency room just north of Kissimmee, using land acquired from Tupperware. That parcel will also hold a 350-unit apartment complex, a 128-room hotel and a 120-room assisted living/memory care center.
• On the technology front, BRIDG— a high-tech research project—opened for business in April, and it’s hoped to attract thousands of high-paying tech jobs. In the same month, the city reached a deal to equip all Kissimmee Police Department officers with body cameras.

Maitland

• The real-estate business is booming in Maitland, with the latest wrinkle being a newly approved, 238,000- square-foot, 237-unit apartment complex being built on the grounds of the former Maitland Shores apartments. And speaking of real estate, the Federal Bureau of Investigation leased a former credit union facility in March, with plans to relocate agents from nearby offices.
• Arts and culture are a big part of Maitland living, too, and in April, the Arts & History Museums – Maitland hired Mark S. Harmon as its new executive director.

Oakland

• Town Manager Dennis Foltz is leading a push to bring a sewer system to the small community. He estimates that the town could double its population in five years or less, with ensuing new businesses increasing the tax base.

Ocoee

• In a bid to create a downtown to rival Winter Garden’s Plant Street, Ocoee has revealed plans for a major downtown overhaul with an expected completion date of 2020. The development, which will include condominiums, office space, restaurants and a new City Hall, will also feature a bike trail, with the whole package costing an estimated $43.5 million.

Reunion

• One of the best reasons to visit Reunion, the Reunion Resort’s Eleven restaurant, welcomed Jake Brenchley as the chef de cuisine in April. Brenchley is bringing a seasonal approach to the steakhouse’s new menu, which debuted in May.

Winter Garden

• Winter Garden has a lot of history, and the city is using a $1.7 million grant to preserve a big part of it: the Tucker Ranch, which will be converted into a park and working farm. City leaders also recently opted to replace three streetlights and add a fourth in a parking area following the attempted carjacking of a 72-year-old woman and her friend.
• New shopping and dining options are also coming to town. First, Philanthropy Fashion & Compassion, which opened in March, sells women’s clothing, accessories and home décor, but they give a share of their profits to charitable causes. In food news, both Miller’s Ale House and Tex-Mex eatery The Whole Enchilada have announced plans to open Winter Garden locations.

Winter Park

• As residents and visitors alike know, Winter Park has enjoyed a bustle of activity on its stretch of 17-92, with fresh retail and dining options moving into renovated or completely new facilities throughout the corridor.
• At City Hall, community leaders are exploring the possibility of installing a fiber-optic network to connect its municipal buildings—and it could be expanded to residents’ homes. If built, the new network would provide speeds at approximately 1 gigabit per second or higher. Commissioners have also reached a deal to design a new civic center and library to replace the current civic center in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park.

This article originally appeared in Orlando Family Magazine’s June 2017 issue.