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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.
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.
But housing is going to power
the Osceola County economy in the foreseeable
future. With developable land becoming scarce
in Orange and Seminole counties, about 40 percent
of the region’s residential growth for
the next 25 years is expected to take place
in and around Kissimmee, according to a study
by the Urban Land Institute.
Over the next 15 years, about
35,000 homes are expected to be built in five
previously okayed mega-developments spread across
the northern third of the county: Westlake Cove,
Mariner’s Cove, Edgewater, Bella Terra,
and Green Island. At least six other big mixed—use
projects, ranging in size from about 1,200 homes
to about 4,000 homes, are on the drawing board.
Then there’s Destiny,
a proposed new city on 27,400 acres near Yeehaw
Junction, which could ultimately have as many
as 100,000 residents. The huge tract was bought
last year by a South Florida developer, and
specific plans hadn’t been revealed at
this writing.
In all, by 2025 the county’s
population is expected to swell from 235,000
to 550,000.
The Hispanic relocation market
is particularly vibrant in Osceola County. 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 Kissirnmee’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. 192 and several major streetscape efforts.
In addition, the Italianate Osceola County Courthouse,
built in 1890, was renovated when a new government
complex was built in 2000 and still houses county
offices.
But downtown Kissimmee also
has some new projects coming as well. The biggest
is City Centre, a mixed-use development that
will encompass 31 luxury condominium units as
well as office and retail space. There are also
plans for a multipurpose transportation center
that would accommodate busses, commuter rail
and Amtrak passenger service.
Despite its growth, Kissimmee
remains a sporting paradise, with numerous boat
ramps on the shores of Lake Toho, which is known
for excellent bass fishing. Southport Park,
for example, 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.
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’s
castle and replaced it with a sailboat and 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.
Although the ambience may be
rustic, St. Cloud is leading-edge in many ways.
For example, wireless Internet access is available
throughout the city. And elected officials have
embarked on an aggressive effort to annex rural
land to the south and east of the city, mostly
in an effort to control and direct growth.
And there’s plenty of
growth to direct. The city of roughly 22,000
is expected to add 24,000 residents as 10 new-home
communities, including Stevens Plantation and
Mallard Pond, are completed. And on the eastern
shore of Lake Tohopekahga, just outside the
city limits, a 6,000-home project called Pineloch
has been proposed. If annexed, Pineloch could
potentially add another 20,000 people to St.
Cloud’s population.
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