Lake Nona transformation
My family moved to Florida about a dozen years ago, settling in Lake Ajay Village, just off Narcoossee Road near the border of Orange and Osceola counties. It was rural, beautiful and peaceful, often heavy with the scent of orange blossoms. One traffic light stood between Lake Ajay and State Road 417, with a handful of older developments and RV parks; but for the 7-Eleven, one pizza joint, a roadhouse and two beer stores, two-lane Narcoossee Road was pretty much deserted.
Slightly north, the Lake Nona area was just beginning to grow, a mixed-use planned community within the Orlando city limits, but it has become much more than that.
Now, there are 11 traffic lights and six lanes between Lake Ajay and S.R.417, and a Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, ABC Wines, Chipotle Grill, Wawa, McDonalds, Wendy’s, TJ Maxx, Lowe’s, a variety of other shops, and construction continues to mushroom.
New schools, Valencia College, Medical City, two hotels, the University of Central Florida College of Medicine campus and flourishing entrepreneurial companies dot former pastures.
The 100 courts of the US Tennis Association are nearby.
Some might question if development incentives really work. In Lake Nona, we see hordes of people shopping, dining, working, buying and leasing homes.
So, yes, if Lake Nona is any example, incentives can clearly bring great prosperity and many jobs to an area. And, yes, we miss the cattle and the orange blossoms; still, it is very nice to have neighboring shopping, eateries, education and health facilities where thousands of people are making a positive impact on our local and national economies.