Today, Winter Park is a city of about 25,000 residents located just north of Orlando in Orange County, Florida. One of Florida's finest cities, it is famous for its bricked streets, vibrant lakes, abundant parks, fine shops, Rollins College, The Winter Park Farmer's Market and two unique and impressive Art Festivals.
The City's population has increased from the 1980 population of 22,339 with annexation. It is eight square miles in area and has an average elevation of 100 feet.
Although sometimes perceived as a bedroom community to the Orlando Metropolitan Area, Winter Park contains the full range of residential uses, and premiere central business district, major office buildings, a hospital and a small amount of industrial property. This full range of land use, plus the economic and ethnic diversity of the city's population qualifies Winter Park as a city which can stand alone.
The largest employers within Winter Park are Rollins College, the City of Winter Park, Winter Park Memorial Hospital and Progress Energy. Construction in the City continues to be active. Recent years have seen redevelopment of numerous commercial properties on major arterial roads and the enhancement on Park Avenue.
The widespread renovation of homes stems from the desirability of Winter Park as a place to live and lack of available vacant lots. As a result, property owners must renovate or rebuild existing homes. The combination of construction, renovation and overall economic strength is reflected in the city's ad valorem tax base. Total assessed value grew from some $1.02 billion in 1986 to about $2.02 billion in 1999.
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