ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Twenty-five years ago, East Orange County was little more than a forest.
Today, it’s Avalon Park: a bustling, master-planned community that’s now home to nearly 20,000 residents and more than $2.5 billion in real estate value.
But among the miles of homes, schools, businesses, and parks, one small patch of land near Avalon Park’s downtown core remains untouched.
For years, residents have wondered what would become of this last undeveloped piece of the puzzle.
Locals like Daniel Velazquez, who’s lived in Avalon Park his entire life, say the lot has always sparked curiosity.
“No one that I talk to knows what is going on on that field,” Velazquez said. “I just know that it’s been an empty field the whole time.”
Others, like resident Tevin Vickers, hope the open land can remain a place for play and connection.
“It’d be amazing if they just let us keep it and let us do stuff out here like training,” he said. “But I think they’ll probably put in more houses.”
The developer behind Avalon Park is Beat Kahli, a former Swiss banker turned Florida developer who moved to East Orlando more than two decades ago with a big vision.
“If you would’ve told me in high school I’d build a town from scratch in East Orlando, I’d have asked, ‘Where is Orlando? Is that in Italy?’” Kahli joked.
He said there’s no big secret as to why the final five acres remain undeveloped — it just happened that way.
“That this is last, is coincidence,” he said. “No, there wasn’t some particular reason we waited on this parcel.”
According to Kahli, the southern part of the land is already approved for townhomes. The northern portion? Still undecided — but the vision is becoming clearer.
A likely use will be independent living facilities for older adults, rounding out a community designed for people at every stage of life.
Kahli also has his eye on one community feature: an Olympic-sized swimming pool open to all Avalon Park residents.
“That’s still something we’re thinking about,” he said. “We want a place where people can live from birth all the way to the end of life.”
While the final five acres will soon be filled, Kahli says what Avalon Park may still lack is a true regional park. He’s calling on the community to push for the creation of one within the 8,000+ acres of nearby Hal Scott Preserve, much of which was donated by the Avalon Park Group.
“That may be the one missing link,” he said.