Central Florida Monthly Magazine: October 2017 by Central Florida Monthly

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INSIDE: TILL THE COWS CAME

home

THE CONTINUED GROWTH of the LEE VISTA AREA

real estate rental listings

I LIVE HERE: BETHANY POPPENBERG

BECAUSE YOU

Meet our cover model, Alyssa, her dad, Kevin, and her mom, Bethany, in our I Live Here feature on page 18.

live, work & play in the EAST ORLANDO AREA Publisher/Owner

STEVE FUSILIER steve@realtygroupfl.com

MORE ABOUT YOU,

please !

Connect with others who live, work and play in the East Orlando area. Meet new people, discover new places and learn new things. facebook.com/CFMonthly instagram.com/centralfloridamonthly twitter.com/cfmonthly plus.google.com/+CentralFloridaMonthlyOrlando linkedin.com/in/cfmonthly

Editorial

LYNNETTE FUSILIER lynnette@cfmonthly.com

Sales

KELLY MOE kelly@cfmonthly.com SHANNON SMILEY shannon@cfmonthly.com

Photography

AMI BROWN shearosefoto@aol.com

Graphic Design

AUDREY MORAN audreymdesigns@gmail.com

EDITOR’S NOTE Hi

there, neighbors.

Well, we’ve been through the wringer with Irma (literally and figuratively) and recovery is now in full swing. We’ll all get caught up someday, right? One thing Irma made perfectly clear is the resilience, strength and love of our community. The day after Irma, everyone who was able was cleaning up (or helping friends and loved ones clean up) and/or conducting business as usual— as if to say, “Was there a hurricane? Didn’t have time to notice, really.”

I’d like to give a special shout out to the families who took a break from their own Irma recovery efforts to be interviewed and photographed for this issue. And we’d also like to give kudos to all the advertisers who made sure we had updated artwork and information. We really appreciate it. There was a minute or two when it was unclear if this issue would happen or not. It was hard for all of us, but we did it!

Warmly,

lynnette

We get stuff done, together. And I love that, don’t you?

CENTRAL FLORIDA MONTHLY

A CUT ABOVE THE REST!

Tony Zeuli

Master Craftsman All types of custom woodworking and cabinet making.

407-908-9998 Cell 407-957-6221 Office

CENTRAL FLORIDA MONTHLY

Licensed & Insured www.extremecarpentryinc.com

CENTRAL FLORIDA MONTHLY

FEATURE PROPERTY ashley cove

1660 Marina Lake Dr, Kissimmee, FL 34774 5 BED • 3 BATH • 3676 SQ FT LAKEFRONT DREAM HOME Chris Pixley 352.267.4244 Don’t miss your chance to own this Immaculate, Custom Built Lakefront Home located in the Gated Community of Ashley Cove! This Mediterranean inspired home features 5 Bedrooms-3 Baths with a Private Office and Game room offering plenty of room for any family! Entering the home you’re greeted by a beautiful foyer with 18’ vaulted ceilings with views through the home to the amazing backyard and lake!

1269 Long Cove Loop, Davenport, FL 33896 3 BED • 2 BATH • 1854 SQ FT • FULL UPGRADES Eduardo Cubillan 407.756.9993

2808 Pinnacle Ct, Windermere, FL 34786 5 BED • 6 BATH • 5071 SQ FT • 1-Acre Lot Mike Stuart 407.448.6826

4974 Lazy Oaks Way, Saint Cloud, FL 34771 4 BED • 4 BATH • 3268 SQ FT • LAKEFRONT Amy Platon 321.230.7190

12109 Breda Ln, #4D, Orlando, FL 32827 3 BED • 3 BATH • 1813 SQ FT • TOWNHOME Laura Alves 407.496.7616

11928 Yellow Fin Trl #3C, Orlando, FL 32827 5 BED • 5 BATH • 4236 SQ FT • WATERFRONT Patrick Pixley 352.516.4427

608 S Main Ave #35, Minneola, FL 34715 2 BED • 2 BATH • 1492 SQ FT • REMODELED CONDO Chris Pixley 352.267.4244

5331 Carson St, Saint Cloud, FL 34771 5 BED • 5 BATH • 5772 SQ FT • POOL HOME Chris Pixley 352.267.4244

20529 Quinn St, #3A, Orlando, FL 32833 4 BED • 3 BATH • 2409 SQ FT • 1-ACRE LOT Patrick Pixley 352.516.4244

13661 Granger Ave, Orlando, FL 32827 5 BED • 4.5 BATH • 4650 SQ FT • POOL HOME Haji Shimabukuro 407.435.1910

1141 Audubon Way, Maitland, FL 32751 4 BED • 3 BATH • 3376 SQ FT • PRIVATE LAKE ACCESS Chris Pixley 352.267.4244

1405 Hidden Oaks Bend, Saint Cloud, FL 34771 6 BED • 4/2 BATH • 4305 SQ FT • 1/2-Acre Lot Laura Alves 407.496.7616

6778 New Hope Rd, Orlando, FL 32824 4 BED • 3 BATH • 3314 SQ FT • POOL HOME Laura Alves 407.496.7616

RESIDENTIAL 6 R E S I D E N T I A L • CO M M E R C I A L • V A C A N T L A N D • I N V E S T M E N T S • L E A S I N G • 407.281.8455 • WW W .REALTYGROUPFL. COM

R E S I D E N T I A L • CO M M E R C I A L • V A C A N T L A N D • I N V E S T M E N T S • L E A S I N G • 407.281.8455 • WW W .REALTYGROUPFL.COM

FEATURE PROPERTY conway

0 Seminole Dr, Belle Isle, FL 32812 4 BED • 3.5 BATH • 3800 SQ FT • LAKEFRONT Chris Pixley 352.267.4244

12211 Pasha Ln, Orlando FL 32827 3 BED • 2 BATH • GATED • $2350 Laura Alves 407.496.7616

4240 Fort Courage Cir, Kissimmee, FL 34746 4 BED • 2 BATH • FENCED BACKYARD • $1350 Ryan Smith 407.476.0476

753 Harland Ct, Kissimmee, FL 34758 3 BED • 2 BATH • POOL HOME • $1450 Ryan Smith 407.476.0476

5197 Magnolia St, Orlando, FL 32809 2 BED • 1 BATH • SODO BUNGALOW • $1175 Joey Guest 407.949.7071

7902 Daetwyler Dr, Belle Isle, FL 32812 5 BED • 3.5 BATH • 2400 SQ FT • LAKEFRONT Chris Pixley 352.267.4244

0 Nela Ave, Belle Isle, FL 32812 4 BED • 4.5 BATH • 3850 SQ FT • LAKEFRONT Chris Pixley 352.267.4244

Don’t miss your chance to own this Immaculate, Custom Built Home on the Lake Conway Chain! Entering the home, you’re greeted with a huge Open Floor Plan with a combined Kitchen and Great Room overlooking the lake. The Kitchen features High-End Stainless Steel Appliances, a large Island and Beautiful Quartz Counters. The home sits on a large Peninsula Lot offering tons of privacy and a Huge Backyard with plenty of room for family fun on the lake.

4091 Conway Place Cir, Orlando, FL 32812 5 BED • 5.5 BATH • 3908 SQ FT • LAKEFRONT Bree Buswell 407.408.4192

2414 Hoffner Ave, Belle Isle, FL 32812 3 BED • 2 BATH • 1647 SQ FT • UPDATED Chris Pixley 352.267.4244

1550 Caterpillar St, Saint Cloud, FL 34771 3 BED • 2 BATH • TURTLE CREEK • $1595 Keith Race 407.476.0476

2944 Bonita Cir, Kissimmee, FL 34744 3 BED • 2 BATH • GATED • $1450 Ryan Smith 407.476.0476

5205 Oak Island, Belle Isle, FL 32812 2 BED • 1 BATH • 1125 SQ FT • LAKE ACCESS Chris Pixley 352.267.4244

7830 Holiday Isle #302, Belle Isle, FL 32812 3 BED • 2 BATH • 1808 SQ FT • LAKEFRONT Chris Pixley 352.267.4244

2590 The Oaks Blvd, Kissimmee, FL 34746 4 BED • 3 BATH • POOL HOME • $2250 Ryan Smith 407.616.3301

8461 Greider Way, Orlando, FL 32827 4 BED • 3 BATH • LAUREATE PARK • $2495 Ryan Smith 407.616.3301

RESIDENTIAL 8 R E S I D E N T I A L • CO M M E R C I A L • V A C A N T L A N D • I N V E S T M E N T S • L E A S I N G • 407.281.8455 • WW W .REALTYGROUPFL. COM

RENTALS R E S I D E N T I A L • CO M M E R C I A L • V A C A N T L A N D • I N V E S T M E N T S • L E A S I N G • 407.476.0476 • WWW.F MG RE ALE S T AT E .COM 9

OCTOBER 20 - NOVEMBER 5

BY NEIL SIMON BUY YOUR TICKETS AT OSCEOLAARTS.ORG 2411 E. Irlo Bronson Memorial Hwy. Kissimmee, FL 34744 407-846-6257

CENTRAL FLORIDA MONTHLY

/OsceolaArts

CENTRAL FLORIDA MONTHLY

TILL THE COWS CAME

home

THE CONTINUED GROWTH OF THE LEE VISTA AREA

Text by Chad Walsh Lee Vista’s Kilgore family (left to right): Aubrey, Chan, Stacy, Amber, and Abigail.

ong before Laureate Park, long before Medical City, the cows of of the Lake Nona area once outnumbered its people. Just ask Lee Vista resident Stacy Kilgore. When she and her husband of 25 years, Chan, moved to the area 15 years ago to open Crosspointe Church, a nondenominational house of worship, she joked, “Who’s going to come to your church, the cows?” But the pastor and seminary teacher’s if-you-build-it-they-will-come hunch turned out to be right. Today, Chan oversees seven different congregations in the area, including a Spanish-speaking church. And Stacy says she hasn’t just seen her husband’s church grow over the last decade and a half, she’s seen the entire area—Lee Vista and neighboring Lake Nona—grow to its still-booming present. “It’s been great,” Stacy says. “It’s been very cool to see it grow so quickly.”

“We moved here because of the community center. It’s a family-centered area—with a resort-style pool with a lighthouse slide!” she gushes. “The community reflects the beauty in the diversity of the city of Orlando,” which is just a 20-minute drive away and where, conveniently, their 25-year-old daughter presently lives. When it comes to unwinding, Stacy says she and her husband and their two younger daughters, ages 15 and 18, like to either drive to the beach with Oliver, their superhyper Havanese, or entertain themselves with the latest superhero movie in the dark, air-conditioned Epic Theatres on Hazeltine National Drive. Besides living in a family-friendly neighborhood full of friendly families, Stacy says Lee Vista has become a wonderful place because the area has attracted so many new businesses as it continues to grow. The Lee Vista Promenade, which is anchored by the Epic, is still being built out, but it’s already attracted national clothing retailers and a pub called Rock & Brews, courtesy of legendary KISS bassist, Gene Simmons.

We moved here because of the community center. It’s a familycentered area...

CENTRAL FLORIDA MONTHLY

Stacy’s neighbor, Anique Peppers, a social worker, cookie enthusiast and the head baker behind Nique’s Sweet Treats, echoes this sentiment. “The neighbors are friendly, the schools are great, and the [neighborhood] association truly cares about the residents,” she says. “The amenities are wonderful. The parks are well kept.” Lee Vista, Stacy says, has become an area of convenience. “Everything is here now,” she says. That includes a Michaels arts and crafts store and a Ross Dress for Less. There’s a Publix right across the street from their home. And when they don’t feel like cooking, Stacy and Chan will take their daughters out to dinner at one of the area’s many restaurants. Their favorite is Ari Hibachi and Sushi, but Stacy laughingly says it’s actually the Cracker Barrel that’s her guilty pleasure. And like Stacy, Anique likes to go to the movies at Epic and take occasional trips to Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt and Tokyo Steak House & Sushi Bar. “I love where I live,” Stacy says. It has everything she wants, or else it’s nearby. In fact, as Lake Nona continues its construction boom, Lee Vista’s a destination for Nona-ites hungry for a dinner-and-a-movie night. It’s also close to the beach, close to their adult daughter’s new home in Orlando, and close to their hometown, Hypoluxo, where their parents live. And it’s a short drive to the airport, which makes getting in and out of town easy when Chan takes church trips to Brazil and Germany. And Stacy says it almost didn’t happen, were it not for a fateful drive through the area on a family trip to Disney World. “Chan felt the call to plant a church in Lake Nona,” she says, once again joking, “with the cows.” n

DID YOU

KNOW? ZIP CODE 32829 TOTAL HOMES SOLD in 2016

412

$199,900 M E D I A N H O M E P R I C E 2 016

Two decades ago, the Lee Vista area was nothing but cow pastures. Since then, it’s become a close-knit community that local and national restaurants and retailers call home. Surrounded by a satellite of lakes, the area is a natural playground for swimmers, runners, bicyclists and waterskiers. And it’s close to the ocean and airport as well as nightlife in Orlando and Lake Nona, which are both nearby. But if you don’t feel like the drive, you can always stay close to home and knock one back at Marlow’s Tavern, the area’s local bar and grill.

14 NEIGHBORHOODS: Amhurst, Avon, Carlisle, Central Park, Champlain, Colonie, Gentry Park, Horizons, Melrose, Newport, Pembroke, Warwick, Waverly and Windsor

$211,247

Vista Lake is a great spot to fish, canoe or relax (in adjacent Vista Lake Park)

AVERAGE HOME PRICE 2 016

ACRE LAKE

NEIGHBORHOOD

PARKS • Amhurst Park • Vista Lake • Milford Haven Place Park in Newport

• 1 SOCCER FIELD • 1 LITTLE LEAGUE SIZED BASEBALL/ SOFTBALL FIELD

Lee Vista residents Aminna and Anique Peppers.

CENTRAL FLORIDA MONTHLY

HIGHLY RATED SCHOOLS

amenities INCLUDE:

three pools (wading, recreational and lap), fitness center, pavilion, two lighted tennis courts and Residents’ Club (all for residents)

HOUSING OPTIONS INCLUDE: single family homes, townhomes, condos and apartments CENTRAL FLORIDA MONTHLY

CENTRAL FLORIDA MONTHLY

I LIVE

Bethany, Kevin and Alyssa Pop-

Q&A withpenberg BETHANY POPPENBERG Name and age: Bethany, 35; Kevin, 36; daughter Alyssa, 4. Hometown: We are both from the Buffalo, NY area originally but have called Florida home since we finished college. Current neighborhood: North Shore at Lake Hart. How do you pay the bills? I’m a PE teacher at the NEW Innovation Middle School and a Rodan+Fields consultant. Kevin is a Senior Datacenter Architect for a global IT organization, Insight Enterprises. We are also beginning to dabble in real estate. What do you create? Fit, athletic middle schoolers with good sportsmanship and sports etiquette. Oh, and beautiful skin and lashes for adults. How did you land in Orlando? Kevin moved to Ocala right after college. I joined him a year later to attend grad school at UF. We stayed in Ocala for my first three years of teaching and then Kevin got a job at UCF and that began our life in Orlando! Do you hold an annual pass? If so, to which park? We had the premier passes at Universal for two years and LOVED them. We just allowed them to expire and are looking to add SeaWorld and Aquatica next.

Name your favorite tattoo: Neither of us have any ink at this time, but if we did it would most certainly be something close to our hearts and related to our families. Last thing you ate at a food truck? Hmmm... most likely tacos for Bethany, Monsta Lobsta for Kevin and a burger for Alyssa! What is your favorite farmers’ market and why? I love Mondays at the YMCA. On my way to or from class, I can stop by to shop or pick up a last-minute dinner. Butterbeer, Dole whip, or _______? Raspberry martini?? ;-) Or Yogurt Breeze! Springs, lakes, or oceans? Oceans! That’s why we live in FL, right?? Only in Orlando moment? Every gator sighting still impresses me. Also, having to stop and allow Sandhill Cranes to cross the road. Dog person or cat person? Dog. We have an 8-year old Mini Schnauzer named Sabre— named after our beloved Buffalo hockey team. If you could change one thing about Orlando, what would it be? Less humidity! Where can we find you on the web? Bethany: innovationms.ocps.net/faculty___staff and bethanyp.myrandf.com Kevin: kevin@nonapopp.com for real estate investments and LinkedIn n

What is the last book you read? Kevin just finished reading “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki. A must read for financial education and getting on the path to financial freedom.

the

POPPENBERGS 18

CENTRAL FLORIDA MONTHLY

How you can participate: There are three simple rules to participate in CFM’s I Live Here Project. You must: Say hello to the Poppenbergs (left to right): Bethany, Alyssa and Kevin.

1. answer all of the questions. 2. be willing to be photographed in your neighborhood.

3. live, work or play in one of the zip codes we cover: 32812, 32827, 32829, 32832, 34741, 34771 or 34773. Sound good? Great. Send us an email (lynnette@cfmonthly.com) and we’ll send you the questions. After you return your answers to us, we’ll schedule your photo shoot and put you in the queue for publication. And, of course, we’ll give you the heads up when we publish your Q&A in the magazine or online. Because #InternetFamous.

CENTRAL FLORIDA MONTHLY

Redefining Memory Care

watercrest lake nona

Assisted Living and Memory Care 9682 Lake Nona Village Place Orlando, FL 32827 407-226-3113 lakenona@watercrestseniorliving.com

www.watercrestseniorliving.com

www.thedryerventsweeper.com 22

CENTRAL FLORIDA MONTHLY

9145 Narcoossee Road, Suite 102, Orlando, FL 32827 407-259-2363 | www.CFMonthly.com

(em)power for good October 11, 6-8PM at Richmond American Homes Featuring food trucks, solar energy presentation made by Solar City and free public test drive of Tesla vehicles. 3322 Grande Heron Dr. Harmony, FL 34773 Sponsored by SolarCity DBA Tesla Energy RSVP:

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