Lakefront community in southern Orange County
The community of Pine Castle has a small-town feel, sandwiched between lakes, about 20 minutes from downtown Orlando. Traffic is heavy here, but residents are minutes from the Orlando International Airport and Orlando Health medical facilities. Top regional employers are nearby as well. “The majority of people who want to live here are looking for the lakefront properties,” says Angela McCloskey, Realtor with Keller Williams Realty at the Parks. “People who want to live on a lake will deal with the traffic to get anywhere they want to go.”
Close to waterfront recreation and Orlando theme parks
There are public access points, marshy waterlines and picnic areas Lake Jessamine and Lake Conway. Jessamine’s 90-acre Cypress Grove Park is home to a 1920s-era mansion, a playground, a cricket pitch and other outdoor recreational amenities. The annual Pioneer Days festival, held at Cypress Grove Park in February, is a weekend-long celebration of the community’s history.
Disney World and Universal Studios are within about 40 minutes of Pine Castle, on the southwest side of Orlando. Crayola Experience Orlando, a crayon-themed amusement center, and Orlando Watersports Complex are just 15 minutes south.
Classic Floridian architecture, from single-family homes to condos
Beachy cottages and Spanish-inspired Traditional single-family homes are common here, as are boxy, multistory condo complexes. The median price for single-family homes is almost $365,000, slightly under the Orlando median, but waterfront homes can sell for more than $1.5 million. The median for condos is close to $300,000. Thomas Sons, a Keller Williams Realtor with 10 years experience, says Pine Castle’s location makes it a popular area for rentals. According to the Census Bureau, less than 45% of homes are owner-occupied.
The Florida Mall features retailers and restaurants galore
Pine Castle itself is mostly residential. The commercial corridors along U.S. Route 441 and Sand Lake Road are where residents head for shopping and dining. The business district is filled with big box stores and chain restaurants and is home to the Florida Mall, which has almost 300 retailers.
Orange County high schools offer over 20 magnet programs
Pine Castle kids attend Orange County Public Schools. The district, which earns an A-minus from Niche, serves over 200,000 students with an average student-teacher ratio of 21 to 1. More than 20 magnet programs are available at the high school level. Oak Ridge High, where most Pine Castle students are zoned, offers programs in aviation and aerospace engineering, hospitality management and digital media and gaming. A-minus-rated Pinecrest Preparatory Charter School is a public, application-based charter school for kindergarten through 8th graders. A-rated Pine Castle Christian Academy is a nondenominational private school for infants through 12th graders. Other private options include A-minus-rated Pathways Private School and B-plus-rated South Orlando Christian Academy.
Close to highway access, SunRail and LYNX stops
Downtown Orlando is less than 8 miles north. Public transportation options include LYNX bus stops throughout Pine Castle and a SunRail commuter train stop on Sand Lake Road. The Orlando International Airport is just south of Sand Lake, about a 12-minute drive from most homes. “I don’t know anybody in the Pine Castle area who is immediately concerned about airport traffic,” McCloskey says, noting that congestion is worse on the airport’s east side.
Weather and crime
Set inland on the Florida peninsula, Pine Castle doesn’t have as high a risk of severe hurricanes as coastal parts of the state. However, Lake Jessamine and Lake Conway are prone to flooding. Orange County provides flood zone maps and resources for high water management online. The county also monitors algae levels and posts water closure alerts as needed.
Crime statistics for Pine Castle are not readily available.
Video By
Brandon Flash Craigie
