A year ago, the intersection of Mitchell Hammock Boulevard and Alafaya Trail featured a run-down motorcycle shop, an abandoned Dunkin’ Donuts, a gas station and a closed Papa John’s. Now, a packed Chick-fil-a, First Watch, Floyd’s Barber Shop, Menchie’s and more are visible reminders of the redevelopment of Oviedo.

The city of Oviedo has been evolving since it was a town of 3,000 in the early 1980s. Now, everything is coming in as planned, and coming “off the shelf,” according to Mayor Dominic Persampiere.

Restaurants and establishments have came to Oviedo, like Chick-fil-a and Mission Barbeque. However the biggest change in the development of the city has been Oviedo on the Park.

Oviedo on the Park has been in the works for over 30 years,and formed as an idea in the late ‘80s. The idea was to have a city center on the land where the park is now. The planning started in 2000, and 60 residents came together to form the plan that made it the way it is now.

As for shopping and eating, all the change has turned Oviedo from a small town to a mid-size city with many options in many different places.

“There is a major restaurant looking at the corner of Mitchell Hammock Boulevard and Oviedo Boulevard,” Persampiere said. There will be Burger Fi coming in, an Irish 31 Pub, and a few other restaurants.

The main change that Oviedo has seen was on Alafaya Trail and Mitchell Hammock Boulevard, with the construction of the new Stonehill Plaza, and the opening of restaurants and retail shops like Floyd’s Barbershop and First Watch.

Oviedo is forecast to grow to about 50,000 people in about 10 years. As of last year, the city is just over 38,000 people, and are currently at 40,000. The city plans on having the eastern side of town to remain rural.

“What’s nice about living in Oviedo is is that what’s known as the rural boundary which is everything that’s just east of Live Oak,” Persampiere said.  “That is to remain rural, and on [the western] side, this will be urban.”  

Plans include a Culver’s, Dunkin’ Donuts, Jimmy Johns, a Chicken Salad Chick, and a Metro Diner, all expected to open sometime next year.

As for historic downtown Oviedo, a whole different plan is in place. The historic downtown is going to redevelop over time, and the major thing that has been happening is road widening. The road is going to be widened all the way from Oviedo high school to Lockwood Boulevard. This will take three to four years to be finished.

Although the new businesses are exciting for many, not everyone is.

“I see it becoming overdeveloped and this can cause may problems like traffic,” freshman Ethan Sweat said. “Development moving out farther into the more rural areas are erasing the true history of this town.”

However there are other plans for downtown, it is too early for people to see what will happen to the area.

“Most folks don’t realize what they’re seeing now is just the beginning,” Persampiere said.

Gallery | 3 Photos

Bird's eye view of Oviedo on the Park before construction