When I heard this was happening I initially thought that is kind of vague. What do they mean by gateway? I break the word into two parts. Gate or way into the city. Then Way as in to catch your attention and show you the way. Mainly to keep you from missing what would otherwise just be a road that may have something awesome just out of sight. Like a community named Dr. Phillips or Pine Hills.

Right now you can drive right through Pine Hills on SR 50 and never really know what you are missing. And well, Dr. Phillips although bordering the tourism district on Sand Lake Road doesn’t get the notoriety that it should. More on that at the end of the article.

So, good news. Now efforts are underway to create what are called “Gateway Entrances” to highlight the identity of each community. This tactic has been used by numerous florida communities in recent years. Not always in a flattering way. In this writer’s opinion it needs to be classy. Not trashy.

Betsy Vanderley a Orange County Commissioner said it can be a point of pride. Her District includes Dr. Phillips so blame her if it looks stupid, credit her if it looks awesome.

The goal of Gateways is that they contribute to pride in your community. For example. When someone asks you where you live when you visit another state. You might start saying Windermere or Winter Garden or Dr. Phillips and take the time to explain instead of just saying, Orlando and tolerating the Orlando/Disney questions.

Now a little on the Real Estate Market in these two communities. Right now Dr. Phillips homes cost the most in the NW corner and of course the Southern Portion of the community. In the Southern portion the Median price is $425,000 while in the NW portion it is $391,000. Still very high for Florida. Nearing the Center of Dr. Phillips you can still get a home around $200,000. Here is the scoop. Crime is a little higher in Dr. Phillips but the area is pretty large also. I still really like it there. Go there often for work. Here is some information on the people there.

The Pine Hills Real Estate Market is a little different. Averaging around $155,000 and some homes costing under $100,000. Pine hills sometimes gets notoriety for crime. I happen to know some great people over there and can say this. Everywhere you go near a bigger city you need to have good habits. Really that is all. I lived in Homestead Florida and it was much worse. I would live there again. I was happy there.

I hope you enjoyed this article and got what you needed from it. If you are looking to move to either area do some home searching to your right on this page. If I can help, I am a Realtor. Then I want to help you. Im experienced and will provide you with the kind of service you will recommend. Contact me through the options on this page. Have an awesome day !