Alafaya Trail, SR 408 and the Town Center
Waterford Lakes sits east of Orlando in the unincorporated Alafaya area of Orange County, south of Colonial Drive (SR 50) and just off the eastern end of SR 408, the East-West Expressway. Alafaya Trail is the community’s main artery and continues north past UCF into Oviedo. The residential community began in 1985 under the name Huckleberry, was renamed Waterford Lakes in 1991 and grew into one of the largest master-planned communities in east Orange County, with more than three thousand homes under one community association, plus parks, lakes, trails and a community center. Waterford Lakes Town Center, the open-air mall next door, opened in 1999 and is the retail hub for east Orlando. Avalon Park is a short drive away, and the UCF campus and the Central Florida Research Park lie to the north.
Tenants From UCF and the Research Park
Housing in Waterford Lakes is mostly single-family homes inside the HOA, from compact three-bedroom homes to larger two-story homes backing onto the lakes, with townhomes and condos in the surrounding Alafaya area. UCF, one of the largest universities in the country by enrollment, sits a few miles north, and the Central Florida Research Park beside it houses military simulation and training commands and the defense contractors that work with them, so tenants include graduate students and faculty as well as engineers on long contracts. AdventHealth East Orlando on Lake Underhill Road adds medical staff. Leasing is governed by the community association’s covenants as well as Orange County rules, and short-term rentals in particular are often restricted in HOA communities, so confirm the current rules before you buy.
Living in East Orlando
Waterford Lakes works for commuters because SR 408 starts a short distance away and runs straight into downtown Orlando, and its interchange with SR 417 connects south to Orlando International Airport and Lake Nona and north to Oviedo, Winter Springs and Sanford. Colonial Drive (SR 50) is the free east-west route, and Alafaya Trail handles trips to UCF and Oviedo. Most daily errands happen without leaving the area: the Town Center, the shops along Alafaya Trail and the community’s own parks, courts and trails. AdventHealth East Orlando handles emergency care. The neighborhood draws young families, UCF employees and people relocating from out of state who want a known quantity rather than a brand-new subdivision on the fringe. Schools are among the first questions from families, and we go through the zoning for each home with you instead of quoting ratings.