ORLANDO, Fla. — Two centuries ago on Dec. 29, 1824, Orange County was established.
The county was initially named Mosquito County before adopting its current name in 1845.
Fast forward 200 years, and Orange County is now a thriving hub for tourism, economic development and community progress.
As the county reflects on this milestone, leaders addressed a number of topics this year, including its growing economy.
“The future is bright Orange County,” said Orange County mayor Jerry Demings. “We are growing communities. We have a net of nearly somewhere between 401,000 new people moving in here every week, which puts a lot of pressure on our infrastructure as a community. But it creates a lot of opportunities.”
County leaders say they have actively worked with the housing challenges the entire nation faces.
Officials say over $160 million has been allocated through the housing trust fund to develop affordable and workforce housing.
Orange County established a first-of-its-kind partnership with Universal Resorts to transform 20 acres into workforce housing on International Drive.
In addition, commissioners approved transmittal of Walt Disney World’s plans to build 1,400 affordable housing units on 80 acres in west Orange County.
“Because we’re growing, there are many needs in our community,” said Demings. “Those needs range from dealing with those who may be homeless in our community to dealing with these to expand transportation within our community to dealing with housing affordability. I just happen to work with a great group of people in Orange County government who are working to address all of those issues, and we have robust plans.”
Tourism also remains a cornerstone of the local economy.
In 2023, Orange County welcomed 74 million visitors, generating $87.6 billion in economic impact.
Demings also highlighted ongoing investments in the region’s world-renowned theme parks, which employ nearly 40% of the local workforce.
“We have a $7.2 billion operating budget now within Orange County and even with that is still not enough,” he said. “So we do have to be good stewards of the people’s money. We have to manage to find ways to address the myriad of issues that we will confront as a community. We can only do that through public, private and philanthropic partnerships. So I’m looking to strengthen those relationships within our communities.”
Demings adds that as the year comes to an end, they look forward to celebrating the county’s 201st year.