A Focus On Windermere

Windermere, Florida has long been known as an area of affluence despite its small-town look and feel. You'll still find dirt roads, huge shady oaks, and shops with that "general store" appearance. The town was established in 1889 and is located on an isthmus between several lakes in the Lake Butler chain, one of the most sought-after areas of waterfront property in all of Florida. The chain encompasses eleven lakes (Lake Butler, Lake Tibet, Lake Down, Lake Sheen, Lake Louise, Lake Chase, Pocket Lake, Lake Blanche, Wauseon Bay, Lake Isleworth, and Little Fish Lake), which have been recognized for their high water quality and animal habitats as "Outstanding Florida Waters" by Florida's Department of Environmental Regulation.

Windermere's small town appeal is in sharp contrast to the stately homes of the nearby Isleworth subdivision, home to Tiger Woods, Shaquille O'Neal, and many other professional athletes. Windermere is also home to former Florida Supreme Court Justice Charles T. Wells and retired General Jay Garner. Justice Wells was Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court during the Bush vs. Gore election. General Garner was the first American leader of Iraq after the Iraq War. Current properties listed for sale in the community are priced between $1.2M and $9.75M and several are over 10,000 square feet in size.

There are currently 457 single family homes for sale in Windermere, priced as low as $134,900 and as high as $100M. The most expensive property currently listed for sale in Windermere is known as Versailles. It's a 13 bedroom, 23 bath estate of nearly 67,000 square feet. It's located on a 10+ acre peninsula with 1250 feet of shoreline on Lake Butler. It features a 20-car garage, 3 pools, a baseball field, 2 tennis courts, a 2-lane bowling alley, an indoor roller rink, a video arcade, and more. It is currently the largest modern-day estate under construction in America.

Some of the subdivisions in Windermere include: Keene's Point, the Reserve at Lake Butler Sound, Chaine Du Lac, Windermere Downs, Lake Down Shores, Waterford Pointe, Lake Roper Pointe, Tilden's Grove, Bellaria, The Lakes, Reserve at Belmere, and Windermere Club.

There are three golf courses in Windermere with four others located close by. The most popular by far would have to be the Isleworth Golf & Country Club, designed by Arnold Palmer and Ed Seay, open since 1986, with a course rating of 77.5. There also several chain restaurants in the vicinity, nearby Mall at Millenia for shopping, as well as several in-town "mom and pop" type of establishments.

Windermere schools include: Windermere Elementary, Sunset Park Elementary, Keene's Crossing Elementary, and Gotha Middle, with West Orange High serving as the nearest high school. Windermere Prep and the Crenshaw school are both PK-12 private schools in the area.