The City of Oviedo is a great place to start a new business or grow an existing one.

Economic Development

The City of Oviedo is situated within the University Corridor (S.R. 417 & S.R. 434) at the cusp of the SeminoleWAY project (a high-tech corridor along S.R. 417 that will serve as an extension of the Orange County Innovation Way), while located just minutes from downtown Orlando, both Orlando and Orlando-Sanford International Airports, the University of Central Florida and its new “Medical City,” Seminole State College of Florida, Kennedy Space Center and pristine beaches, ports and world-renowned tourist destinations, the Oviedo-Winter Springs area is positioned for dynamic business growth and success.

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Our City of Oviedo area further entices new development, growth and expansion through possessing a qualified and educated workforce, “A” rated schools, parks and recreation facilities that are second-to-none, incentives offered by our cities and county and, of course, lots of Florida “sunshine.”

The City of Oviedo has retail, finance, real estate, insurance and all facets of the service industry thrive within our positive business climate. Through projects such as “Medical City,” Innovation Way and SeminoleWAY, coupled with our proximity to the nation’s 3rd largest research institution in UCF, the entire University Corridor is beginning to experience economic diversification in the biotech and other high-tech industries. The City of Oviedo is growing and the local Oviedo businesses are helping the area support the expansion.

Further, Oviedo Florida possesses an environment designed for growth and expansion by not having a personal income tax, thus allowing more entrepreneurs the ability to invest more into their business. In fact, Florida ranks #5 nationally, which is #1 in the Southeast among states in a 2012 Tax Foundation study of business-friendly tax climates.

Being centrally located, the City of Oviedo has its local advantages as well. Situated within a 20 minute drive of two International Airports, convenient to I-4, and just minutes from SR 417, the residents of the City of Oviedo finds easy access to anywhere in the state or world. And, of course, the ever present “small town” atmosphere of the City of Oviedo is what sets the Oviedo-Winter Springs area apart from other areas in Central Florida.

In fact, every year since the “merger” which created the Oviedo-Winter Springs Regional Chamber of Commerce in 2007, the City of Oviedo, the City of Winter Springs, both, or jointly have received local and/or national recognition for the quality of life provided to residents and businesses.

The accolades began in 2007 when the City of Winter Springs was chosen as one of the “Top 100 Best Places to Live” by CNN Money Magazine. The same publication also selected the City of Oviedo as one of its “Top 100″ in 2009 and again recognized Winter Springs in 2011.
2008 brought the Orlando Sentinel’s recognition of the Oviedo-Winter Springs area as the “Best Place to Live in Central Florida” according to its annual “101 Best of Orlando.”
The City of Oviedo has been rated a “Top 100 City” for three consecutive years (2009, 2010 & 2011) by Relocate America and one of the “10 Best Towns for Families” for 2011 by Family Circle Magazine.

So, whether you are a Fortune 500 corporation or a “home-based” business, our area has much to offer all entrepreneurial and business-minded individuals in the City of Oviedo.

City of Oviedo Receives the 2010 Roy F Kenzie Award for Marketing & Communications from the Florida Redevelopment Association

The Florida Redevelopment Association honored the City of Oviedo for its Economic Development brochure at the FRA’s annual conference, in October, 2010. The brochure won the award in the category of Marketing & Communications for its innovative design and overall quality. The FRA awards committee made particular note that the quality of the brochure distinguished it from its category competitors. The brochure was developed by the City’s Economic Development consultant, Land Design Innovations, Inc.

Beautification Award for the City of Oviedo

Purpose: This award will recognize the City of Oviedo and Winter Springs chamber members with outstanding storefront presentations, buildings or landscaping that enhances the asthetic appeal of our communities.

Details of Recognition:
Recipients will have a sign placed at their location for 1 month (starting mid-month)
Photo of the City of Oviedo – Winter Springs business will be placed on the chamber’s social media
The winner will be announced at the City of Oviedo – Winter Springs chamber’s monthly luncheon
The winner will be announced in the City of Oviedo – Winter Springs chamber e-newsletter
Details of Voting:
The City of Oviedo – Winter Springs Businesses may be nominated online, ballot box at luncheon or by calling or emailing the chamber office
The Ambassador Committee will vote on the winner from those nominated
The Oviedo – Winter Springs chamber will notify the winner and schedule a time for the chamber staff and Ambassador Committee to present the sign and have the picture taken
Contact Melissa Lee, Director of Programs & Marketing, at melissa@oviedowintersprings.org or (407) 278-4872 to nominate a business.
The City of Oviedo – Winter Springs Award Winners
February 2012: Focal Point Landscaping
March 2012: Town & County Veterinary Clinic
April 2012: United Legacy Bank – Oviedo
May 2012: Oviedo Mall
June 2012: A Budget Tree Service
July 2012: Fisher Eye Associates

Oviedo – Winter Springs Business Roundtable

The City of Oviedo – Winter Springs Business Roundtable is a forum that offers local businesses the ability to voice the critical issues and concerns they face in their day-to-day business activities to local city officials and chamber leadership in a meaningful, informational exchange.

The “Roundtables” are limited to 25 local City of Oviedo – Winter Springs businesses and often include an elected official from each city and/or Seminole County, and a representative from the chamber staff. We make it a point to select particular topics that are of interest to members of our City of Oviedo – Winter Springs business community as a “jumping-off point” for each Roundtable discussion. However, we often have opportunities for attendees to address issues that are off-topic, but are impacting their City of Oviedo – Winter Springs business.

The City of Oviedo – Winter Springs Chamber Clinic

The City of Oviedo – Winter Springs Chamber Clinic is scheduling business wellness checks each Tuesday from 11:00am – 2:00pm at the UCF Incubator in Winter Springs, located at 1511 E. S.R. 434, Suite 2001, just down the hall from the chamber offices. Chamber Clinic™ is a partnership between the chamber and the Small Business Development Center at Seminole State College.
In these difficult economic times, the The City of Oviedo – Winter Springs chamber is pleased to provide this FREE service to ALL businesses in our community. So, whether you are a member or future member, we encourage all area entrepreneurs to take advantage of this professional business development opportunity.

Private and confidential consultations will be by appointment only and will offer specific solutions to a full range of small business issues, including complimentary legal advice on the first Tuesday of the month.
To arrange an appointment, call the Seminole State College Program Office at 407-321-3495 or email Amy Kirkland at kirklanda@seminolestate.edu

The City of Oviedo – Winter Springs Demographics & Consumer Expenditures

The City of Oviedo – Winter Springs area possesses an affluent, educated workforce, “A” rated schools, wonderful higher education institutions, parks and recreation facilities that are second-to-none, and many other aspects that result in demographics and consumer expenditure statistics that will entice any prospective City of Oviedo – Winter Springs entrepreneur.
We are proud of the many accolades that our “Twin Cities” of Oviedo and Winter Springs have received including being jointly ranked in the 2008 Orlando Sentinel’s “101 Best of Orlando” as the “Best Place to Live in Central Florida.” In addition, the City of Winter Springs was chosen in 2007 and 2011 as one of the “Best Places to Live” by CNN Money Magazine as was the City of Oviedo in 2009. Likewise, the City of Oviedo has also been rated a “Top 100 City” for three consecutive years (2009, 2010 & 2011) by Relocate America and one of the “10 Best Towns for Families” for 2011 by Family Circle Magazine.

The City of Oviedo – Winter Springs SeminoleWAY

The SeminoleWAY initiative was conceived by a visionary partnership of business and government leaders. The Mission: To create a strategic land use and economic development plan focused on attracting high value/wage jobs and businesses to the county along the State Road 417 Corridor and across I-4 to the Port of Sanford.

The Oviedo-Winter Springs Regional Chamber of Commerce’s corporate offices were purposely relocated to what is the epicenter of this project (S.R. 434 & S.R. 417) in an attempt to facilitate the growth of a “cluster” that will incorporate biotech, life sciences and green technology.

Starting a Business in the City of Oviedo or Winter Springs?

New businesses planning to relocate or incorporate in the Oviedo-Winter Springs area will find this list helpful. The City of Oviedo – Winter Springs Chamber has attempted to compile a comprehensive list of contacts that businesses need when going about the process.

Alcoholic Beverage & Tobacco Licenses
Florida Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco Division
400 W. Robinson Street, N. Tower (Hurston Bldg.), Room 709, Orlando, FL 32801
(407) 245-0785

City of Oviedo Development Services
400 Alexandria Blvd., Oviedo, FL 32765
(407) 971-5755

City of Oviedo’s Economic Development Website

City of Winter Springs Community Development
1126 E. S.R. 434, Winter Springs, FL 32708
(407) 327-5968

City of Winter Springs’ Economic Development Website

Corporations, Partnerships, LLCs & Fictitious Names
Florida Department of State – Division of Corporations (SunBiz)

Federal Tax Information
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
850 Trafalgar Ct., Maitland, FL 32751
(407) 660-5830

Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services – Business Info
(850) 488-3022

Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation – Licenses
(850) 487-1395

Florida Department of Revenue – Business Info

Hotels & Restaurants
DBPR – Division of Hotels & Restaurants
1940 N. Monroe Street, Tallahassee, FL 32399-1011
(850) 487-1395

Sales & Use Tax
Florida Department of Revenue
(800) 352-3671

Seminole County Building Department
1101 E. First Street, Sanford, FL 32771
(407) 665-7050

Seminole County Economic Development
1055 AAA Drive Suite 148, Heathrow, Fl 32746
(407) 665-7135

Seminole County Planning & Development
1101 E. First Street, Sanford, FL 32771
(407) 665-7441

Seminole County Small Business Resources
1055 AAA Drive Suite 148, Heathrow, FL 32746
(407) 665-7135

The City of Oviedo History

In the late 1860’s Confederate veterans and freed slaves from the war devastated South began to move into the settlement called “the Lake Jesup Community”, to be joined later by others from the Northern states and from Sweden. One of the Swedish immigrants, Andrew Aulin, appointed postmaster in 1879, named the new post office “Oviedo” after the city in northern Spain.

About 1870 Dr. Henry Foster from New York hired local men to plant citrus groves on the shores of Lake Charm and Lake Jesup. After the great freeze of 1895 farmers began to grow celery, first in Oviedo and later in the rich muck of Black Hammock on the south shore of Lake Jessup. The two crops, citrus and celery, became the mainstays of Oviedo agriculture for many years, with celery production reaching a peak in the 1940’s.

Oviedo can claim many contributions to Florida agriculture, among them introducing the Temple Orange into Florida about 1900, when Butler Boston, a local nurseryman, budded the Jamaican Orange in the groves of J. H. Lee and others.

Hunting and fishing in early Oviedo centered on “the creek” – Econlockhatchee – and “the river” – St. John’s. Transportation was by boat on the river, until the Plant System railroad (Atlantic Coast Line), now the Cross-Seminole Trail, reached here in 1886, and the FC&P (Florida, Central, and Peninsular), nicknamed the “Friends Come and Push” and later the “Dinky Line”, connected to Winter Park in 1894.

Oviedo was a community of 500 when Seminole County was carved out of Orange County in 1913, but had grown to 800 when it incorporated in 1925. Today Oviedo is home to thousands and a crossroads for the old and the new.

Formally incorporated as a City in 1925 with a population of 800, Oviedo has roots that date back to just after the Civil War in 1865 when homesteaders came to the area along the shores of Lake Jesup to begin new lives. Prior to the arrival of these adventurous souls, including former slaves, and immigrants from Europe, primarily Sweden, the area that is now Oviedo was populated by the Timucua, a clan of native Americans who were a part of the Seminole tribe. No evidence of the early Timucuan settlements remains today; their hunting grounds and villages disappeared just prior to the establishment of the Lake Jesup Community, which decades later gave way to modern housing developments, shopping centers, parks, recreation facilities, conservation areas and interstate roadways that can take travelers across the state.

Early settlers to the area relished the fertile land. They grew crops of celery and citrus and traveled to Orlando and Sanford to sell their produce. Orlando was reached via a wagon-wheel rutted road, but the primary means of travel from the area were steam ships like the Volusia or the Hattie Baker and small boats, which docked at Solary’s Wharf and Mitchell dock. Mail arrived in the area via riverboat twice a week and soon a post office was established. Andrew Aulin, a Swedish immigrant who spoke four languages and loved to read, was appointed postmaster. He was asked to name the new post office. On March 13, 1879 the name Lake Jesup Community faded into history as Aulin chose the name Oviedo, pronounced O-vee-a-dough in those days, to be the name of the post office and soon the surrounding town. Aulin liked the idea of giving the post office a Spanish name to go along with the Spanish heritage of the state of Florida. The original Oviedo is a city in northern Spain established in the 8th century and known for its architecture, a magnificent ancient cathedral and its dedication to higher education through the University of Oviedo. Today we pronounce Oviedo differently, O-vee-dough, but the City’s link to Oviedo, Spain still exists. The two cities have established an informal sister city relationship that promises to be mutually beneficial to both communities.

Oviedo in 2007 only vaguely resembles Oviedo of 1925. Citrus and celery are no longer produced here in large quantities, but are still found in many backyard gardens.

The City of Oviedo Lake Jessup

Experience the thrill of an airboat ride on beautiful Lake Jessup in Oviedo, Florida. Situated in a beautiful rural setting on Lake Jessup. Ten thousand acres large and over 100,000 years old, Lake Jessup. In the heart of Seminole County along the middle basin of the St. Johns River, Lake Jesup encompasses an area of approximately 16,000 acres, including open water and floodplain.

It is home to some of the City of Oviedo Florida’s most unique wildlife. See beautiful foliage, alligators, eagles, osprey, and many types of wildlife in their natural habitat. The City of Oviedo Lake Jessup is anthropologically rich and has been researched by at least 3 major universities. Don’t forget your camera, Lake Jessup has the highest population of alligators of any lake in Florida. Over the years, bald eagles, manatees, ibises, wood storks and sandhill cranes have made Oviedo’s Lake Jesup their home.

The City of Oviedo Local Government

The City of Oviedo is governed by a Council/City Manager form of government. The City of Oviedo Manager receives policy directionfrom a five-member elected City Council, each of whom serves a two-year term. The current City of Oviedo Council includes Honorable Mayor Dominic Persampiere, Deputy Mayor Keith Britton, Councilman Steve Henken, Councilman Stephen Schenck and Councilmember Cindy Drago. Council Meetings are held on the first and third Monday of each month at 6:30PM in the Oviedo City Council Chambers. The City of Oviedo Council meetings are broadcast live on SGTV, channel 9 on the Bright House cable network in Seminole County. Ms. Kathryn Breazeale joined the City of Oviedo as City Manager. She oversees the day to day management of the City of Oviedo and its departments, Administration, Development Services, Finance, Fire, Human Resources, Information Technology, Police, Public Works, Recreation and Parks. The City of Oviedo has three fire stations and two potable water treatment facilities. Oviedo is an incorporated place (Class Code C1) located in Seminole County at latitude 28.67 and longitude -81.208. The elevation is 49 feet.

The City of Oviedo is currently in a growth spurt. On the north side of Mitchell Hammock Road, east of State Road 434 and bordered by the Kingsbridge West subdivision to the east, the City of Oviedo will expand its downtown on approximately 50 acres. Street and utility systems for Oviedo on the Park are currently under construction. The new mixed use development will feature a residential component of single-family houses, town homes and apartments, a commercial business district and retail establishments.

The City of Oviedo has an are named “Oviedo on the Park” which has an expected completion date between 2012 and 2015. Other City of Oviedo developments are under construction around the City offering residents new places to dine and partake of consumer services. The City of Oviedo is in growth mode despite the down economy.

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