Conway and Belle Isle are two areas located adjacent to one another in the southeast quadrant of Orange County, just north of the Orlando International Airport. Conway is also adjacent to downtown Orlando and both are convenient locations to live for airport employees and downtown professionals. Conway was originally settled in the 1850s and was an important location back in the early 1900’s as it was one of only 5 paved roads available in all of Orange County. Belle Isle was originally inhabited by the Timacua back in the 9th century. Belle Isle is a city while Conway is an unincorporated section of Orange County.
Since 2003, Belle Isle has been run under a council-manager government with the city mayor-ship, a strictly ceremonial position. The elected commissioners serve three year terms without compensation. In 2009, Belle Isle established their own police department, thus taking over the area’s jurisdiction from the Orange County Sherriff and doubling the number of city employees.
Belle Isle recently opened a tuition-free, public charter school for grades K-12. 2010 being it’s first year in operation, they do not have a grade associated with the school as of yet but this does alleviate what has been a problem with a less than stellar high school zoning. Elementary and Middle schools in the area have been known for excellence.
Lake Conway and Little Lake Conway, known as the Conway chain, are popular with boaters and jet skiers. Several of the area neighborhoods offer lake access with boat launches and weekends will find lots of area residents on the water. Many lakefront properties are also available, some with boat docks or boat houses, and even sandy beaches.
Belle Isle has several parks in the area, including: Montmart Park, Gene Polk Park, Trimble Park, Swan Beach, and the Perkins Boat Ramp is also available for those not already having lake access.
There are currently 48 homes for sale in Belle Isle with a single-family property ranging anywhere from a 2 bedroom, 1 bath for $86,000 to a 6 bedroom, 5 bath for $2,600,000. The median range price is a 4 bedroom, 2 bath for $293,750. 13 of those homes are lakefront with the median price there at $599,000 for a 4bedroom, 2 bath. Conway features 147 single-family homes for sale with prices ranging from $55,000 to over $2.5 million with the median at just under $190,000. 24 of those 147 homes are properties currently bank-owned and likely available at largely reduced rates over last sale.
