Center Lake Park opened in 2015 with an amphitheater, a cultural center, a playground, a dog park, a splash pad, a veterans memorial and a lakeside boardwalk. The first two restaurants across the way didn't open until July 2023. In early September 2026, one of the last undeveloped commercial parcels in the town center was sold with a chocolate and ice cream shop already signed for it.
The public space came first and private money is now filling in around it. The free Friday night on October 23 shows how that order of events plays out on the ground.
Twenty-five years, one lawn
The town center's timeline is longer than most people remember, and the sequence matters more than any single date.
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 2001 | City leaders begin planning a walkable new downtown |
| 2013 | Construction finally begins after economic and development setbacks stall the project for more than a decade |
| 2015 | Center Lake Park opens |
| July 2023 | The first two restaurant tenants open at The Food Factory, nearly five years after the concept was announced |
| September 2026 | CrossMarc Capital buys The Food Factory and an adjoining parcel |
| November 2026 | Construction is expected to start on a new retail building next door |
The Food Factory's own history includes a missed opening target and a 2021 target that followed it. The developer, Michael Collard Properties, later cited pandemic disruptions and supply shortages for further delays, according to GrowthSpotter's reporting on the sale. Housing, restaurants, shops, offices and civic space now sit around the park.
What changed hands at 888 City Walk Lane
Maitland-based CrossMarc Capital paid $8.25 million for The Food Factory at Oviedo on the Park and an adjoining site, in a deal GrowthSpotter reported on September 4, 2026. About $7.75 million went to the existing building and $500,000 to the land next to it. The deal was off-market, and Winter Park-based Michael Collard Properties sourced it.
The building is 14,769 square feet and, according to CrossMarc, fully occupied. The restaurants around its open-air courtyard are:
- Oviedo Park Pub
- Buttercrust Pizza
- Little Greek Fresh Grill
- Brave Burger
- Tacos My Guey
- Kai Asian Street Fare
- Cafe Bueno
- Grilled Cheezus
Nothing on that list is changing as a result of the sale. The buyer's plans concern the lot beside it.
CrossMarc president John Crossman told GrowthSpotter, "When you're in Oviedo, you know you're in Oviedo." He described the city as a retail market with clear edges, which is a helpful way to read the purchase. An investor with a Maitland office looked at this stretch of town, saw a defined district, and bought into it.
The 3,894-square-foot lot across from the park
The adjoining parcel is 0.17 acres at Center Lake Lane and City Walk Lane, across from Center Lake Park. CrossMarc plans a 3,894-square-foot retail building there, and Kilwins has leased 1,200 square feet of it. That leaves 2,694 square feet open. Crossman said the company is working on two more leases and isn't ready to name the tenants. The leasing listing for the building describes the space as having a lake view across from the amphitheater and cultural center.
Set the two buildings side by side. The Food Factory holds eight restaurants in 14,769 square feet, so the new building is roughly a quarter of its size. It has one confirmed tenant so far, and the other two leases are still unannounced.
Construction is expected to begin in November 2026. The reporting doesn't give an opening date, so Kilwins isn't a stop for this fall. For now it's a plan, a signed lease and a lot across from the lawn.
Friday, October 23, at Center Lake Park
The city's October movie night is the clearest look at what the park does for the businesses around it. It takes place at 357 Center Lake Lane, and the movie is The Nightmare Before Christmas.
- 5 to 9 p.m. Food trucks serve on the park grounds.
- 5 to 7 p.m. A listing for the evening also shows a live DJ and a candy crawl for kids. That listing comes from a third-party events site, so check the city's page for final details.
- 6:30 p.m. A costume contest is on the same third-party listing.
- About 7:30 p.m. The movie starts at dusk on the Amphitheatre Lawn.
The movie is free, and the city's event page says parking is free too. Seating on the family lawn is first-come, first-served, and the city suggests bringing a blanket or lawn chairs. The city's page for a previous movie night also listed the Cantina concession stand as open for food in the afternoon, weather permitting. The park has three lawns, a dog park, a veterans tribute, a splash pad and a playground, and the city notes that restaurants and bars are within walking distance.
That walking distance is why the parcel across the street matters. The food trucks sell dinner on the lawn, and the courtyard restaurants on City Walk Lane sit a few steps away for anyone who would rather sit down. Over the next few years, a candy and ice cream counter across from the lawn would add to that.
The city's Food Trucks and Movie Night page describes the Friday series as running in the cooler-weather months. Oviedo.TO's calendar says these Family Select Fridays typically run October through April. Dates can shift, so confirm each one with the city before heading out.
Ice cream while the Kilwins lot is still dirt
Oviedo already has a new ice cream shop with a line. Handel's Homemade Ice Cream opened its first Florida location at 20 Alexandria Blvd in Stonewood Plaza in February 2026, and Central Florida Lifestyle reported long lines in the first weeks. The shop makes small-batch ice cream fresh daily and rotates through more than 100 flavors, with roughly 40 to 50 out at a time. Oviedo and Vancouver, Washington, were the chain's two debuts in new states during its first quarter of 2026, according to QSR Magazine.
Handel's sits in Stonewood Plaza, while the planned Kilwins would sit across from the lawn at Center Lake Park. Handel's lists its hours as 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Yelp, but store hours change seasonally, so check before going.
Saturday mornings at the Lawton House
The other fixed point on the calendar is the Oviedo Historical Society Farmers Market. It runs the first Saturday of each month from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the grounds of the Historic Lawton House at 200 W. Broadway. The society's site says there is no market in July, because past July markets were sweltering and poorly attended. That makes this Saturday, October 3, the next one, followed by November 7 if the schedule holds. Confirm with the society before you go.
The market is held on the Lawton House grounds on W. Broadway, and the Center Lake Park events run on their own calendar.
What the sequence shows
The town center took 25 years from plan to a nearly full restaurant courtyard. Each phase followed the one before it. The lawn opened first and the restaurants came eight years later. Now a buyer has paid $8.25 million for the courtyard and lined up a confectioner for the last lot across from the park. The Friday movie night is the piece of that sequence anyone can attend for free, so it makes a good place to see the whole plan at once.
If you're curious how the town center's growth fits into your own plans for a home here, Diane Sterling, P.A. can talk through what's changing around Oviedo on the Park and what it means for your street. Let's Connect, and bring a blanket to the lawn on October 23.
