The Village at Hilliard Isle plans about 130,000 square feet of shops and restaurants around a live oak believed to be more than 150 years old. The builders are still looking for a grocery store.
East Kissimmee is getting its own walkable town center, and the plan is built around a very old tree.
Developer Plaza Lakes has hired SRS Real Estate Partners to lease The Village at Hilliard Isle, a town center planned along Simpson Road, WFTV reported Tuesday, Nov. 10. It calls for about 130,000 square feet of shops, restaurants and services.
The centerpiece is a gathering green anchored by a live oak estimated to be more than 150 years old, according to WFTV. Plans also call for outdoor dining, walkable paths and a new traffic signal at the Simpson Road entrance.
Jaime Luis Fonalledas of Plaza Lakes said the goal is "a true town center that provides the surrounding community" a place to shop, eat and hang out.
What stores are coming to The Village at Hilliard Isle?
None yet. No tenants have been announced, and no grocery store has signed on, WFTV reported. The leasing team is going after these categories:
Grocery
Restaurants and coffee shops
Fitness and wellness
Specialty retail
Neighborhood services
Spaces will range from small storefronts to bigger sites and freestanding drive-thru pads. So yes, a drive-thru coffee line is very much on the table.
When will The Village at Hilliard Isle open?
Not soon. The project is still in planning and permitting. Infrastructure work for the retail and apartment portions is expected to start in the first quarter of 2028, with the first commercial pads delivered in a third quarter, WFTV reported. No opening date has been set.
What is Hilliard Isle?
It's a big master-planned community on Kissimmee's east side. Pulte Homes is building about 2,000 homes next to the town center, and Plaza Lakes is keeping the town center and apartment pieces for itself, according to WFTV.
Florida YIMBY reported in February that construction had started on the first phase of the roughly 900-acre development. Its numbers:
2,016 homes in eight phases: 422 townhomes and 1,592 single-family houses
245 homes in the first phase
Amenities: walking trails, dog parks and a resort-style pool
Home sales: expected to launch in 2027
Florida YIMBY also reported a 67-acre town center with 620 apartments and close to 200,000 square feet of commercial space. That's bigger than the 130,000 square feet WFTV cited Tuesday, so the commercial plan may have shrunk.
Pulte partnered with Empresas Fonalledas and its affiliate Plaza Lakes on the project, Florida YIMBY reported. Pulte expected to invest about $300 million in its share.
Where is Hilliard Isle in Kissimmee?
Along Simpson Road in northeast Kissimmee, north and east of Hilliard Isle Road and just west of East Lake Tohopekaliga, Around Osceola reported when the city approved the plans.
When the Kissimmee City Commission signed off, the plans set aside 177 acres as conservation land, so no homes will sit right on the lakeshore. Around Osceola reported a walking trail is possible there. The city commission passed the annexation and zoning unanimously.
Neighbors raised concerns at the time about buffers, multistory homes overlooking their yards and traffic on small streets like Hilliard Isle Road. The city limited emergency-only access to those side streets, Around Osceola reported.
What else is being built in Kissimmee?
Plenty. Also on Tuesday, RSP Architects released new renderings of Ovation Orlando, the 650,000-square-foot entertainment district going up on the old Orlando Sun Resort site at I-4 and U.S. 192, GrowthSpotter reported. That one sits less than a mile from Walt Disney World and is aiming for 2028.
Hilliard Isle is the opposite kind of project. No tourists, no billboards, just a grocery store (eventually) and a really old tree.
Article compiled and written by Kambrea Pratt (editor-in-chief), Derek Gibbs (beat editor) and the Pirates & Princesses newsroom. Pirates & Princesses is part of WebReef Media.
Pirates and Princesses is your destination for Disney news, theme park updates, and the pop culture you love. From Disney cruises and travel tips to Disney fashion, food, collectibles, and movie news, PNP covers it all. Visit us at piratesandprincesses.net for daily coverage. Follow PNP on Facebook and Instagram, and listen to the Pirates & Princesses podcast on Apple Podcasts and YouTube.
Hat Tips:
WFTV (Nov. 10, 2026), The Village at Hilliard Isle plans, leasing, tenant categories, timeline and Fonalledas quote
Florida YIMBY (Feb. 23, 2026), Hilliard Isle acreage, home counts, phases, amenities and Pulte investment
Around Osceola (undated), location, conservation land and the city commission vote
GrowthSpotter (Nov. 10, 2026), the Ovation Orlando renderings
AI Disclosure: All articles are assigned, edited and reviewed by an experienced human editor before posting. Like most modern newsrooms, WebReef Media uses a variety of AI tools to help with accuracy and efficiency. Ways AI may be used in article creation include research, grammar, fact-checking and ideation, as well as occasional AI generated or enhanced thumbnails or graphics. No articles are generated or posted without human oversight or involvement.