OCOEE — When Rilla Tomyn, 62, was growing up in Ocoee, neighbors knew each other, the roads were mostly dirt and citrus was the primary industry.
Today Ocoee is among Florida’s fastest-growing cities of more than 20,000 people, according to new statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau. No city in Orange or Seminole county gained residents more quickly.
More than 43,600 people call Ocoee home — a 22 percent increase between 2010 and 2015 — and the west Orange County city is continuing to expand. A new downtown, thousands of homes and apartment plus a $172 million lakeside development of shops, a hotel, condos and restaurants are among the projects in the works.
“It’s exciting because I see the potential of a lot of international people coming in and bringing money to the community,” said Tomyn, who owns Betty J’s Florist in downtown Ocoee. “Everyone who moves in this area brings a new idea, a new thought about what this work [the floral business] should be about. I learn from them.”.