A Tuesday roadway dedication culminated a lengthy process of negotiations, planning and construction of miles of infrastructure within the Emerson Park subdivision — a project totaling nearly $3 million and funded entirely by residents.  

City officials and Emerson Park residents dedicated the total of 7.65 miles of roadways paved at the community located just east of AdventHealth Apopka. The city will maintain the main roadways, while the homeowner’s association (HOA) will take responsibility for three miles of alleyways.  

The total cost was $2.65 million, and the HOA contributed more than $700,000 up front. The remainder is a municipal service benefit unit (MSBU) that will be paid through homeowners’ taxes yearly for 15 years.  

The road reconstruction, completed in October 2025, was a major milestone for the neighborhood’s more than 500 homeowners, said HOA president Jennifer Hay.  

“Our community is solely paying for it,” Hay said. “We’ve just worked out a payment plan with the city, so the city is not paying any portion of the remodeling of the roads.” 

Although the roads appeared to be public — with no gates or access restrictions — the HOA learned they were privately owned and therefore the responsibility of residents to maintain. Estimates showed the cost of full reconstruction would exceed $2.5 million, a figure far beyond what most homeowners could pay up front. 

Under the agreement, the city oversaw the work and allowed the HOA to pay the full cost over 15 years, rather than requiring the association to secure its own private loan. 

The HOA will retain responsibility for maintaining the neighborhood’s alleyways, which make up a smaller portion of the overall infrastructure. In addition, the association maintains about 64 acres of green space throughout the development. 

The road project also revived discussion of original development plans that once called for a town center with businesses along the community’s main entrance, including a supermarket. Those plans were never realized, and the area instead became open green space used by residents for recreation, according to Hay.  

While development of the Shoppes at East Shore is underway next to Emerson Park, the HOA does not expect any commercial construction inside the community itself, Hay said.  

 Now under construction at the West Keene Road/Ocoee-Apopka Road intersection, the Shoppes at East Shore will be anchored by a Publix and include a 55+ age-restricted senior housing component.