OUC First Net Zero Facility

On May 16, OUC held a grand opening ceremony at its new St. Cloud Operations and Maintenance Center, located on Hickory Tree Road. OUC General Manager and CEO Clint Bullock emphasized the organization's leadership and collaboration with the City of St. Cloud while reaffirming its dedication to the community's future.

The $67 million, 24-acre facility is the first net-zero energy campus among Florida utilities. The center is designed to operate with 50 percent less energy consumption and 40 percent less water usage compared to traditional facilities. Bullock said the project enhances the reliability and resilience of OUC's services.

St. Cloud Mayor Nathan Blackwell welcomed the new facility. "I'm confident this is going to be a huge benefit to our community, and we are so proud to join them and celebrating the opening of the center.” 

Orlando Health St. Cloud was selected by Modern Healthcare as one of the Best Places to Work in Healthcare--for a third year in a row!

Osceola Parkway Extension Plans Underway

by Ken Jackson, Osceola News-Gazeette

Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC) and the Central Florida Expressway Authority (CFX) approved the eastern extension of Osceola County and its toll road corridor.

The new toll road would start near the interchange of State Road 417 and Boggy Creek Road in Orange County, due south of the Orlando International Airport, It would head south into Osceola County, meet up with an extension of Simpson Road, then turn east along the Orange-Osceola line, eventually meeting Narcoossee Road near a realigned Clapp Simms Duda Road. Broken into three segments, construction is currently slated to start in late 2025 or early 2026, depending on the segment.

Long-range plans call for the road to eventually expand east to the northeast portion of the county. Another road would then travel south from there, cross Nova Road and link up with Florida’s Turnpike south of St. Cloud, where it would meet the Southport Connector, another planned road from Poinciana to the Turnpike. The final product would create a nearly full beltway around the county’s most populous areas — and open more land for development — when fully built out around 2040. CFX officials said they anticipate initiating design work on State Road SR 534 in late 2024.

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City of St. Cloud, FL

(407) 957-7234

economicdevelopment@stcloudfl.gov

www.stcloudfl.gov

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