Here is a look at the national numbers behind the move Downtown, and what they look like on the ground in Downtown New Port Richey.

Downtown Living at a Glance

• Location over lot size: 59% of residents in the 50 largest U.S. metros would take a smaller lot in a neighborhood they can get around on foot over a bigger lot that means more driving (National Association of Realtors, 2026)
• Willing to pay for it: 63% say they would pay more to live where they can easily stroll to parks, shops and restaurants
• Rare and valuable: Neighborhoods built for foot traffic cover just 1.2% of the land in the 35 largest U.S. metros but produce 19.1% of the nation’s GDP (Smart Growth America)
• Renting by choice: Over the last decade, most new rental demand has come from higher-income households (Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, 2026)
• Home is the office: About 27% of paid workdays in the U.S. were worked from home in December 2025 (WFH Research)
• Right here: The Central on Orange Lake sits across from Orange Lake and Sims Park, a few blocks from Richey Suncoast Theatre and the restaurants of Main Street

What the Numbers Say

Every three years, the National Association of Realtors asks 2,000 residents of the country’s 50 largest metro areas what they want from the place they live. Its 2026 Community and Transportation Preference Survey, released in July, found that 89% consider sidewalks and places to walk important when choosing a home, and 82% want shops and parks within an easy stroll. Nearly two-thirds, 63%, said they would pay more for it.

Here is the catch: people want to live near the things they love, and few places actually deliver it. Smart Growth America’s Foot Traffic Ahead report found that what it calls walkable urban places make up only 1.2% of the land in the 35 largest U.S. metros, yet they are home to 6.8% of the population and generate 19.1% of the country’s GDP. In those places, the report measured rental premiums of 47% for apartments and offices. High demand, thin supply.

Experience Over Square Footage

Renters are not settling for less space. Many are choosing it. Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies reported in March that most new rental demand over the last decade has come from higher-income households: renters with options who are deciding what is worth paying for. In a RentCafe survey of renters, 63% called in-unit laundry a must-have, and when renters ranked what matters in a neighborhood, 39% put being able to get around on foot at the top of the list.

Put those together and you get a renter who wants the home to do a few things very well and wants the neighborhood to handle the rest. The second living room is the coffee shop. The backyard is the park. The entertainment budget goes to a show and a glass of wine on Grand Boulevard instead of a bigger house on a quieter street.

The Commute That Disappeared

Remote work did not vanish when the offices reopened. It settled in. Economists at WFH Research, who survey American workers every month, found that about 27% of paid workdays in December 2025 were worked from home. Across 2025, 12% of full-time employees were fully remote and another 27% worked a hybrid schedule.

When the commute shrinks to a hallway, the neighborhood matters more. A home office is only part of the picture. The rest is having somewhere to go at 3 PM when the walls start closing in: a lap around Orange Lake, a coffee on Main Street, a table at the New Port Richey Public Library. In Downtown New Port Richey, all three are a few blocks apart, which makes for a very different workday than one spent two exits away from anything.

Trading Upkeep for Time

The move Downtown is not just a first-apartment story. It makes just as much sense for the empty nesters ready to let go of the big yard, the retirees who came south and never want to replace another roof, and the professionals who simply did the math on their weekends. A lot of people would rather spend Saturday on the river or at a matinee than on a ladder cleaning gutters.

That is the trade: less house to take care of, more life within reach. On-site maintenance handles the repairs. The yard is Sims Park, and somebody else mows it.

Why Downtown New Port Richey

Florida has no shortage of new apartments. What it has fewer of are true town centers, with a century of history, a working Main Street and a calendar that fills itself. New Port Richey has one, and it has spent the last decade earning it back.

In 2019, Tampa Bay 28 found that very few Downtown storefronts were still empty, and talked to a returning resident who remembered Downtown as “the place you avoided” and now asked, “What is this place? What happened? It’s cool.” By 2024, City Manager Debbie Manns told the station the city had seen three years of steady interest bringing new retail, restaurants and housing styles, “a lot of new direction that we haven’t seen in the past.” Main Street program director Tina Gordon described a safe Downtown where you can cover the whole district on foot and see a lot of different things.

You can see it in the landmarks. The 1927 Hacienda Hotel reopened as a boutique hotel in 2022 after years of restoration. Sims Park has been renovated along the Pithlachascotee River. Richey Suncoast Theatre fills its season on Grand Boulevard, and New Port Richey Main Street keeps the Downtown District busy with Fourth Friday, concerts and markets. The Central on Orange Lake sits in the middle of it all, across from Orange Lake and Sims Park, which is exactly what those national surveys describe, at small-town scale.

Downtown Living: Frequently Asked Questions

Why are more renters choosing Downtown living?

National surveys point to location and lifestyle. In the National Association of Realtors’ 2026 survey, 82% said being within an easy stroll of shops and parks is important, and 59% would choose a smaller lot to get it.

Will people pay more to live near shops and parks?

Yes. In the same 2026 survey, 63% said they would pay more to live where they can easily reach parks, shops and restaurants on foot.

Is working from home still common?

Yes. WFH Research found that about 27% of paid workdays in the U.S. were worked from home in December 2025.

What is there to do in Downtown New Port Richey?

Sims Park concerts and events, shows at Richey Suncoast Theatre, the Fourth Friday Block Party, the New Port Richey Public Library, the Pithlachascotee River, and dozens of restaurants and shops along Main Street and Grand Boulevard.

Where is The Central on Orange Lake?

6332 Grand Boulevard in Downtown New Port Richey, across from Orange Lake and Sims Park.

Life at The Central

The surveys say people want to live close to the good stuff. Come see what that looks like here. Take a look at our community amenities, check floor plans and availability, or schedule a tour. You can also call or text 727.478.0770 to learn more about life here.

The post Why More Renters Are Choosing Downtown Living appeared first on The Central on Orange Lake Apartments Blog.

Downtown New Port Richey is in one of those moments. Storefronts that sat empty for years have tenants again, and sidewalks that went quiet after five o’clock now carry people into the evening.

Borrowed From Places That Got It Right

The Central on Orange Lake takes its cues from places that solved this centuries ago: the curve of Bath’s Royal Crescent, where buildings wrap around shared green space, and Parisian avenues, where buildings mirror one another and frame a view at the end. Central Avenue follows that idea, with buildings that answer each other, long narrow balconies, and a straight line to Orange Lake, with the tower residences in the Sarazen and Irwin buildings standing as the gateway.

Better, Not Simply Bigger

Starkey, who grew up in New Port Richey and sits on the national board of the Congress for the New Urbanism, puts it simply: the goal is to guide change “in ways that are going to make it better, not simply bigger.” Downtown does not have to choose between staying the same and losing what makes it worth living in.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who developed The Central on Orange Lake?

Frank Starkey’s People Places, which completed the community in 2019.

What inspired the design of The Central?

Bath’s Royal Crescent and Parisian avenues, guided by new urbanist principles.

Life at The Central

Take a look at our community amenities, check floor plans and availability, or schedule a tour. You can also call or text 727.478.0770 to learn more about life here.

The post Growing Downtown New Port Richey, Thoughtfully appeared first on The Central on Orange Lake Apartments Blog.

Most of Florida was built around the car. Downtown New Port Richey was built around people: waterfront parks along the Pithlachascotee River, and independent shops, coffee houses and restaurants a few blocks from each other. The Central on Orange Lake sits right in the middle of it all.

What a Day Here Looks Like

Coffee is a few blocks away. Dinner is a spontaneous decision, not a reservation across town. Sims Park and the riverfront turn sunset into a daily habit instead of a weekend plan, and with paddleboard and kayak storage on-site, the river is part of the routine too.

Why It Matters

Starkey has said he got into new urbanism to “create places where people want to put down roots and know their neighbors.” That is the difference here. Downtown is small enough that familiar faces show up at the same coffee shop and the same Fourth Friday every month, in a Downtown District supported by New Port Richey Main Street.

Downtown New Port Richey: Frequently Asked Questions

What is it like to live in Downtown New Port Richey?

Parks, the riverfront, restaurants and shops are all steps from home, no driving required.

What is near The Central on Orange Lake?

Sims Park, Orange Lake, the Pithlachascotee River and the local businesses along Main Street.

Life at The Central

Take a look at our community amenities, check floor plans and availability, or schedule a tour. You can also call or text 727.478.0770 to learn more about life here.

The post Why Downtown New Port Richey Is One of Florida’s Most Walkable Places to Live appeared first on The Central on Orange Lake Apartments Blog.