Laureate Park's oldest park is a lawn, a fountain and two pavilions. The model homes went up around it, and it's still where the neighborhood shows up for yoga, movies and food trucks.
Crescent Park is a public park in Laureate Park, Lake Nona, listed at 8374 Upper Perse Circle, Orlando, FL 32827. It has a large open lawn, a fountain and two covered pavilions. It is the oldest park in Laureate Park: the neighborhood's original model homes were built around it, on Lower Perse Circle and Walcott Avenue. It hosts Yoga Nona on Saturday mornings, Crescent Cinema movie nights and food truck nights. It has no pool, gym or courts; those are at the Laureate Park aquatic and fitness center.
Every new neighborhood starts somewhere. Before most of its streets had houses on them, Laureate Park was a row of model homes facing a lawn with a fountain in the middle. That lawn is Crescent Park.
It's not the flashiest park in Lake Nona. What it has is history, a good view from the front porches around it, and a calendar. Here's what's there, who can use it, and what it's actually like to live across the street from it.
What is Crescent Park in Laureate Park?
Crescent Park is a public park in the original section of Laureate Park: a large open lawn with a fountain and two covered pavilions.
That's the whole inventory, and it's deliberate. The park is built for gathering, not for equipment. The lawn is big enough for a yoga class or a movie crowd, the pavilions give you shade in a Florida summer, and the fountain is the thing the homes around it are pointed at. The pool, gym and courts Laureate Park residents use are a short walk away at the aquatic and fitness center, not in the park.
| Neighborhood | Laureate Park, Lake Nona |
|---|---|
| Listed address | 8374 Upper Perse Circle, Orlando, FL 32827 |
| Surrounding streets | Lower Perse Circle and Walcott Avenue |
| Amenities | Large open lawn, fountain, two covered pavilions |
| Access | Public |
| Regular events | Yoga Nona (Saturday mornings), Crescent Cinema movie nights, food truck nights |
Why is Crescent Park the oldest park in Laureate Park?
Crescent Park is Laureate Park's oldest park because the neighborhood's original model homes were built around it.
When a builder opens a new community, the model row goes where buyers will see the best version of it. In Laureate Park that meant facing Crescent Park. The public record backs this up: the homes on Lower Perse Circle and Walcott Avenue that look onto the park are recorded as Laureate Park Phase 1A, county records date several of them to 2012 and 2013, and at least one on Walcott Avenue has been marketed on resale as a former model home.
That matters for more than trivia. The first section of a master-planned community is where the developer puts the most care into first impressions: the park view, the front porches, the detached rear garages on alleys. Buyers who want Laureate Park's original look, rather than the later phases, are shopping around this lawn.
One more detail for anyone who reads street signs. Laureate Park names its streets for Nobel laureates, and the two that ring this park share their names with two poets who won the Nobel Prize in Literature: Saint-John Perse in 1960 and Derek Walcott in 1992. The neighborhood's first park is, in a manner of speaking, surrounded by poetry.
Is Crescent Park open to the public?
Yes. Crescent Park has public access; you don't need to live in Laureate Park to use it.
This is worth saying plainly because some real estate sites describe Laureate Park's parks as residents-only. That's not the case for Crescent Park. Lake Nona's own listing for its Saturday yoga session describes it as open to residents and visitors, and the events held here are neighborhood events anyone can walk into. If you're visiting, be a good guest: it's a public lawn, but it's also the front yard of every house facing it.
What events are held at Crescent Park?
Crescent Park hosts Yoga Nona on Saturday mornings, Crescent Cinema movie nights on the lawn, and food truck nights.
Yoga Nona is the longest-running fixture: a community class on the lawn that Lake Nona's calendar has listed from 9 to 10 a.m. on Saturdays, pitched at all ages and skill levels. Crescent Cinema turns the lawn into an outdoor theater for a movie after dark. Food truck nights round it out.
What nobody publishes is who runs each of these, and that makes the schedule the hard part. The dependable move is to check Lake Nona's official calendar, which lists Crescent Park as a venue, or our Lake Nona events page before you go. Don't assume last month's movie night means there's one this month.
What is it like to live facing Crescent Park?
Living on Crescent Park means a lawn and fountain view instead of a neighbor's garage door, with the neighborhood's events happening outside your front door.
That's a real selling point. Resale listings on Lower Perse Circle lead with the park and fountain view, and a front porch facing open lawn is exactly what the Phase 1A design was built to sell. You're walking distance from the aquatic and fitness center and from the Laureate Park village center.
It is also, on event nights, the busiest block in the neighborhood. More cars on the street, more people on the sidewalk, a movie soundtrack drifting across the lawn. Some buyers want exactly that. Others want a quiet street and treat park frontage as a drawback. Neither is wrong; decide which you are before you fall for the porch. As with any Laureate Park address, check the assessments for the specific lot; our Lake Nona CDD fees guide explains what to look for.
The Honest Version: Pros, Cons and Our Take
Pros
- Public access, so a visiting family doesn't need a resident to get in.
- Covered pavilions, which matter more than anything else in a Florida park between June and September.
- A real event calendar: yoga, movies and food trucks, all in one walkable spot.
- For homeowners, a park view in Laureate Park's original section, the part of the neighborhood built to make the first impression.
Cons
- It's a lawn, a fountain and two pavilions. If your kids want equipment to climb, this isn't the park for them.
- Nobody publishes who runs the events, so schedules take some checking.
- For the homes facing it, event nights mean traffic, parked cars and noise.
Our Take: As a destination, Crescent Park is a Saturday-morning yoga class or a movie night, not a day out. As a place to live next to, it's one of the better arguments for Laureate Park's original section, provided you like having the neighborhood's social life on your front lawn. Visit on an event night before you buy on this block.
What the Neighbors Know
For Laureate Park residents, Crescent Park is less a park you drive to than the neighborhood's front yard.
The people who use it most live within a few blocks, and for them the yoga class and the movie nights are a walk, not a drive. Laureate Park has newer parks, a trail, and bigger fields down the road at Heroes Community Park, and the full list lives on our Lake Nona parks hub. But this is where the neighborhood started. Before there were streets full of homes, there was a lawn, a fountain, and a row of model houses facing them. The lawn is still the place people gather.
Official Sources
Thinking about a home facing Crescent Park, or anywhere else in Laureate Park? Call/Text David Myers at 407.801.3286 or use the contact form. And no, I'm not going to blow up your phone. I've got enough to do (and so do you).
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Crescent Park in Lake Nona?
Crescent Park sits in the original section of Laureate Park, ringed by Lower Perse Circle and Walcott Avenue. Lake Nona lists its address as 8374 Upper Perse Circle, Orlando, FL 32827.
Is Crescent Park open to the public?
Yes. Crescent Park has public access, and Lake Nona describes its Saturday yoga session as open to residents and visitors alike.
What amenities does Crescent Park have?
A large open lawn, a fountain and two covered pavilions. The pool, gym and courts residents use are at the Laureate Park aquatic and fitness center, not in the park.
What events are held at Crescent Park?
Yoga Nona on Saturday mornings, Crescent Cinema movie nights on the lawn, and food truck nights. Dates change, so check Lake Nona's events calendar before you go.
Why is Crescent Park the oldest park in Laureate Park?
Laureate Park's original model homes were built around it. The homes facing the park are recorded in Laureate Park Phase 1A, and county records date several of them to 2012 and 2013.
What is it like to live facing Crescent Park?
You get a lawn and fountain view in place of a house across the street, and the neighborhood's events happen outside your front door. The trade-off is more cars and more people on the street on event nights.
