Ortega Apartments for Rent

With its massive oak trees, sprawling mansions overlooking St. Johns River, and idyllic parks, Ortega is one of the city’s most picturesque neighborhoods. For residents who want easy access to waterways, Ortega, one of Florida’s wealthiest neighborhoods, is home to hundreds of turn-of-the-century homes and large mansions set directly on the river. Legend has it that noted gangster George “Machine Gun” Kelly and his wife were renting a home on Grand Avenue in 1933 when the police raided and the couple somehow escaped out the back door.

The home designs are quite diverse in Ortega and you see everything from Tudor Revival, Colonial Revival, and Queen Anne styles to classic American two-story homes and Mediterranean-inspired designs with barrel tile roofs. Ortega, which encompasses zip codes 32244, 32210, and 32212, is contained by Roosevelt Boulevard on the west, St. Johns River on the east, I-295 on the south, and Cedar River on the north. Ortega is bisected by U.S. 17, with the older area to the east of the road known as “Old Ortega” and the area to the west of the road referred to as “Ortega Forest.”

Most of the area is residential except for “Old Ortega,” where there is a small collection of shops and restaurants. Old Ortega was designated a Historic District and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.

Of the many appealing aspects of Ortega are its beautiful tree-laden parks, such as Stockton Park, situated along the St. Johns River; Seminole Park, a popular spot for weddings and touch football games; Yerkes Park, a triangular shaped park that is an integral part of Old Ortega; Columbus Park, which is dominated by mature oak, pine, and palm trees; Desoto Park, a circular park; Bettes Park, which has benches where you can relax under huge oak trees; and Cortez Park, a circular park that is home to one of the neighborhood’s most popular annual festivals, the Fall Festival at Ortega.

Many of the wealthiest residents of Ortega belong to one or both of the following local private clubs: the Florida Yacht Club and Timuquana Country Club.