Mount Dora City Council OKs design, engineering contract for new community, recreation center

MOUNT DORA — The Mount Dora City Council unanimously approved a more than $1 million contract with Borrelli & Partners for two-phased design and engineering plans to develop a community resource and recreation center.

The vote on August 2 was a culmination of a yearlong discussion on a proposed multi-purpose facility in the northeast district of the Mount Dora. The future center will sit on city property — the former site of the city's public works department — located at Lincoln Avenue and Highland Street with the building planned on the east end of the lot.

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About the project

The proposed 26,100 square-foot center will include a computer and technology lab, commercial kitchen, meeting and classroom spaces and indoor recreation courts with locker rooms, among other features.

“This is a complex project that we’ve assumed for a while that will be in the $10 to $12 million price range based on current construction prices," said Adam Sumner, Mount Dora's deputy city planner.

He added that, in the best-case scenario, a year from today could be the groundbreaking followed by 18 months of construction.

The contract with Borelli requires two meetings for residents and resource providers to provide feedback on the plans. The facility would be open to all city residents.

Prior to the council meeting, the Northeast Community Redevelopment Agency agreed on the amenities listed for the center. Funds for the contract will come from the agency’s budget. While city council members serve as the decision makers, the Northeast CRA Advisory Committee — composed of seven volunteer representatives of the community — makes recommendations to the council.

During public comment, Bobby Rowe, Pastor of Saving Faith Baptist Church in the city, pleaded with the council for urgency.  

“We need to move forward now. N-O-W. No opportunity wasted,” he said. “If prices are going up, let’s lock in these rates that we have now. And let’s move forward. Let’s not keep procrastinating"

"We’ve been over this time and time again,” said CRA committee member Rona Rowe. “I think that the community has decided that this is what we want.”

“We’re past time,” said Council Member Nate Walker who previously served on the committee. “There’s documented evidence where 20 years ago, or maybe 22 years ago, where this was discussed... We are all in agreement that this is something needed.”

What is the Northeast CRA?

Established in 1990 by the city in response to neighborhood residents, the Northeast CRA is one of more than 200 CRAs operating in Florida. The state enacted legislation in 1969 that allows local governments to set aside funds for the revitalization of areas through a variety of community-driven strategies and initiatives.

The northeast district is generally defined by Limit Avenue to the north, Tenth and Eleventh avenues on the south, and Baker and Tremain streets on the west.

In addition to the center, the city’s long-term plan for the northeast area features a variety of projects, including a “thriving” Grandview Street business area and the establishment of a job training program for residents of the district. Another goal cited is to “work with the private sector to create a ‘healthy mix’ of affordable, workforce, and market rate housing.”

The area features historic sites such as the Witherspoon building. Designated as a Florida Historic Heritage landmark, the structure housed a Masonic Lodge beginning in 1903. It was also used as a public school in the 1920s, a church sanctuary, youth library and community center. The city is seeking to own the building.

According to a 2021 community profile in a “Commercial Market Study for Grandview” commissioned by the city, 62% of the households in the CRA earn less than $50,000 per year. Of those, about 22% make under $15,000. The neighborhood’s racial composition is with about 49% identifying as white followed by 38% as Black and 22% Hispanic. In the city, nearly 73% of the population is white while about 20% are Black and 13% Hispanic.

Other development projects in the works 

Demolition on the three-acre Cauley Lott Park at Highland and Pine Avenue also has begun. The renovation of the existing park includes new restrooms, covered basketball court, renovated stage, sidewalks and pavilion, according to the site plan submitted to the city. The city estimates that the project will take a total of four months. Prior to construction work, the park recently was the spot for a Juneteenth festival.

Meanwhile, land clearing has begun on a 9 1/2-acre parcel to make way for the Oaks at Dora Landing. Planned are 26 single-family homes. Formerly known as the Limit Avenue Property, the site sits at the corner of Limit and Highland Street.

Last year, the CRA purchased three properties totaling about two acres intended for the building of affordable housing in the community. Designed to encourage the rehabilitation of existing housing, the city also administers a Home Repair Grant Funding Program. Offered to homeowners within the CRA, grants are executed with matching funds from the Habitat for Humanity of Lake and Sumter County.