EUSTIS, Fla. – Along Lake Eustis, the day-to-day rhythm remains easy to recognize.
A fisherman pulls in his line from a dock, a father sends his child soaring on the swings, and families stroll beside the water. For generations, the lakefront has been part of the backdrop of life in this Lake County city.
Nearby, however, stands a building that many longtime residents say represents something more meaningful than a scenic waterfront location.
It represents memory.
For decades, the Eustis Community Center at 601 Northshore Drive has hosted weddings, birthday parties, graduations, fundraisers, civic meetings and countless other community celebrations.
That history could soon face a major turning point. A proposed $70 million redevelopment along the waterfront could transform the site, replacing the longtime community venue with a boutique hotel, apartments, restaurants and additional commercial development.
The plan has sparked a broader debate about Eustis’ future, including how much of the city’s history should remain intact.
To some residents, the potential closure or replacement of the Community Center would mean far more than the loss of a public building.
They see it as the possible disappearance of a part of home.
“I don’t want it taken away. I don’t,” said Gail Isaac-Thomas, who grew up in Eustis. “That makes me very sad, because, like I say, it’s so many memories we have here.”
A lifetime of memories behind one set of doors
Isaac-Thomas has returned to the Community Center for gatherings throughout much of her life.
“I’ve attended many events here. I’ve attended weddings, funerals, balls, and meetings,” she said.
She recalls celebrations held there in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when residents filled the venue to dance to music played by a disc jockey who came from Orlando.
Even after all these years, the building remains woven into her family’s story.
Among her most touching memories is a birthday celebration and fundraiser held for her great-granddaughter. As she described the occasion, emotion overtook her voice.
“That is very special. Very, very special,” she said.
And Isaac-Thomas is far from the only resident with a deep personal connection to the venue.
Gessner Harris said her group, the Silhouettes of Criterion, has made the Community Center the site of its annual debutante ball for 27 years.
“Every year for the last 27 years, our club, the Silhouettes of Criterion, has had a debutante ball held right here,” Harris said.
Now, she’s worried about where the tradition would continue if the building were no longer available.
Harris also recalled her aunt celebrating her 50th wedding anniversary at the center.
She pointed to graduations, cultural celebrations and other gatherings as examples of how the building has served people from different parts of the community.
Her concern is not simply that a familiar venue could disappear. It’s that the city has not committed to building a comparable replacement.
“What would you take away from the citizens and not give us anything else?” Harris asked.
What is the city considering?
The debate centers on a preliminary development concept called the Aquilo Waterfront District.
The proposal comes from AQ Mixed Use Lake Eustis, LLC, associated with CynerGreen Development.
Plans presented to city commissioners in August envision a mixed-use waterfront destination that could include an approximately 83-room boutique hotel, housing, dining establishments, commercial space, parking and areas intended for public use.
The developer estimates the project would represent approximately $70 million in private investment.
During an August 6 presentation, CynerGreen Development CEO Danielle Hoffer told commissioners the project could generate hundreds of construction jobs and approximately 175 permanent positions.
Those are developer projections, not jobs that have been created or guaranteed. The $70 million also represents the estimated overall development investment, not what the developer would pay the city for the land.
City officials see potential economic benefits.
The city’s Downtown Master Plan identifies the Community Center property as a location that could help stimulate redevelopment. Officials believe a waterfront development could attract visitors, encourage spending at downtown businesses and expand the city’s tourism and hospitality offerings.
In an August announcement, Mayor Emily Lee described the proposal as an opportunity to advance the city’s long-term vision while considering what would best serve future generations of residents.
But that vision comes with a substantial trade-off: a redevelopment of the Community Center property could mean losing the existing facility.
Importantly, the city has not approved a sale, and construction is not authorized.
On August 6, commissioners reached a 4-1 consensus allowing city staff to begin negotiating potential purchase and development agreements.
Commissioner Willie Hawkins opposed moving forward with negotiations at that stage, raising concerns about considering other options and finding suitable accommodations for existing community activities.
Any proposed agreement would still have to return to the City Commission for consideration and approval.
The city says the building needs significant maintenance
Eustis officials have also pointed to the condition of the Community Center.
According to information published on the city’s website, approximately $700,000 in maintenance needs is identified in its five-year capital improvement plan.
That figure represents identified maintenance needs, rather than a final estimate for completely renovating or modernizing the building.
At an April commission workshop, officials also discussed other possibilities, including repairing the existing facility or constructing a replacement.
Preliminary discussions put the potential cost of a new Community Center at approximately $4 million to $5 million.
The city has not finalized a new location or funded construction plan for a comparable replacement facility.
That distinction matters because the existing building is still being used.
According to the city, the Community Center hosted 179 events last year.
Its banquet hall can accommodate approximately 250 guests without a dance floor, 200 with one, or as many as 400 people in an auditorium-style arrangement.
The city advertises a full-service kitchen, stage, audiovisual equipment, banquet tables and other amenities. The property also includes a smaller meeting room, while the surrounding area offers waterfront recreation and a playground.
Rental rates currently advertised for city residents begin at $50 per hour on weekdays and $100 per hour on weekends, excluding applicable deposits and other charges.
For Harris, those amenities and traditions raise a practical question: Where will community organizations go if the property is redeveloped?
Could the Senior Center take its place?
City officials have considered using other existing facilities to accommodate activities currently held at the Community Center.
During the August 6 commission meeting, City Manager Rick Gierok explained that staff had reviewed a year’s worth of Community Center events.
According to the meeting minutes, staff estimated the city’s existing Senior Center could accommodate nearly all of those gatherings, with approximately three or four events requiring other arrangements.
Some larger activities, including graduations, could potentially be directed to other venues.
However, that is a preliminary assessment — not a finalized relocation plan or a commitment to provide a new Community Center.
James Vigil, who has lived in Eustis since 2004, believes the difference matters.
He lives near the waterfront and says he has watched countless celebrations take place at the center.
“Every time I drive by when I’m coming home from work, it’s just nice to see the happiness on people’s faces as they’re leaving the events,” Vigil said.
He worries that redirecting celebrations to different venues would change the experience of gathering as a community.
“I just feel that there’s no replacement,” he said. “The city has offered no replacement. There’s no new community center that’s on the books.”
The city says it is considering alternative accommodations, but no permanent replacement site has been selected.
Officials also say public access to the waterfront and existing public boat docks would remain available under the redevelopment vision.
Still unresolved are the specific legal protections that would guarantee that access under a final development agreement.
‘If we get rid of this, what’s next?’
For Michael Cross, whose family ties to the area stretch back generations, the concerns extend beyond the building itself.
Cross says the waterfront represents the kind of shared public property that generations of residents have enjoyed.
He worries selling the Community Center property could establish a precedent for other publicly owned spaces.
“If we get rid of this, what’s next? Everything? Is all our public lands for sale?” Cross asked.
Cross, who describes himself as a fourth-generation local resident and seventh-generation Floridian, believes the property should remain available for public gatherings and recreation.
“I want it to be for the public. I want it to be for everyone,” he said.
He has participated in efforts to raise awareness about the proposal, including an online petition and appearances supporting the Community Center.
Some residents have also raised questions about the history of the land, including century-old deeds associated with Pendleton Park.
The city maintains that its review found no existing deed restriction preventing a sale of the property. That is the city’s stated legal position; the underlying deed questions have not been independently resolved in this report.
Cross wants residents to have a more direct say before city leaders decide what happens next.
“Why don’t the citizens of Eustis be able to make this decision?” he asked. “Please consider this and let the people decide.”
The city says residents can participate through the public commission process, while maintaining that commissioners do not have authority to place the proposed sale itself on a referendum.
Why not build the hotel somewhere else?
While residents interviewed by News 6 expressed strong opposition to losing the Community Center, several made clear they were not opposed to economic development altogether.
Instead, they questioned why the development must happen on this particular piece of waterfront property.
Isaac-Thomas and Cross both pointed to the former Florida Hospital Waterman property in downtown Eustis.
The city acquired the approximately 4.8-acre site, spanning three blocks, in 2020.
The property, near Bay Street and Clifford Avenue, has remained a major redevelopment opportunity for years.
It includes vacant land and surface parking areas.
In fact, the city’s own earlier redevelopment planning documents have contemplated a hotel on that property.
A city Community Redevelopment Agency report outlined a conceptual development that included an 84- to 112-room hotel, retail space, housing, parking and an event or cultural venue.
Those earlier plans are not approved construction projects, and there is no confirmation the currently proposed Aquilo development could simply be moved there.
Nevertheless, for Isaac-Thomas, the alternative deserves serious consideration.
“We have three lots downtown Eustis that has been, have been empty for 20 years,” she said.
“Put it there. Leave our community center here for us to use.”
The city’s previous consideration of a hotel at the former hospital site adds another dimension to the debate.
Both locations have appeared in downtown redevelopment planning, but their differences in direct waterfront access, development feasibility, infrastructure and economics could affect what developers are willing to build.
Those comparisons remain important as the city considers what to do with its public property.
What happens next?
The future of the Community Center is still undecided.
On September 22, Eustis opened a 30-day window allowing other interested developers to submit proposals for the property.
The deadline is Friday, October 23, 2026, at 5 p.m.
Proposals can be submitted to the City of Eustis Purchasing Department at 10 N. Grove St., third floor.
The city says the original Aquilo proposal will be considered alongside any additional submissions.
The Community Center remains open, and existing reservations are continuing as scheduled.
Officials also plan to obtain independent property appraisals to help establish market value before any potential sale.
Among the unresolved questions are how the city would use money generated by a sale, whether a comparable community gathering place would be secured, and what enforceable protections would preserve public waterfront access.
Those questions will matter as commissioners weigh the potential economic benefits against residents’ concerns.
For Vigil, the worry is that the small-town identity he has come to appreciate could be altered.
“It’s gonna lose its whole … its whole charm,” he said.
He believes the proposed resort development could leave downtown looking substantially different.
Isaac-Thomas understands the desire to bring new investment into Eustis.
But she hopes the city can accomplish that without sacrificing the place where generations of families have celebrated their biggest moments.
She remembers the weddings. The reunions. The dances. The celebrations that helped make the Community Center part of everyday life in Eustis.
And she wants future generations to have the same opportunity.
As she put it, even people who have never visited the building can understand its importance once they walk through the doors.
“Once they do step inside, they can feel the love, because it’s for we the people.”
For now, those doors remain open.
And until city leaders make a final decision, residents like Isaac-Thomas intend to keep fighting for what they believe belongs to the community.
Because for them, the value of this waterfront property isn’t measured only by what could be built there — but by everything that has already happened inside it.
What residents should know
Is the Community Center being demolished? No demolition has been approved. Redevelopment remains under consideration.
Has Eustis sold the property? No. The City Commission has authorized negotiations but has not approved a final sale.
Can residents still rent the Community Center? Yes. The city says existing reservations remain in place.
What is being proposed? A roughly $70 million mixed-use waterfront development featuring hospitality, residential and commercial uses.
Could events be relocated? City staff believes the Senior Center could accommodate most events, but no permanent replacement Community Center has been approved.
When is the next deadline? Competing redevelopment proposals are due October 23, 2026.
Where can residents follow the process? The city has established a dedicated Community Center information page with updates, meeting records and public information about the proposal.
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