MOUNT DORA, Fla. — The Mount Dora City Council decided to move forward with a controversial development in the Wolf Branch Innovation District, amid threats about a possible lawsuit from both proponents and opponents.

What You Need To Know

  • After the city initially shot down the development last year, a special magistrate judge sided with the developer

  • The project features a 175-foot tall building, which residents say they fear will tarnish the quaint atmosphere of Mount Dora

  • Lawyers representing the developers say the project is slated to bring tens of thousands of jobs to the area

Josh Hemingway is one of a handful of residents who spoke out against the project at Tuesday’s city council meeting. The project is slated to go in Mount Dora’s Wolf Branch Innovation District, along State Road 46 near the Wekiva Parkway, and features luxury apartments and commercial space. Hemingway said he first took an interest in the project after seeing digital renderings of the plans.

“That was the eye-opener,” said Hemingway, who is a resident of Mount Dora.

It also will be an eyesore, according to Hemingway. Some residents have equated the project, which features a 175-foot tall building, to Central Florida’s very own “I-4 eyesore.” 

Hemingway said he’s also concerned whether Mount Dora’s infrastructure can support such a project.

“We already have issues with our sewage plants, our wastewater.…and then there’s this,” he said.

Lawyers for the developers said the project will have the capacity in place once it reaches completion. They also said there are major economic perks associated with bringing it to Mount Dora.

“It’s estimated this will impact 17,000 jobs during construction, and post-construction — 14,000 jobs. The project overall will have a revenue of $2.4 billion,” said Brent Spain, a lawyer with Theriaque and Spain.

City council also had other factors at play in their decision making. If the project was shot down, there could be a possibility they would have gotten a lawsuit from the developers and face a violation of the Burt Harris Act.

“It’s always a possibility. That’s the threat that every developer in Florida has used for years,” said James Homich, an attorney in Mount Dora. “They ask for something way beyond what they’re entitled to, and then the city gets afraid.”

But now, as plans for the project move forward, Hemingway and Homich said they intend to file their own lawsuit against the city.

Meanwhile, the project still has several other steps and processes to go through. Developers will have two years to submit a site plan for approval, which is a comprehensive report surveying everything from ecological impact to whether infrastructure is available to support the development.