Clermont council moves ahead on $1.3M Montrose sale

Clermont is a step closer to selling its empty building at 650 W. Montrose St. to Clermont Main Street. The City Council voted 5-0 on Tuesday to have staff draft a negotiated agreement with the nonprofit.

That is the outcome recorded in the city’s summary of actions for the Oct. 27 meeting. It is direction to staff, not a final sale. The council did not adopt the draft resolution in the agenda packet.

Where the sale stands

Clermont Main Street offered $1.3 million for the building, across the street from City Hall. It wants a permanent downtown welcome center and headquarters there. We set out the full offer in our story before the meeting.

The main terms in the staff report:

• Price: $1.3 million, subject to an independent appraisal.
• At closing: $650,000 from a bank loan.
• The rest: a city-held note, paid off as two small lots at the front of the site are sold, with any balance due within 36 months.
• Protections: a 10-year covenant on the building’s use and a city option to buy it back.

The city paid about $785,000 for the property in 2023. With design and renovation, its total investment reached $1,219,578, the staff report says. Fire offices were meant to move in. They never did, and the council declared the building surplus in June 2025.

The negotiated agreement still has to come back to the council. The appraisal has not yet been done.

Lincoln Park community center

A resident asked the council to pick a site and move ahead with a Lincoln Park community center at McKinney Park, according to the agenda packet.

The council voted 4-1 to:

• work with the South Lake Alliance
• earmark funding for the project
• return in July 2027 with a business concept plan

The summary of actions does not give an amount or say who voted against.

What else the council decided

Delayed: final votes on the land use change and rezoning for a 5-acre lot northeast of Oakley Seaver Drive and Hunt Trace Boulevard. Both were tabled to the Nov. 10 meeting, 5-0.

Approved, 5-0: three variances for the Green Mountain subdivision, a 127-lot plan next to Florida’s Turnpike. The staff report lists them:

• cut and fill deeper than the city’s 10-foot limit over more than a tenth of the site, up to 16 feet in places
• no sidewalk on two internal street segments that face open space
• private streets and sidewalks inside the subdivision

The developer had dropped a fourth request, a waiver of the tree replacement rules, before the vote, the staff report says.

Approved, 5-0: the consent agenda, as amended. It included:

The consent agenda also carried free boat ramp parking for city residents who are disabled veterans, which the summary lists as approved as amended. It also covered the Safe Haven Baby Boxes agreement with Groveland, about eight miles west, and the electric vehicle charging contracts.

Also approved, 5-0:

• the land development code’s administrative adjustments, as amended
• a lien reduction request on one residential property, cut to 5% of the lien, rising to 10% if not paid within 10 days
• an appointment to the Code Enforcement Board

Introduced: three ordinances for the Clermont West, Fox Hill property southwest of Hooks Street and Sandhill View Boulevard. They cover annexation, a land use change and a rezoning. First readings passed 5-0.

Still withdrawn: the e-bike ordinance. Our e-bike story has the background.

The meeting ran from 3 p.m. to 8:37 p.m., the summary shows.

What it means for you

• Downtown: no sale has happened yet. Watch council agendas for the negotiated agreement on 650 W. Montrose St. and the appraisal figure.
• Lincoln Park: the community center plan is due back in July 2027. The council has not named an amount.
• Oakley Seaver Drive neighbors: the land use and rezoning votes are now set for Nov. 10.
• Disabled veterans who use city boat ramps: the free parking permit is approved. Staff still have to set the eligibility process.
• Questions for city departments: see who to call at City Hall.