Clermont Main Street wants 650 W. Montrose St. for a welcome center, paying half up front. City Council weighs it Tuesday, plus a $1.2M engine for Fire Station 6.
The city building at 650 W. Montrose St., across from City Hall, could become a downtown welcome center. Clermont Main Street has offered $1.3 million for it. The City Council takes up the offer at its meeting at 3 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall.
The city bought the building to house fire offices and then never moved in. Staff are asking the council for direction, not a final vote. The proposal and a draft resolution are in the agenda packet for Oct. 27.
How the city ended up with an empty building
The staff report sets out the history:
- October 2023: the council approved buying the property for about $785,000, for fire administration offices.
- After the purchase: the city paid for design and renovation, bringing its total investment to $1,219,578.
- Then: the city decided fire staff would move into the 12th Street fire training complex once that was renovated instead.
- June 24, 2025: the council voted to declare the building surplus and sell it. The money was to go toward more space for utility billing, either a new building or a renovation of the current one.
- July 26, 2026: Clermont Main Street sent an unsolicited offer. The city advertised it and opened a period for competing bids. No other offers came in.
The draft resolution says the building “has stood vacant since its acquisition.”
What Clermont Main Street is offering
The buyer would be Clermont Main Street II Inc., a nonprofit, according to the draft resolution. It would use the building as “a permanent downtown welcome center and headquarters.” The offer’s terms, from the staff report:
- Price: $1.3 million, to be confirmed by an independent appraisal. Clermont Main Street would share the cost of the appraisal.
- At closing: $650,000 from a bank loan.
- The rest: a promissory note to the city, backed by a second mortgage. No principal or interest would be paid until two small building lots at the front of the site are sold. The note would carry no interest during that time. Any balance would be due within 36 months of closing.
- The front lots: two pads, each 24 feet by 24 feet, sold to private buyers for small infill buildings. That is the layout the city’s Comprehensive Plan already shows for the frontage.
- Protections for the city: a recorded covenant keeping the building in downtown revitalization, civic, welcome center or similar office use for at least 10 years. The city could also buy the property back if that use stops or the property is transferred early.
The draft resolution would only approve the sale if the appraisal comes in at or below the price. It leaves the final price and the proposal date blank for the council to fill in. It also would let the city manager sign the closing documents without another council vote, unless the terms change materially.
The sale money would go into the city’s General Fund, the staff report says.
Also on Tuesday’s agenda
A new fire engine for Station 6. The council is asked to buy a pumper engine from Ten-8 Fire & Safety for $1,199,783, through a national purchasing contract. It would serve the sixth station planned for the northeast of the city. The fire department applied for a federal Assistance to Firefighters Grant but was not picked this year, the staff report says. The engine could be built to Clermont’s specifications in about 10 months. Custom engines otherwise take about 48 months. Without it, a 2014 reserve engine would go into front-line service. The money would come from $1 million already budgeted in fire impact fees and $199,783 from General Fund reserves. Most of the cost of the station’s 18 firefighters comes from the federal grant the council accepted Oct. 13.
Safe Haven Baby Boxes. The Live Well Foundation awarded Clermont and Groveland, about eight miles west, $250,000 in January. The grant pays for seven boxes: four at Clermont fire stations and three in Groveland, plus public education. Clermont holds the money. The agreement on the agenda sets out how the two cities share it. The city’s first box is being built into the rebuild of Fire Station 2.
Free boat ramp parking for disabled veterans. City residents who are disabled veterans would get an annual boat ramp parking permit at no charge. They would need proof of residency and a VA disability letter, a Defense Department ID showing disability status or other documentation the city accepts.
Other items on the consent agenda, the list the city treats as routine:
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Two Isuzu trash collection trucks and one flatbed, for sanitation | $428,639 |
| Drinking Water Facilities Plan, Woodard & Curran | $300,000 |
| Engineering for sidewalks in the DeSoto area, Wright-Pierce | $198,700 |
| Design of a multistory drill tower for the fire training facility | $95,600 |
| Breathing air compressor and fill station for Fire Station 2 | $73,097.56 |
The council would also sign up three companies to install public electric vehicle chargers at city-owned sites. The staff report says the program has no upfront cost to the city and shares revenue with it. The contracts run 10 years.
Land use and development. Final votes are scheduled on the land use change and rezoning for a 5-acre vacant lot northeast of Oakley Seaver Drive and Hunt Trace Boulevard. A final vote on the land development code’s administrative adjustments is also listed. Three ordinances for the Clermont West, Fox Hill property southwest of Hooks Street and Sandhill View Boulevard get their first reading: annexation, a land use change and a rezoning.
Lincoln Park Community Center. A resident asked the council to choose a site and tell staff to move ahead with a Lincoln Park community center at McKinney Park.
Still withdrawn: the e-bike ordinance. Item 15 reads “This item has been withdrawn,” as it was Oct. 13. Our e-bike story has the background.
What it means for you
- Speak at the meeting. Public comment comes early in the meeting. Each speaker gets three minutes. Anyone can also ask to speak on a consent item.
- Watch the 650 W. Montrose St. decision. If the council moves ahead, the price still has to pass an appraisal. Half would be paid when the sale closes, and the rest within three years.
- Disabled veterans who launch at city ramps can expect the free permit process once the resolution passes. Staff would write the eligibility rules and update the fee schedule.
- Questions for city departments: see who to call at City Hall.
Have your say