Housing & Development · Eustis, FL
Eustis Weighs Sale of Lakefront Community Center; Proposal Window Closes Oct. 22
The City of Eustis opened a 30-day period on Sept. 22 for builders to submit development proposals for its Northshore Drive community center, which has hosted weddings, funerals, and events since 1965 and overlooks Lake Eustis. At an Oct. 14 community meeting and the following day's City Commission session, residents voiced anger over a disclosed $700,000 repair need, while businessman Daniel DiVenanzo endorsed selling the site to a developer proposing a hotel-and-brewery resort he says would generate 125 jobs and $7 million in city revenue. The city states the community center remains open and operating, with no decision date set; any sale agreement must return to the commission for a public vote. The original developer approached Eustis in 2025 about the former Waterman Hospital blocks on Bay Street before the city suggested the community center as an alternative site.