Early plans for a new Lake County fairgrounds in Tavares were approved by county commissioners earlier this week.
The proposed site, a 68-acre property along County Road 448, has been owned by the county since the 1970s. It is directly adjacent to the Lake County Animal Shelter and less than a half-mile east of State Road 19.
Discussion of a new fairgrounds has been in the works for years now, with Lake County looking to negotiate the sale of its existing fairgrounds location as far back as 2022, according to a report in GrowthSpotter.
The current fairgrounds property — at the intersection of County Road 44 and County Road 452 in Eustis — was donated to Lake County by the City of Eustis in 1967.
Only used a few times a year, the fairgrounds do not have air-conditioned buildings and lack space for larger events like boat or car shows, mini-conferences and festivals.
According to Lake County Operations Director Angela Herald, the county has received funding for the new fairgrounds project in the form of infrastructure sales taxes, with $250,000 approved during the county’s 2021 fiscal year and an annual allocation of $500,000 approved beginning in the 2024 fiscal year.
Another $2 million in legislative funding was approved in Sept. 2023 through a grant from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
A concept plan for the new proposed Lake County Fairgrounds location on 68 acres along County Road 448 in Tavares. (Lake County Property Appraiser)
Herald said county staff was approached by Corey Warner of American Event Management, or AEM, to foster a public-private partnership for the construction and operation of the new fairgrounds facilities.
Emily Colón of Orlando-based lobbying firm The Southern Group, representing AEM, said the company sought board approval of a concept plan first and will bring forward a more detailed analysis in the future.
“We’ll start digging into the cost analysis numbers, and we’re hoping to have those numbers towards the end of the year and come back to you,” she said.
Current plans for the site show a 150,000-square-foot event center and a livestock barn with 22 acres of space for rides and events.
Commissioner Anthony Sabatini said he supports the initial concept plan, citing it as an example of the type of public-private partnerships he would like to see more frequently in Lake County.
“I totally support moving forward because no matter what happens at the end of the day, we’re sketching out a firm concept and we’re exploring what I always think is a good idea,” he said. “I think every city and county should be exploring public-private partnerships. Pulling the final trigger is another question, but moving in that direction, as long as it’s not super expensive, I absolutely support it.”
Commissioner Leslie Campione agreed, stating that the project has “potential” with some help from a private source.
“I love the idea of a private entity stepping up and actually running with this project,” Campione said. “As long as whatever agreement we have is fair and equitable and we’re satisfied with the terms.”
There has been significant development activity in the area recently.
Earlier this month, just up the road from the proposed fairgrounds location, national homebuilder Richmond American Homes recently closed on the $10 million purchase of 90 lots within the nearby Seaport Village community.
Seaport Village is a 146-unit community in Tavares from Winter Park developer The Henin Group, who sold 90 lots to Richmond American Homes for $10 million. (The Henin Group)
Winter Park developer The Henin Group is advancing the 146-unit Seaport Village community on Slim Haywood Avenue just off State Road 19 and County Road 561 in Tavares.
Next to Seaport Village, active adult community Cresswind at Lake Harris received approval of its Phase 2 and Phase 3 preliminary plat from the Tavares City Council earlier this month.
Once complete, Cresswind at Lake Harris will span 220 acres and offer a total of 625 single-family homes, a community pool, tennis and pickleball courts, a dog park, and a trail network.
Have a tip about Central Florida development? Contact me at jwilkins@orlandosentinel.com or 407-754-4980. Follow GrowthSpotter on Facebook and LinkedIn.
