“Hey there. What’s happening with the old Winter Park Library building? I haven’t heard much since they opened the new building by the park.”
– BUNGALOWER READER
Winter Park’s City Commission will actually be voting on a proposed plan for the former library building at the upcoming City Commission meeting on Thursday, August 11.
The City of Winter Park issued a request for proposals to lease and renovate the currently vacant 33,000 SF building at 460 E. New England Avenue [GMap] following the exodus of the library to its new digs, which opened to the public in December 2021. And they received only one bid.
Harbert Realty Services, along with Brasfield and Gorrie and HuntonBrady (which both worked on the new library building), submitted the sole proposal to revamp the 43-year-old building over the summer. The $10.5 million plan calls to sublease the bottom floor of the building to wellness-focused businesses and to open a cafe, with the second and third floors serving as shared workspaces and offices as part of a business incubator program.
The commission will be voting on whether to accept the plan or to start the bidding process anew to see if they can drum up some more interest and while they have turned down the idea of selling the property at previous meetings, City Manager Randy Knight has since stated that he thinks they could make more money from selling than leasing and may table that suggestion again at the coming public meeting.
Harbert Realty is proposing a 60-year term on the lease for the property at $250,000 a year with a 10% escalation every five years, with four 10-year renewal options.
Do you have something you want us to look into for you? Send your question to [email protected] and we’ll check it out!
