Eustis residents are pushing back hard against a proposal to sell the city-owned waterfront community center to a private developer, with tensions boiling over into a public rally this week and even a politically motivated arrest. At the center of the fight is a $70 million plan that would replace the beloved lakeside gathering spot with a resort, condos, and a parking garage.
The project, known as Aquilo Resort and Residences, comes from AQ Mixed Use Lake Eustis, LLC, a venture tied to CynerGreen Development. According to The North Lake Outpost, the proposal calls for an 83-room boutique hotel, 40 to 50 apartments, 10 lakefront townhomes, restaurants, office space, and a 342-space parking garage on the site currently occupied by the community center. As FOX 35 Orlando reports, residents are organizing against the sale of the waterfront property outright.
The Eustis City Commission voted 4-1 on August 6 to authorize city staff to begin negotiating purchase terms and conduct due diligence with CynerGreen. Commissioner Willie Hawkins cast the lone dissenting vote, citing concerns about alternative options and the displacement of community events, the same meeting where CynerGreen CEO Danielle Hoffer pitched the economic upside of the project.
A Window for Competing Bids
The city isn't moving forward unchallenged, at least not yet. The City of Eustis issued a public legal notice on September 22 opening a 30-day window, running through October 23, for alternative developers to submit competing proposals for the waterfront parcel at 601 Northshore Drive. Whether any competing bids actually materialize before that deadline remains an open question.
City officials have also tried to get ahead of one of residents' biggest fears: losing access to the water. Official updates released by the city in October state that any final purchase agreement would require public waterfront access, including the existing public boat docks on Lake Eustis, to remain protected and accessible to the community.
Residents Rally, Tensions Escalate
Opponents of the sale organized a public gathering from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Eustis Community Center, rallying support and handing out “Save Our Community Center” yard signs, according to Inside Lake. The grassroots pushback has been building for weeks as residents try to keep the proposal from reaching a final vote.
The dispute has also turned combustible in at least one instance. Eustis Police arrested a 56-year-old resident on October 11 on a criminal mischief charge after he allegedly smashed a concrete pharmacy bench into the road; the same outlet's report notes he told officers his actions were politically motivated by the ongoing community center dispute.
Adding another layer of scrutiny, two individuals associated with the CynerGreen proposal were named in a newly filed October lawsuit tied to a separate real estate project in Winter Garden, Florida, Inside Lake reported, raising questions about the developer's broader track record as city leaders weigh the deal.
A Clash Over Planning and Promises
Critics argue the city is ignoring its own playbook. Local residents and planning advocates have pointed out that Eustis' adopted 2025 Downtown Master Plan recommended placing hotel development at the former 4.8-acre Florida Hospital Waterman site, which the city acquired in 2020, rather than redeveloping the community center and adjacent Pendleton Park, according to WKMG.
There's also a deeper, decades-old argument simmering beneath the zoning debate. Community members note that the waterfront land occupied by the community center and Pendleton Park was originally donated to the city generations ago for public recreational use, though city officials maintain there are no legal deed restrictions preventing a sale, per the same WKMG report.
On the economic side, Hoffer told commissioners during the August presentation that the Aquilo project would generate hundreds of temporary construction jobs and roughly 175 permanent operational jobs once built, framing the development as a long-term boost for Eustis following the hospital's departure from downtown decades ago.
For now, the fight remains unresolved. The alternative-proposal window closes October 23, and it's unclear whether any competing bids will emerge, whether the Winter Garden litigation will affect the developer's standing with the city, or whether commissioners will revisit other city-owned sites like the former Waterman hospital property before any final vote is taken.
