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EUSTIS, FL-Cambridge Homes, an Altamonte Springs-based homebuilder, has voluntarily presented a $100,000 check to the City of Eustis. The payment is in exchange for Eustis officials halting their protest of a 118-acre annexation nine miles away near the City of Tavares.

Eustis elected officials had maintained earlier the land should be annexed by Eustis, not Tavares, because a portion of the dirt lies in Eustis and in unincorporated Lake County. Their protest to the Florida Department of Community Affairs could have delayed the Cambridge project, sources tell GlobeSt.com. The state agency is scheduled to review the annexation later this year

The deal paves the way for Cambridge's planned development of a 721-home subdivision at an estimated development cost of $100 million. The land sits between the two cities in Lake County's Golden Triangle corridor, 45 miles northwest of Downtown Orlando. Eustis' population is 17,000; Tavares has 5,000 residents.

Cambridge officials couldn't be reached by press time to learn details of the planned development. However, Eustis planning department staffers confirm the developer is planning an adult community of 290 condominiums, 144 townhomes and 287 single-family residences. The development site, known as the Royal Property, is between David Walker Drive and Lake Hermosa, just north of US 441.

Sources familiar with the controversy tell GlobeSt.com that even if Eustis won the annexation issue, the city is not in a position to provide both water and sewer services to the planned development. Tavares, however, has the capacity to provide those services quickly, area construction sources tell GlobeSt.com.

The gated Cambridge project would be part of the adjacent Waterman Village adult subdivision being constructed on 54 acres in Tavares near Florida Hospital Waterman. Waterman Village will have 129 apartments and 57 homes. Cecelia Bonifay, a lawyer with Akerman Senterfitt, drafted the $100,000 letter offer and represented Cambridge in the transaction.

In the close vote to accept the check, Eustis Mayor Jonnie Hale, a longtime real estate broker, and commissioners Frank Royce and Gwendolyn Manning favored acceptance of the gift. Commissioner James Rotella and former Eustis mayor Evelyn Smith, voted against acceptance.

Instant Insights /

$100,000 Gift to Eustis Opens Door to $100M Residential Project

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