MOUNT DORA POST OFFICE PROPERTY NO LONGER PARKING GARAGE OPTION

One of the most talked about properties to help solve downtown Mount Dora’s chronic parking woes is now off the table.  The Mount Dora Post Office property went under contract on June 5 and is expected to close in August.

The current owner of the Mount Dora Post Office property, Barchester Corporation, had been exclusively negotiating a perpetual land lease with Mount Dora officials for 11 months and was awaiting the signed $65,000 annual lease agreement, but instead was advised on May 8 that the City was no longer interested in leasing the property, according to John Seravalli of Barchester Corporation.  

The post office is set to open in its new Mount Dora location on Old Highway 441 on July 8, so the relatively last-minute notification left Barchester only two months to market the land lease, an endeavor that typically requires a year of marketing due to lower demand, according to Seravalli.  The new time constraint spurred the company to sell the property, which is a transaction that requires a fraction of the marketing window due to the higher number of interested parties.

After a handful of prospective purchasers reached out, Barchester  received an unsolicited offer that they accepted. The last commercial property that went up for sale in downtown Mount Dora went under contract within days after its listing.

According to Seravalli, the purchaser has plans to extensively renovate the building.

Meanwhile, the Mount Dora officials now have one less option available to solve its critical parking shortage.  Due to the scarcity of remaining options, eyes may turn toward a new garage in the location of the existing downtown parking garage and its neighboring parking lots.

Last year, the City of Mount Dora spent $798,000 for property on Third Avenue and Baker Street to develop a downtown surface parking lot with an estimated 43 to 60 spaces.

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