March Newsletter
Saturday, March 20th is the first official day of Spring. Am I the only one who feels like this year is flying by?
Weather Report:
Here in Central Florida during the month of March the weather starts warming up and rains increase. Daylight savings time begins on March 14th which means we will be staying lighter, longer.
- Average High Temperature: 78 Degrees
- Average Low Temperature: 56 Degrees
- Average Rainfall: 3.77 Inches
- Average Humidity: 71%
- Average Amount of Daylight: 9.5 Hours
Opening soon
It seems like quite some time ago that I mentioned Arby’s was coming to our area. Well the sign has finally gone up! For those of you who love the meats, the Four Corners location should be opening soon.
Another highly anticipated Four Corners establishment is set to open this month. Bagel Brothers will be going in the space next to Hungry Howie’s on 27. They will be open for breakfast and lunch from 6:30am- 2pm daily. I know there are a lot of people who are super excited about this!
Dates to Remember:
Did you know?
34714 Sales Stats
In January of 2021 (February stats were not available at the time of press) we saw 38 houses close and 37 new listings. The average sales price was $298,023 (up from $268,685 this time last year!) and on average it took 13 days to get a new listing under contract.
Right In Our Own Backyard
Usually in this section I highlight some of the amazing restaurants and places to visit that are in our area. This month I’m highlighting my frustration with the past Lake County Commissioners and their lack of caring and planning for the Four Corners Area.
Thirty years ago Greater Construction Company sold a parcel of land (3.83 acres) within the Greater Groves Community to South Lake Hospital for $1. This came with the understanding that a medical complex or a hospital would be built for the residents of the Four Corners Community.
The hospital has listed this piece of land for sale and is set to profit over $600,000. Recently the residents of our community were informed that Steve Smith with New Beginnings has petitioned Lake County to change the zoning variance to increase the number of dwellings allowed on this protected piece of land. From what I can see, the current number of dwelling units per acre allowed in the Green Swamp area is 4 or 5. Mr. Smith hopes to increase the number of dwellings per acre to 18.8.
Sitting in the middle of this small piece of land are two residential communities. The plans posted online provide no Northbound access from Highway 27 to the proposed apartments. This means an increase of traffic for both the Westchester and Greater Groves communities.
Another concern is a lack of parking spots in the design plan. The piece of land is just shy of 4 acres and Mr. Smith plans on cramming 72 apartments in this space with out adequate parking for the tenants.
I don’t understand why the Commissioners did not learn from their last botched variance change when they allowed Rubin Groves to mine 166,666 truck loads of dirt a year under the rouse that he was making the land ADA complaint for a future subdivision. It appears that Steve Smith has hired the same lawyer, Jimmy Crawford, to help him change the rules in his favor all while lining his pockets.
I implore the county commissioners to stand up to Mr. Smith and turn down this proposal. Let him go find some land that allows tenants easy access to 27 without disrupting the already clogged infrastructure of two neighborhoods. Force him to find some land that isn’t part of the protected Green Swamp. For once do what is right by the Four Corners Community instead of ignoring our concerns.
If you have a minute and feel like helping this cause, please consider signing the petition I started to show our commissioners our dislike for this project: Ruby Red Apartment Petition
Orlando Sentinel Article on past mining project.
