New plan for Lee Adult School in Leesburg: apartments, not condos

LEESBURG — The developer who owns the historic, derelict Lee Adult School site is proposing changing plans again — from condos to apartments.

Barry Mansfield, vice president of Prospera Senior Living and CEO of Cullison-Wright Construction, presented a new plan to city commissioners on Feb. 12.

It’s yet another change of plans since Prospera bought the property in 2018.

The plan unveiled last year proposed tearing down both school buildings on the 5-acre, one-block site and erecting 63 townhouses. City officials decided there is not enough proposed parking spaces, however.

The new proposal calls for 104 apartments and 150 parking spaces.

It was well received by commissioners. The buildings would be two story structures.

“I like the idea of getting folks in pedestrian-reach of downtown,” Mayor Jimmy Burry told the Daily Commercial.

“Downtown is doing better for the first time in a long time,” he said.

Burry also likes what he heard about the prospective tenants.

“These are people with disposable incomes,” he said. “It’s important to have the right mix for the area.

Mansfield reportedly wants to copy a similar project he has in Ocala called Lamplighter Legacy.

Burry said some small adjustments may have to be made for stormwater runoff.

The city has not yet received any specific documents, said Planning and Zoning Director Dan Miller.

Members of the Historic Preservation Board had long hoped that the main building, built in 1915 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, could be saved, but finally agreed that both buildings could be razed. The smaller building was built in 1924.

The buildings have been ravaged by vandals, homeless trespassers and unrelenting exposure to the elements.

Orlando developer Tony Benge bought the property in 2014 for $200,000 from the Lake County School District with the idea of creating an assisted living facility. Prospera bought it in 2018 for $1,250,000 with plans to spend $500,000 to $600,000 but final estimates came in at $1.4 million.

One of the plans called for some apartments and some townhomes.

Generations of Leesburg residents went to school on the property bound by Lee, Perkins, West Line and Herndon streets. It went from being an elementary school to a high school to an adult education facility.