About three years ago, Casselberry paid just over $1 million for the historic home of the city’s late founder, with hopes of turning the two-story mansion on nine acres overlooking South Lake Triplet into a quiet retreat for its residents. But now the estimated price tag to renovate the timeworn 1953 house — designed by noted architect James Gamble Rogers II in Colonial Revival style — has risen as high as $16 million. That’s an amount equal to two-thirds of Casselberry’s annual general fund budget.
And it has confronted the Seminole County city of just over 30,000 with quite a dilemma. Should it press ahead in the name of historic preservation? Or should the city consider selling the family home of Hibbard Casselberry to a developer? “The property is beautiful, and history is important,” said Commissioner Chad Albritton at a contentious Aug. 12 city commission workshop.
“But this is $16 million that we’re potentially talking about...
And I wonder if the surplusing of the property could bring a better return for the city...
I think we need to get this in the hands of new residents who would bring in more investment and more wealth into the city.” But Deborah Bauer, president of the Society for Historic Casselberry, said she was “frankly offended” that anyone at the city would consider selling the historic home, initially dubbed “Brightwater” by the Casselberrys for the reflections cast on the lake. “The idea that we should just bulldoze the house for development is incredibly short-sighted and irresponsible,” she said.
“There was a good faith agreement that when the property was bought from the family, the land and house would be preserved. It’s an asset that should be enjoyed by everyone.” The story of Brightwater goes back to the mid-20th century when Hibbard Casselberry bought hundreds of acres surrounding the Triplet Chain of Lakes from a fortune made in a fern-growing business, and home-building near U.
S. Highway 17-92. He and others envisioned a town named after him — and without property taxes.
By 1940, the city of Casselberry was incorporated as a town. Hibbard Casselberry served two terms as mayor and later as a Town Council member. Along the way, Hibbard built Brightwater.
He lived there until he died in 1969 at the age of 76. A few years later, property taxes finally came to Casselberry. Rogers II, the Brightwater designer and nephew of the even more renowned architect John Gamble Rogers, also designed the Greek Revival Florida Supreme Court Building in Tallahassee, built in 1948.
But he was perhaps better known for his work in Winter Park, the city of his residence, most famously the 1933 Casa Feliz house that stood off North Interlachen Avenue. In 2001, a non-profit organization, Friends of Casa Feliz, raised funds to move the famous house to its current city-owned spot off North Park Avenue. Casa Feliz has since been rented for events after being restored to its original state.
The city of Casselberry hopes for much the same fate for Brightwater. So, in July 2021, the city purchased the 7,000-square-foot home and 8.9 acres off South Lost Lake Lane near Saza Run for just under $1.
3 million. The plan was to use state grants and private donations, along with city funds, to upgrade the property to function as a small events center, with a surrounding botanical garden, playground, conservatory and dock overlooking the nearby lake. According to a 2021 conceptual plan commissioned by the city, renovations were estimated at nearly $8.
3 million. The home needed a roof, which the city recently spent $200,000 to provide, along with electrical work, replacement of the air conditioning and heating systems, and many other improvements. At this week’s meeting, however, city Manager Randy Newlon estimated today’s renovation cost could nearly double that earlier estimate, primarily because of inflation and the expense of maintaining the home’s historical integrity.
Albritton, the sole Democrat on the non-partisan board, balked. His Republican colleagues, for the most part, urged staying the course. Commissioner Mark Busch called it a “very common sense thing to do” to preserve the home.
“The city of Casselberry doesn’t have a lot of assets connected to its history,” Busch said. “It’s our founder’s home..
.Absolutely it’s going to be hard [to restore it]. But things that are good in life are hard to do.
” He was joined by Commissioner Anthony Aramendia and Mayor David Henson in strongly supporting renovating the property. Commissioners then unanimously agreed the city hire an architectural firm that specializes in renovating historic properties. It will be asked to provide a detailed report with the needed work and a total cost estimate before a final decision is made.
Commissioner Nancy Divita, the only commissioner not on the board when the city purchased Brightwater, said this week she welcomes an architect’s report. She also wants to meet with residents to gather their input. “I’m still formulating an opinion,” Divita said.
“I certainly value the rich history of the city of Casselberry. It’s a beautiful property..
.But this seems like a dream vacation that we made a deposit on. Then inflation hits, and now the dream vacation is out of reach.
Is it the right thing for us to continue on, or should we surplus the property? I don’t know.” Albritton, who voted for purchasing Brightwater in 2021, said he’s now having second thoughts because of the rising costs and the risk of incurring a renovation expense the city couldn’t afford if there was an economic downturn. “We’re coming to the realization that it’s not feasible to what it was envisioned,” he said.
But for some, the emotions surrounding Brightwater mean more than dollars and cents. Brenda Hendricks, who lives across the street from Brightwater, said she was “shaking because I am so angry” at suggestions of Casselberry selling the historic property for development. “This house is not only the history of Casselberry, it is the history of John Gamble Rogers,” she said.
“This needs to be preserved. This is how the world was.”.
