Mount Dora Looks to Future

Growth strategies including retaining historic charm

MOUNT DORA | Lake County | Pop. 16,341

by Vershurn Ford, City of Mount Dora

Residents of the City of Mount Dora love their history and their local landmarks. The City was settled in the 1880s and was incorporated in 1910. The landmarks include the lighthouse on Lake Dora, which is the only registered inland freshwater lighthouse in Florida. They also include the Lakeside Inn, which was established in 1883 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Even with a rich past and a traditional, historic downtown, Mount Dora leaders and residents are always looking toward the future. They are creating services, infrastructure and programs that position the City for sustainable growth. Current and planned investments put the City in a unique position to promote stable developed areas along with newer residential and commercial development that appeal to residents, commuters and visitors.

Wall mural downtown.

Photo courtesy of Rainey Levin

The adoption of the Wolf Branch Innovation District (WBID) plan by the City and Lake County creates an employment center that is designed to build a more diverse economic base. The plan established a framework to support future investment by the private sector in the District. The City’s development of transportation infrastructure to complement the WBID includes:

▸ Advancement of several roadway and trail projects within and surrounding the WBID area.

▸ Vista Ridge Drive and Innovation Boulevard proposed as the new City collector roads.

▸ The extension of the Wekiva Trail to connect riders from the regional trail system and the WBID to the historic downtown area.

Mount Dora’s historic downtown.

Photo courtesy of Matt Geleske Photography

With Mount Dora’s proximity to Orange and Seminole counties, the WBID will be attractive to many industries. Those industries include medical, research and development, medical and treatment institutes, technology and others that want to relocate to the area or expand.

The City offers a wide variety of options that include existing and future construction of single-family and multifamily housing as well as historic single-family homes. The small-town atmosphere and quality-of-life elements such as recreation programs, festivals, other events, nature trails, parks, restaurants, bars and shopping options appeal to all ages.

With strategic advertising campaigns through various media (video, commercials, livestream, print ad and social media), the City promotes the area as a Central Florida must-see destination to visit, attend a festival, live and do business.

Lake Dora.

Photo courtesy of City of Mount Dora

The City has the capacity to grow and expand in a responsible manner. A solar farm, which is under construction, will support the areas served by the Mount Dora electric utility. It will reduce fossil fuel energy demand by up to 20% and add 4 megawatts to the electric service area. The estimated completion of this project is early summer 2022. Also, the City is in year three of a five-year plan to convert cobra street lighting to LED-style fixtures. Benefits include a longer life cycle than that of the LED fixtures, plus lower maintenance costs.

Mount Dora is also enhancing its technology infrastructure by expanding its broadband capabilities. The City is building a fiber optic network ring that will allow full communication, even if the physical cables are severed. Fiber provides the broadband infrastructure for:

▸ Improvements to the City’s electric, water and wastewater utilities. Those improvements include hardware and software to provide full supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) and automatic meter reading (AMR).

▸ The continued addition of closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras to enhance the existing network of 168 cameras throughout the City. This addition will strengthen public safety for residents and visitors.

▸ Wi-Fi access points throughout the City allowing broadband connectivity to citizens, businesses, employees and tourists.

▸ An upgrade to the City’s network to a 40 GB backbone, which allows massive amounts of data to flow throughout the network very quickly.

▸ Implementation of a geographic information system (GIS) that allows the City to perform analytics that support decision-making.

Reflection of Mount Dora Lighthouse

Photo courtesy of Faith Meyers

Mount Dora’s five-year strategic plan identifies several ambitious projects to ensure the City and its residents enjoy and benefit from the projected growth in the area. These plans include completion of the Wekiva Trail extension by 2026, announcement of a catalyst company to jumpstart WBID by 2023, commercial and multifamily development in the WBID, completion of new fires stations and public works facilities and renovation of Cauley Lott and Lincoln Park recreation areas.

Even with the ambitious plans, City leaders are committed to serving current residents and businesses and to providing the festivals, fairs and events that make Mount Dora truly “Someplace Special” to live, work and visit.

Vershurn Ford is the Public Information Officer for the City of Mount Dora.