Outdoor amphitheatre property for sale

The Florida Heartland Heritage Foundation Inc. has decided not to pursue its outdoor amphitheatre project on property it purchased off of County Road 29 south of Lake Placid.

The project had been in the works for 13 years, with the group hoping to build an outdoor structure where a play about Florida's heritage would be performed on an ongoing basis for the benefit of locals and tourists.

FHHF board member Ron Holmes said the initiative suffered a severe blow when Teresa Stein, who was spearheading the project, passed away last month. "With the economy the way it is and the inability to get funding, we've pretty much given up on it," said Holmes.

Holmes also said some bad feelings exist because of approximately $1.8 million-$2 million already collected in donations. He said the money has already been spent on engineering planning, permits, the design of the building and work on the land, among other things. He said there is no money to return to donors, as money made off the sale would pay off debts.

Holmes said there was a lot of local interest in the beginning, but the FHHF stopped asking for donations two years ago.

"We took the money in good faith, but it didn't work out. We couldn't get the right money at the right time," he said.

Holmes said that the corporation still owns the approximately 65-acre site, located at 950 County Road 29, but has placed it on the market with Prudential Sanders Realty. The property, which includes a log-cabin style house with pool, is being sold "as is" with an asking price of $550,000.

"There's a play that's written that could be performed, but we'd have to have some way to get this thing going," said Holmes, adding that approximately $1.5 million would be needed in order to build the amphitheatre. Holmes didn't expect to be able to raise the money needed to revive the project.

"There are many that are sad to see it not come to fruition. On the other hand, you have to face facts," said Holmes.