HOLOPAW, Fla. — Osceola County commissioners are trying to figure out what to do with Jesus Miracle Chapel in Holopaw.
From the hole in the overhang to the broken fountain and unfinished roof, the chapel may need a miracle of its own to get up to code. None of that seems to discourage owner Lee Hoffman.
"I come down here and I bought this piece of property here and I said, 'I'm going to build the Jesus Miracle Chapel,'" Hoffman told Channel 9's Michael Lopardi.
[ Photos: Fight to not demolish Jesus Miracle Chapel in Osceola County ]
Hoffman is 92 years old and gets around on a lawn mower. He told Eyewitness News that he’s deeply religious.
“I preach Jesus on the cross. He took 39 stripes for my healing. I memorized practically the whole Bible,” Hoffman said.
He’s fighting for the chapel, which never got finished.
Osceola County leaders said construction stopped around 1998. The hurricanes of 2004 took down the walls, and by 2012, the county determined the building was not safe.
County leaders told Eyewitness News that demolishing the building could cost up to $10,000.
“If you give me time, I'd like to work with him and see what we can do in the future to move this project along, realizing his dream,” said Osceola County Commissioner Fred Hawkins Jr.
Commissioners delayed a decision on demolishing the chapel for another six months.
“I'm not a baby, I don't normally cry, but thank you for what you're doing to help this guy right here. I love him,” said Hoffman’s friend Mark Lund.
Repairing the structure could cost up to $125,000. During Monday’s commission meeting, a man offered cash on the spot to help raise a roof over the building.
“I build it for Jesus,” Hoffman said.
The county told Eyewitness News that it has held off on demolition in the past to give the owner more time.
Eyewitness News reported in 2013 about another plan to tear down the chapel, but it never happened.