OVIEDO, Fla.,None — The city of Oviedo is set to spend $250,000 to turn an old post office building into a new recreation center. But there's already a fairly new recreation center down the road on Oviedo Boulevard.
WFTV’s Bianca Castro asked city leaders if the new center was needed.
The old downtown Oviedo Post Office has been empty for three years. Now the city has agreed to buy it and convert it into a new community center.
"It's in our long-range plan and our capital budget to eventually create a community center,” said Oviedo Mayor Dominic Persampiere.
Persampiere says the time to do so is now.
The city received a $200,000 donation to buy the building. The Postal Service agreed to sell it for $60,000 below market value.
But the building needs about about $500,000 in renovations.
Half-a-mile down the road is the city's Gymnasium and Aquatics Facility, a facility that is less than six years old. There's also the Memorial Community Center, though much smaller, not far away.
“I think we already have one though, rec centers and stuff, so I don't know how important that is,” said one Oviedo resident.
But the city says the new community center features a banquet hall and will accommodate large events with up to 200 people. And it will replace Memorial Center, which the Florida Department of Transportation plans to buy in the next three years to make room for County Road 419.
“This is the piece of the puzzle that we didn't have when you look at everything we have,” said Persampiere.
Longtime resident Brenda Barlett is just happy to see the vacant building put to use.
“There's no venues for weddings and stuff or anything like that. It'd be perfect for that,” said Barlett.
The city will use cash from the sale for of the Memorial Center for renovations, which means it could be up to five years before the new center is in full operation.
WFTV
