Two ‘little old ladies’ set out to preserve Lake Eola Park space
Two self-described “little old ladies” launched an Orlando land trust Wednesday with the goal of preserving green space near Lake Eola Park.
Lifelong Orlando residents Lynn Long, 70, and Eugenia Sefcik, 64, created the trust to purchase a roughly 5,000-square-foot parcel on the corner of Rosalind Avenue and East Central Boulevard.
The property, which currently houses a 7-Eleven convenience store, is up for sale and the trust’s campaign needs to garner $3.5 million in donations to complete the purchase. The plan is for the land to be donated to the city with a deed restriction that it could only be used for public park space.
In 2015, the property was one of three parcels at the center of contentious debate when the land owner, a Chicago-based developer, gained approval from the city’s planning board to build a 28-story residential building.
Residents, including
Long and Sefcik, vehemently opposed the project over concerns such as the height of the building —
which would have towered over neighboring structures, blocking the view of the lake — and traffic woes generated by the tower’s occupants.
The project was eventually abandoned.
Long said she and Sefcik started the land trust so developers would be unable to “spoil Lake Eola” with a high-rise building.
“When we saw development encroaching on the park, we thought, ‘we need to do something about it,’” Long said. “Lake Eola is the crown jewel of Orlando. It’s the heart and soul of our community.”
With the land purchase, the plan is to tear down the brick building that houses the convenience store and leave it as an open public green space with room for public art and benches.
Sefcik said the Lake Eola area is the focus of the trust’s launch but it’s possible other areas within the city eventually could be preserved through the nonprofit organization.
“Our ultimate goal is to preserve park space in Orlando,” Sefcik said. “We really believe that citizens of Orlando and visitors of this park want to see it as green space, not as a highrise development.”
Orlando Commissioner Patty Sheehan was on hand for the trust’s announcement at a news conference in front of the convenience store. She praised the ingenuity of Long and Sefcik.
“They figured out the best way to save this property was to purchase it. Florida is a property rights state,” Sheehan said. “They are two awesome, powerful women. I’m not going to call them ‘little old ladies.’”
The property is currently under contract by the national nonprofit organization Trust for Public Land and Orlando Land Trust has 18 months to come up with the purchase funds. Donations can be made at orlandolandtrust.org/donate.
“It’s a pretty tight timeline. We want any donations because this is a lot of money to raise,” Long said. “We believe in it so strongly so we’re going to make sure that it happens.”