Fruitland Park commissioners adopted a plan Thursday for wastewater improvements in the Urick Road area.
The city is applying for a State Revolving Fund loan of $991,000 – with an 80 percent forgiveness rate – to put in wastewater lines for Urick Street. That means the city would only have to pay back $205,530, with repayment beginning in January 2023.
Several developers, including Leesburg Fruit Co. owner Dr. Rufus Holloway, have requested the city to install wastewater connection lines so they can move forward with their developments, City Manager Gary La Venia said.
Holloway gained approval this past September from the city to build a new housing development and assisted living facility on a 177-acre parcel of land off Urick Street and County Road 468. The development would include 700 single-family homes, the assisted living facility would include 220 beds and there also would be six acres for commercial use.
Part of the need for the new sewer lines stems from the fact that the private wastewater plant at the Fruitland Acres apartment complex, located at 303 Urick St., is in need of major repairs or replacement. The new line, located along Rose Avenue, Berckman Street, CR 468 and Urick Street, would provide a cost-effective solution for the apartment complex and eliminate the failing small-package treatment plant.
Fruitland Park currently sends its wastewater to Lady Lake for treatment. The city finalized that arrangement in July 2015 at an original cost of about $19,000 per month in lieu of spending millions of dollars to replace a failing sewer plant. That arrangement didn’t include wastewater from the homes located in The Villages portion of the city, which are serviced by the North Sumter County Utility Dependent District.
