{"id":5638,"date":"2026-06-27T11:03:22","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T11:03:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5638"},"modified":"2026-06-27T11:03:22","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T11:03:22","slug":"merrywood-gets-demolition-delay-but-winter-park-house-expected-to-become-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5638","title":{"rendered":"Merrywood gets demolition delay, but Winter Park house expected to become history"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The days may be numbered for Winter Park\u2019s Merrywood House.<\/p>\n

A sharply divided City Commission on Wednesday got a commitment from the historic home\u2019s owners to delay demolition while it attempts to grant them an exception to the city\u2019s long-standing policy against splitting up lakefront lots.<\/p>\n

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But Cathy Gilmer told commissioners she and her brother plan to tear down the house regardless of whether they\u2019re allowed to divide up the property.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe truth of the matter is that every day the house remains standing costs money we don\u2019t have, falls into further disrepair and is not contributing anything to the community,\u201d Gilmer said with emotion in her voice. \u201cDemolition is the only viable path forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Commissioners voted 3-2 to back an amendment to the comprehensive plan \u2014 tailored to apply only to 1020 Palmer Avenue \u2014 that would allow splitting the 3.67-acre lot along Lake Osceola. Mayor Sheila DeCiccio joined Commissioners Craig Russell and Kris Cruzada to pass it, while Commissioners Elizabeth Ingram and Warren Lindsey dissented.<\/p>\n

Before the vote, Ingram asked about requiring Gilmer and her co-owner, her brother Raymond Gilmer, to delay demolition until after the required second reading expected later this summer. The city must send comp plan amendments to the state, which has 30 days to review them, so the required second reading will likely happen within 45-60 days.<\/p>\n

Tara Tedrow, the land-use attorney seeking the lot split, told commissioners she could get approval for the delay. Tedrow, who wants to buy half the land to build a home, said she has worked to find a buyer who\u2019d save Merrywood, but to no avail.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy request was never meant to pit any of you against historic preservationists or me against historic preservationists,\u201d she said. \u201cIf anything, this has raised an issue that we shouldn\u2019t maybe talk about historic homes at the last hour of these things.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Merrywood is the largest home designed by the city\u2019s famed architect, James Gamble Rogers II. The Spanish-style home built in 1939 has more than 7,000 square feet of living space. It\u2019s estimated fewer than 30 homes he designed remain standing in the city.<\/p>\n