This time, the party's for the building

The Lake House, host to many a grand celebration, gets a facelift.

By LOGAN NEILL, Times Staff Writer
Published July 22, 2007

In the 24 years it has served as the community hub for the Spring Hill Community Association, the Lake House has seen it's share of weddings, bar mitzvahs, wakes and other special events, such as Angels on High.
	[Times photo: Daniel Wallace (2003)]

SPRING HILL - In the 24 years it has served as the community hub for the Spring Hill Community Association, the edifice known to residents as the Lake House has seen its share of laughter and tears.

No one is certain how many weddings, wakes and bar mitzvahs have taken place there. But judging from the old photos and mementos Spring Hill Community Association board member and Lake House maintenance manager Paul Morales keeps running across in closets, there seem to have been quite few.

"I hear stories all the time from residents about the great parties they've been to," Morales said. "It was quite a popular place."

On Monday, the association will note the Lake House's 40th birthday with a grand reopening party and show off to the community recent improvements to the facility. Lake House office manager Cara Cooper says that the storied building, said to be the oldest permanent structure in Spring Hill, is more than worthy of such attention.

The structure originally served as a sales office for the Deltona Corp., which developed the community of Spring Hill beginning in 1967. Prospective residents stopped by the office to choose a lot for their retirement home.

"It was a pretty big deal back then," Cooper said. "They even had a little ferryboat on Hunter's Lake that would take people out to see their lots."

In 1983, the Deltona Corp. turned the building over to the Spring Hill Community Association, which saw the Lake House as a valuable source of revenue. In addition to private gatherings, the venue was also leased for civic club meetings, church services and concerts. In 2000, the building and surrounding grounds became home to Spring Hill's annual "Angels On High" Christmas festival.

But as the once-strong association membership began to wane, so too did the care and maintenance of the Lake House. By the time Morales and his family arrived in Spring Hill in 1999, the Lake House was all but falling down.

"It was a mess," Morales recalled. A spruce-up campaign launched by the association's board resulted in a new roof for the building, plus new interior furniture and landscape improvements. A more recent facelift added new kitchen facilities and a bridal nook, which Cooper hopes will lure more rentals. In addition, plans include a lakeside gazebo where monthly community concerts will be held.

Monday's ribbon-cutting ceremony will serve as a kickoff for what Cooper sees as a new beginning for the Lake House, which has been chosen to serve as host venue for Spring Hill's official 40th Birthday Bash, Sept. 22 and 23.

Said Cooper: "We want the Lake House to once again be a source of pride for Spring Hill residents - something that will leave visitors impressed."

Logan Neill can be reached at lneill@sptimes.com or 352 848-1435.

FAST FACTS:

If you go

The Spring Hill Community Association will host a 40th birthday celebration for the Lake House at 11:30 a.m. Monday at 1202 Kenlake Ave., Spring Hill. Call 666-4746 for information.

[Last modified July 21, 2007, 18:49:45]