Residents concerned over future of Tymber Skan condos in Orange County
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. —
Orange County is seeking a long-term solution to the Tymber Skan on the Lake Condominiums, plagued with mismanaged funds by the condo association, unsafe buildings, crime, and squatters.
Many who live there are sharing their concerns about what comes next for them.
About 30 people showed up for Wednesday night’s community meeting, including those who still live in Tymber Skan.
There are 56 condo units. Out of 49 buildings, eight remain. The rest were demolished because legal analysis showed the operation of Tymber Skan was no longer practical, equitable, or safe
For this man, who identified himself as an owner who raised his children in the Tymber Skan Condos, things got emotional.
“You’re not fixing nothing. You’re just going to terminate and completely destroy whatever’s left in that community, thank you so much for wasting my time,” he said.
The man then stormed out of the Tymber Skan community meeting at Catalina Elementary School in Orange County.
“If you want to come back, we can talk publicly,” said District 6 Orange County Commissioner Mike Scott.
The man said from a distance, “I don’t waste my time with people like you.”
Scott tried to talk to him.
The man asked, “I got love for that community. Do you got any feelings and emotions for that place?”
Two others also walked out of the meeting, which was an hour-and-a-half presentation along with questions and discussion.
Real estate and criminal defense attorney Ronald A. Legendre asked, “What’s going to happen to the property once everything is gone?
“That answer could be anything, again it depends on how this process goes,” Scott responded.
Isaiah Starr, who lives in Tymber Skan, said, “I’m here because I care about my community and they trying to close us down and if they ain’t giving us no help, why should they close us down?”
For years, WESH 2 News has been reporting on concerns at the condo complex, which the county says has been plagued with public safety concerns.
Since 2014, the county has spent $3.5 million trying to stabilize the complex.
Cynthia Claytor, who lived in Tymber Skan for eleven years, said, “I am just hoping to find out where we’re going to go from here, because I’m ready, I’m ready to go. “
Orange County proposes to do the following:
Terminate the condominiums so the property can be soldUtilize a third party to manage the sale of the propertyOffer services to impacted residents
The next time the Orange County Board of County Commissioners takes up this issue of Tymber Skan, it will be on Aug. 25, and at that time, commissioners will take a vote.
“We will be voting to initiate the termination proceedings for the Tymber Skan community. What that is, is to allow staff to engage with legal professionals in the court system to figure out how we go about this and we may learn some things in that process. But we are moving forward and so it doesn’t mean, terminate, people are out the next day, it means we’re exploring our options in this process with regards to receivership,” Scott explained.
That meeting is set for 9 a.m. on Aug. 25.