Agreement to a cacophony of conditions covering everything from outdoor lighting to indoor window treatments helped the Winter Park Racquet Club get city approval for a controversial expansion project in its upscale neighborhood.
City commissioners Wednesday voted 4-1 to allow the club at 2111 Via Tuscany to tear down a two-story house fronting its campus and replace it with a larger single-story building.
The club founded in 1953 on the shores of Lake Maitland is in the neighborhood known as The Vias, where multimillion-dollar homes with manicured lawns line brick-surfaced streets. The proposal had irked many neighbors, whose concerns went beyond the specific construction project to encompass the number of club members, bright tennis court lights and pickleball noise. Yards across from the club displaying red signs stating: “Stop WPRC Commercial Expansion in Our Neighborhood.”
The project headed to commissioners with nine conditions that came out of Planning & Zoning Board meetings. But a couple hours before the commission met, a gathering of neighbors and club representatives agreed on 12 more — and commissioners added three — for a total of 24. That seemed to calm the opposition.
Mayor Sheila DeCiccio told the Sentinel on Thursday it was important for residents and club management to reach an understanding.
“It’s always a give and take but I was thrilled that they were able to come together and make it work,” DeCiccio said.
The club will raze the 5,400-square-foot house at 2011 Via Tuscany to make way for a 6,300-square-foot building. The club needed city approval to tear down the house at the front of campus and put up the new building.
In 2015 the club said it would use the house for offices, a tennis pro shop and storage — now located in existing buildings. But club board member Rob Carter told commissioners the house’s many problems made that cost prohibitive — plus the new building’s style will match the club and neighborhood properties.
Pickleball courts at Winter Park Racquet Club on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. Winter Park Racquet Club has given approval by city commissioners to allow the demolition of the two-story house that sits at the front entrance to the campus in Winter Park, making way for an expansion. (Rich Pope, Orlando Sentinel)
“If you’re walking from the north end of Via Tuscany down to The Vias and walking by this with the enhanced landscaping and the pavers … I’d be hard pressed to know that you weren’t looking at a house,” Carter said.
Ian Munroe, club general manager, agreed after the commission meeting to talk Thursday morning with the Sentinel but shortly before a planned phone interview he emailed, “Thank you for your inquiry. The Club declines comment beyond what is in the public record. Our premises remains private.”
Nine city residents, most of whom live near the club, spoke about the project — with two opposing it.
An initial rendering shows a view from the south of a new building proposed for the front of the Winter Park Racquet Club at 2111 Via Tuscany. Some changes have been made to give the building and landscaping a more residential look. The club wants to tear down the house on the corner of the property at 2011 Via Tuscany to build a one-story 6,300-square-foot building.
Scott Greenberg said he lives on Via Tuscany across from the club.
“We are directly impacted by traffic, by noise, by lights, and this will only serve to increase as a result of the new facility,” he said.
But Bill Black, who lives on Via Lombardy within 500 feet of the club, said he rarely experiences noise or traffic problems due to his proximity to the campus.
“The request is really to take down a house that doesn’t really fit with the architecture of the other houses and replace it with a house that is architecturally better,” Black said. “I think the construction of this has caused the neighbors and the club to come together.”
Commissioner Warren Lindsey had concerns about passersby seeing people in gym clothes working out at the 1,200-square-foot fitness center planned for the building: “Are we allowed to put a condition of blinds or drapes where you can’t see people inside from Via Tuscany?” Carter said the club had no problem with that: “Nobody wants to see me while I’m working out and nor do I want to see you while you’re working out.”
A sign in a yard across from the Winter Park Racquet Club shows opposition to the demolition of the two-story house that sits at the front entrance of the club’s campus, pictured on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025.(Rich Pope, Orlando Sentinel)
Commissioners also added conditions banning signs on the building and requiring the club to establish a community relations committee. Lindsey ultimately voted against the expansion, but could not be reached to explain his vote.
In July the club sent about 100 certified letters to all homes in a 500-foot radius of the project, inviting them to a community meeting. In September it went before the planning board but was postponed to allow time to address neighborhood concerns. At its Oct. 7 meeting the board voted 5-1 to advance the project subject to nine conditions.
Those included no increase in membership because of expansion; shutting off pickleball court lights by 8 p.m.; no new lighting for parking lot behind building; shutting off lighting not required for safety purposes by 10 p.m.; and an analysis to confirm lighting is fully shielded at property boundaries and implementing necessary measures to eliminate light spillover onto adjacent properties.
Conditions agreed upon right before the commission meeting included capping membership at 500; tennis and pickleball lighting off when not in use; letting existing hedges grow and adding new ones; and adding glare shields to pickleball court lights.
The conceptual site plan for a new building proposed for the front of the Winter Park Racquet Club at 2111 Via Tuscany. The club wants to tear down the house on the corner of the property at 2011 Via Tuscany to build a one-story 6,300-square-foot building.
Originally Published: October 23, 2025 at 3:11 PM EDT