{"id":164036,"date":"2026-02-21T19:13:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T19:13:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/164036\/"},"modified":"2026-02-21T19:13:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T19:13:07","slug":"someone-is-buying-up-downtown-winter-garden-and-residents-are-in-an-uproar-orlando-sentinel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/164036\/","title":{"rendered":"Someone is buying up downtown Winter Garden \u2014 and residents are in an uproar \u2013 Orlando Sentinel"},"content":{"rendered":"

Winter Garden\u2019s downtown, the envy of neighboring communities for its successful blend of charm and homegrown commerce, faces an uncertain future as nine commercial buildings, eight on West Plant\u2019s red brick streets, have been sold for millions to a new owner.<\/p>\n

Some shop owners in the buildings say they\u2019ve been notified by the new owner\/landlord that their leases will not be renewed.<\/p>\n

\u201cDespite every effort to communicate and explore possible solutions, we were not granted an extension or the opportunity to stay,\u201d lamented a recent post on the Facebook page of Three Birds Caf\u00e9, which announced the popular lunch spot at 2 West Plant Street would close Feb. 26. \u201cWe were built on the belief that small, locally owned spaces are what gives Winter Garden its heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

The now-deleted social media post was later replaced by a different message, thanking patrons for their support.<\/p>\n

A few customers staged a protest Friday outside the caf\u00e9 but were shooed away by a Three Birds employee, who said the new landlord required demonstrators and media move 500 feet from the building, which is also home to Polka Dotz, a locally owned boutique.<\/p>\n

Polka Dotz too has received a non-renewal notice.<\/p>\n

Sheri Heitker, who described herself as a Winter Garden resident and architecture lover, said she hoped city leaders shared the community\u2019s concern and would vigilantly protect the uniqueness and charm of the downtown, which boasts old, interesting buildings.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we as a community have to stay on top of it,\u201d Heitker said. \u201cIt\u2019s sort of up to us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Orange County property records and state business records show several of the purchases are connected to James Larweth, the founder of Anton RX<\/a>, a pharmaceutical rebate management company with offices on South Boyd Street in downtown Winter Garden.<\/p>\n

He did not respond to a text message or a voicemail message.<\/p>\n

Larweth, 56, has met a couple times with city officials, though he has not disclosed any specific plan for his new portfolio of downtown buildings in the west Orange city, located about 15 miles west of Orlando, said Jon Williams, Winter Garden city manager.<\/p>\n

\"AA representative from Three Birds Cafe, right, requests that Winter Garden resident Tess Nater and other demonstrators move further from their restaurant while protesting the restaurant\u2019s loss of their lease, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026. Local residents are expressing concern for the number of downtown small-business buildings that have been purchased by a commercial real estate entity recently. (Joe Burbank\/Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

Entities connected to Larweth have spent nearly $21 million on four properties downtown, property records indicate, including $10.3 million on the Edgewater Hotel, built in 1926. Larweth also bought Chef\u2019s Table<\/a>, the acclaimed restaurant occupying the hotel\u2019s first floor.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlways, from every conversation we\u2019ve had, it\u2019s been positive,\u201d Williams said\u00a0of Larweth. \u201cHe loves what we\u2019re doing here.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said Larweth, for instance, \u201ccommunicated to us that it was his goal to return the Edgewater Hotel to its grander days.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Williams acknowledged the ownership changes downtown have roiled the community.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think some folks feel like we may have changed our vision,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have not. We\u2019re looking to be a partner with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Three Birds Cafe builds a nest on Plant Street | Review<\/a><\/p>\n

Some also worry the new ownership may want to redevelop Winter Garden\u2019s downtown into something more upscale and less quaint.<\/p>\n

The real estate market in Winter Garden is far different than it was two or three decades ago when the city was just beginning to blossom with a fun streetscape, weekend festivals and the rising appeal of the West Orange Trail which runs down the middle of Plant Street.<\/p>\n

The ownership changes reflect that, said Ken Pozek, a Winter Garden resident and founder of the Pozek Group<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a reason why on a Saturday night you can barely drive down Plant Street \u2014 there\u2019s so many people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Property values in and around the downtown district have exploded.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany of these properties were purchased years ago for some blueberries and a couple of goats and now they\u2019re worth a lot of money,\u201d Pozek said. \u201cAs an owner, you\u2019d probably want to cash in, right? And then what happens, a developer comes in and around and around we go.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said he understands the disappointment of losing Three Birds Cafe, local shops and the charming atmosphere they reinforced. \u201cBut look at how many new buildings have popped up in downtown or are under development. Winter Garden wants this or they wouldn\u2019t have approved all of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

shudak@orlandosentinel.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Winter Garden\u2019s downtown, the envy of neighboring communities for its successful blend of charm and homegrown commerce, faces…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":164037,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[558,28,114,266,1335,139,141,140,480,109,25863],"class_list":["post-164036","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-business","tag-florida","tag-latest-headlines","tag-local-news","tag-orange-county","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news","tag-real-estate","tag-social","tag-winter-garden"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=164036"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164036\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/164037"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=164036"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=164036"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=164036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}