{"id":370644,"date":"2026-08-13T20:10:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T20:10:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/370644\/"},"modified":"2026-08-13T20:10:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T20:10:09","slug":"winter-park-mayor-seeks-answers-on-status-of-imperiled-merrywood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/370644\/","title":{"rendered":"Winter Park mayor seeks answers on status of imperiled Merrywood"},"content":{"rendered":"

Expressing frustration over a lack of information, Winter Park\u2019s mayor suggested Wednesday commissioners could delay a final vote on allowing the property where the historic \u2014 but imperiled \u2014 Merrywood House<\/a> stands to be split in two until they get some answers.<\/p>\n

Mayor Sheila DeCiccio told commissioners near the end of their regular meeting she wants Allison McGillis, the city\u2019s Planning & Zoning director, to bring together the property\u2019s interested buyers, its owners, historic preservationists and others involved in the ongoing issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t know what\u2019s going on there, it\u2019s very frustrating,\u201d DeCiccio said. She asked if such a gathering could take place before commissioners take a final vote on the proposed comp plan amendment that would allow splitting the 3.67-acre lot along Lake Osceola. That vote is slated for during the Aug. 26 regular meeting, but DeCiccio said they could delay it until Sept. 9.<\/p>\n

She said she saw nods of support from her four fellow commissioners.<\/p>\n

Clarissa Howard, the city\u2019s communications director, said Thursday that details of the meeting were being worked out and the mayor wants to hear all the information before she weighs in on the issue.<\/p>\n

The Spanish-style home built in 1939 is the largest residence designed by the city\u2019s famed architect, James Gamble Rogers II<\/a>. It\u2019s estimated fewer than 30 homes he designed remain standing in the city.<\/p>\n

Orlando-based attorney Matt Morgan, who wants to buy all or part of the property and preserve the house, said by email Thursday he was pleased with the development. He works at Morgan & Morgan, the firm started by his father, John Morgan.<\/p>\n

\u201cI appreciate the Mayor\u2019s wisdom in bringing all parties together before the next meeting,\u201d said Morgan. \u201cI\u2019m also grateful to the City for coordinating this discussion and creating an opportunity for everyone to work collaboratively toward a resolution.\u201d<\/p>\n

An exclusive look inside Winter Park\u2019s historic, imperiled Merrywood House<\/a><\/p>\n

Tara Tedrow, the land-use attorney seeking the lot split so she can buy half the land and build a home on it, did not return emails seeking comment. She\u2019s said she has a contract to buy a vacant portion of the land and has worked to find a buyer for the other part to save Merrywood<\/a>. She has not revealed the amount of her contract.<\/p>\n

Mick Night, of Premier Sotheby\u2019s International Realty, has consulted for about a year with the owners on selling the property and trying to find a buyer interested in preserving the house. He said by text message Thursday he had \u201cnothing more to report at this time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Commissioners voted 3-2 in June 27 for the amendment tailored to apply only to 1020 Palmer Avenue. DeCiccio joined Commissioners Craig Russell and Kris Cruzada to pass it, while Commissioners Elizabeth Ingram and Warren Lindsey dissented.<\/p>\n

Right before that vote, DeCiccio stressed Merrywood was doomed despite the community wanting to save it because no one had come forward to buy and preserve it.<\/p>\n

But days later Morgan, who lives in Winter Park,<\/a> came forward about the offer he made last August: $10 million for the entire property \u2014 and $5.5 million for the portion with Merrywood. Morgan made the offer to Night, who has said it was taken to the owners and \u201cthat wasn\u2019t a number they were interested in selling the property for.\u201d He added that at the time Morgan offered no clear path regarding its preservation.<\/p>\n

Then on July 10, Morgan emailed the mayor and commissioners, Tedrow, Night and the owners about how he\u2019d increased his offer to $12 million for the entire property and a pro rata price for portions of it. He said Tuesday he has not received a response to his latest offer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will pay for the number of acres required to preserve Merrywood and Tara Tedrow can build her home on the remaining large lot. I will, at my sole expense, invest my own personal money to ensure the preservation of Merrywood and designate it historic,\u201d his email said.<\/p>\n

\"AA view from the backyard of Merrywood, the 7,300-square-foot, 3.7-acre estate designed by renowned architect James Gamble Rogers II, located on Palmer Avenue in Winter Park, Tuesday, June 30, 2026. The fate of the empty villa built in 1939 is being debated by city leaders and preservationists who want to prevent its possible demolition. (Joe Burbank\/Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

Siblings Cathy and Raymond Gilmer own the home and have a permit to demolish it<\/a>, but have held off since last year while the search was underway for a buyer who\u2019d preserve it. Cathy Gilmer has said Merrywood was her family\u2019s home from 1976, when she was 6, until her mother died last year. The Sentinel has not been able to reach either for comment. She has told commissioners they plan to tear down the house<\/a> regardless of whether they\u2019re allowed to divide up the property.<\/p>\n

Lakefront lot splits \u2014 which vastly increase a property\u2019s value \u2014 are rare in Winter Park. The city\u2019s prohibition against splitting them dates back to the 1990s and was put in place to protect community character and natural resources along the city\u2019s lakes.<\/p>\n

Without a lot split, someone could buy the entire property and potentially build a 55,991-square-foot house on the land under the existing city ordinance. The city\u2019s largest house, just down the street at 916 Palmer Avenue, is about 40,000 square feet.<\/p>\n

Betsy Owens, executive director of\u00a0Friends of Casa Feliz<\/a> and one of the people DeCiccio wants at the meeting, said Wednesday evening she thought the mayor offered a smart idea.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the city\u2019s being asked to change the comp plan based on the idea that this house can\u2019t be saved, that there\u2019s no viable offer for it, and then someone who is a known quantity \u2026 has come forward and made a fair market offer for this property \u2026 they sure as heck don\u2019t have to change the comp plan,\u201d said Owens, the granddaughter of Gamble.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Expressing frustration over a lack of information, Winter Park\u2019s mayor suggested Wednesday commissioners could delay a final vote…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":370645,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[558,28,29,266,115,1335,139,141,140,480,109,76686,4567],"class_list":["post-370644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-business","tag-florida","tag-florida-news","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-orange-county","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news","tag-real-estate","tag-social","tag-social-business","tag-winter-park"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/370644","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=370644"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/370644\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/370645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=370644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=370644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=370644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}