Mayor Buddy Dyer said Monday that Orlando has “no intention” of demolishing the Lubbe House, the last remaining private home ever built directly on Lake Eola — a statement that came after weeks of alarm from preservationists who said they were told by city officials the house would be torn down.
But the mayor also said he does not support the historic landmark designation that the Orange Preservation Trust has filed for the property, arguing it would increase the cost of any future renovation.
The comments came during discussion of a $3.9 million pre-construction agreement with Turner Construction to design the Lake Eola Gateway Entrance and a new pocket park at 30 S. Orange Ave. — projects that are part of the broader DTO Action Plan funded by $160 million in bonds approved earlier this month.
What the mayor said
Dyer told the council that when the CRA purchased the Lubbe House property, staff evaluated a range of options — from demolition at about $550,000 to converting the house into a restaurant at about $5 million. But he said demolition was never the plan.
“We don’t have any intention in demolishing the building,” Dyer said. “But we did get the information on what it would cost to do that.”
The city now needs to determine “what is the most responsible use of the building, even what it will cost to renovate it,” Dyer said.
On the landmark question, the mayor was direct: “I don’t support a historic designation, which I think people have started to try to stop a demolition,” he said. “But however that goes, that goes. But it’ll cost us a lot more to refurbish it if it does have a historic designation.”
How the confusion started
Commissioner Patty Sheehan, whose district includes Lake Eola, said she was “told by staff that the Luba House was going to be demolished” and that members of the Orange Preservation Trust received the same message. She acknowledged there had been “a lot of conflicting information.”
What happens next
David Barilla, the CRA’s executive director, told the council that Turner Construction will conduct structural, ADA, and asbestos assessments on the Lubbe House as part of the broader design process. Those assessments will inform what the city can ultimately do with the building.
“We don’t have any official concepts or designs,” Barilla said of the gateway project. “This would allow Turner to now go ahead and start that official process.”
The design scope also includes two community meetings.
The five-story City Centre building adjacent to the Lubbe House will be demolished to open up the gateway into Lake Eola Park.
Preservationists remain on guard
Raymond Cox, president of the Orange Preservation Trust, said the mayor’s tone was encouraging but the commitment fell short.
“While the dialogue is sounding better, their comment that ‘an assessment will be done’ leaves the door open for demolition,” Cox said. “Not until the plans are signed and sealed will there be better assurance.”
Cox called the mayor’s opposition to landmark designation “a red flag” and pushed back on the claim that the designation would increase renovation costs. Landmark status only prohibits demolition, Cox said — it does not restrict interior alterations, additions, or changes to the building’s site plan. He said the designation would also make the structure eligible for state preservation grants, citing one the Trust helped the Black Bottom House of Prayer receive, and would allow the waiver of certain building code requirements through the State Historic Preservation Office.
Under Orlando’s landmark ordinance, demolition of a designated property requires approval from the Historic Preservation Board. Interior alterations do not require board review, though exterior modifications and additions do.
The Historic Preservation Board is now scheduled to hear the landmark application on March 4, Cox said. “Which we will continue to pursue.”
Background
The Lubbe House was built in 1930 in a Mediterranean style by architect Peter Samwell, who also designed the Park Plaza Hotel in Winter Park. It features hurricane-resistant roof tiles imported from Holland, early solar heating concepts, and much of the original window glass and interior woodwork.
The CRA purchased the property in March 2025 as part of a roughly $20 million acquisition of four downtown sites. At the time, preservation advocates say they were told the house would be incorporated into the long-term gateway design.
Concerns about demolition emerged later, prompting the Orange Preservation Trust to file for local historic landmark designation in January. That application was deferred from the Historic Preservation Board’s February agenda. Raymond Cox, president of the Trust, told Bungalower at the time that city staff instructed the Preservation Office to defer the item — and is now scheduled for March 4.
This is not the first time the house has faced a demolition threat. In 2015, a Chicago developer proposed a 28-story tower on the site, and opponents organized to save it.
Updated Feb. 24, 2026: Added response from Raymond Cox, president of the Orange Preservation Trust, and updated Historic Preservation Board hearing date to March 4.
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