'We want to preserve our heritage': Belle Isle historic home saved from demolition

City moves to save county's oldest home

City leaders in Belle Isle held a meeting to discuss a request to demolish Orange County's oldest home.

BELLE ISLE, Fla. - The Belle Isle City Council voted to stop an historic home from being demolished.

The Cornerstone Academy requested to demolish a historic home in Belle Isle, the Lancaster House, but the city council voted to deny that request.

"Let democracy reign, let the people speak, and they did tonight, and their elected representatives said no," said William Morgan the Chairman Pine Castle Pioneer Days. "At the end of the day it’s the people that speak and that’s what we saw tonight."

The historic house was built in the 1800s and was home to Belle Isle's first mayor. All the people in the crowd at the packed city council meeting said they did not want the Lancaster House to be demolished.

"The will of the people is we want to preserve our heritage. The city of Belle Isle turns 100 in 2024, and we want to have something to look at and say that was there before the city was," said Morgan.

The city still leases that property to the school, so now they're working to renegotiate the lease agreement to ensure they protect the home in the future.

The next steps are to come up with a resolution that will make both sides happy, even if that means moving the historic home.