Scott Homan remembers as a kid taking the elevator to the top of the Citrus Tower with his brother, Ben, equipping their army men with parachutes, throwing them out the windows and watching excitedly as they made their way down the 226-foot drop to the bottom.
It was easy to pull off considering their dad, Greg Homan, owned the tower.
Fast forward more than 20 years and Scott, now 31, with his wife Heather Homan, 27, are poised to take over as the tower’s new owners.
Greg, 63, said he has wanted to retire for a while to spend more time on his farm but was leery about selling the tower to “just anybody” for fear that they would give up on the constant maintenance it requires, let it go downhill or worse.
He said he’s done a lot to keep it going since he purchased it and feels it’s just time to pass the torch.
“When I purchased the tower back in 1995, I was more interested in the commercial real estate and didn’t even know if I may tear it down,” Greg said. “It was in pretty bad shape, but over the years, I’ve come to fall in love with it and slowly realized how the majestic tower is so important for the city. It’s Clermont’s claim to fame, but I’ve done all I can do and had the wherewithal to do. I’m older now and don’t have as much energy, but Scott and Heather have proven worthy to take it to the next level.”
“They’ve got the energy and they’ve got the new modern ideas. I’m excited and I think they’ll take it, run with it and make Clermont proud.”
Scott and Heather will take over the day-to-day operations and want to expand its image, attraction and functionality.
“We have big plans. Our objective is to make it a community place to gather, where people can enjoy food, drinks and entertainment with some of the best views in Central Florida or all of Florida,” Scott said. “We also want to stay true to the historic placement of the tower and make sure that tourism still has a place here and that it’s still respected.”
So besides basic maintenance like cleaning, painting and replacing aging accents, the pair has been busy securing new tenants in four lower level spaces. They include Retro Barcade, which will feature old-style arcade games, beer, karaoke, live music and comedy acts and more, and another called Happy Troll Games, a retail store that will offer oversized board games with a play space that can be used to try them out and play them once purchased.
Additionally, Scott and Heather are in the midst of negotiating a deal with a coffee shop to set up service in the front lobby area and are actively searching for a restaurant to move into the space where a restaurant used to sit.
The Citrus Tower Gift Shop will also remain open and rides to the top of the Tower will still be available to the public, Heather said.
Scott and Heather are also considering offering early morning and evening hours for viewing and photographing sunrises, sunsets and Disney fireworks that can be seen and heard from Clermont.
Special packages for restaurant and coffee shop patrons who want to enjoy their drinks, food or desserts from the top of the Tower are also being considered.
“We’re trying to work out all those details,” Scott said.
Additionally, Scott said he is interested to hear from anyone with stories, pictures or memorabilia having to do with the Citrus Tower.
In return, Scott said he has started sharing photos and old video footage on Facebook, at the Florida Citrus Tower page, for the community to enjoy of when the Tower was being built and of its transformation over the years.
Scott said any suggestions or wishes regarding what people would like to see done or offered at the Tower are also welcome.
“We came upon a lot of documents, photos and some video, which possibly has never been released, so we thought it would kind of fun to see how the community responded and so far they’ve taken to it well so we’ll keep on doing that and see what else we find,” Scott said. “We just want to serve the community and make this a place that everyone can enjoy.”