The project has been abandoned more than five years after entrepreneurs Tom and Keith Kovatch declared their intention to build the first distillery and tasting facility in the region in Clermont.
The two agreed to develop the six-acre plot of land that had once been a steel fabrication business at the intersection of State Road 50 and 12th Street in Clermont back in November 2019. They planned to collaborate with Washington state craft company Heritage Distilling, which has won numerous awards.
The Heritage Square project was able to proceed with master plans that called for a maximum of 60,000 square feet of space and up to six buildings after the Clermont City Council authorized a zoning change from M-1 industrial to PUD, or Planned Unit Development.
However, the COVID pandemic and state regulations limiting the production of distilled spirits caused developers to abandon the initial concept, according to Tom Kovatch. According to a GrowthSpotter study, they are now seeking to rezone the land for general commercial use, which could be a challenging task.
Commissioner Michael Cramer was the only vote in favor of the proposed law rezoning the land, which was defeated 6-1 at a May 6 planning commission meeting. On May 13, the ordinance was then presented to the city council.
Not because I didn’t want to build the distillery and everything else, but because the state of Florida wouldn’t grant me 250,000 gallons, and I couldn’t operate and put $18 million into the project without that being done, Kovatch stated at the council meeting. It was zoned industrial before I bought it and had an acceptance for a PUD that has run out. To see what might happen next, I’m switching it back to commercial.
The change is still being considered by the city council. The municipal council unanimously decided to postpone discussing rezoning plans until June 24 at its most recent meeting on June 10.
In addition to being the first distillery and tasting facility in Clermont, the project would have been the first Heritage distillery in the southeast United States. Among the spirits produced by Heritage Distilling are bourbon, whiskey, vodka, rum, and gin.
In 2018 and 2019, Whisky Magazine named their Brown Sugar Bourbon the World’s Best Flavored Whiskey. Their Cocoa Bomb Chocolate Whiskey earned them the honor once more earlier this year.
In a brief interview with GrowthSpotter, Kovatch stated that he is not free to discuss particular possible uses for the land and that there are now plans to do a variety of things with it.
