LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. — A 200-foot sinkhole in Lehigh Acres that's been around for 15,000 years is getting a new life as a park and educational center after securing crucial funding for the project.
The bottomless lake, known as Leeland Lake, spans four acres and is the oldest landmark in Lehigh Acres. It connects directly to local drinking water aquifers, making it a critical part of the local water system.
"It's an old relic, something that happened in geology that long ago," said David Lindsay with the Lehigh Acres Municipal Services Improvement District. "We want to preserve this area, make it into a park that the residents can enjoy, as well as an interpretive center museum for people to come visit, and for schools to visit and learn about how Lehigh developed."
Click here to see Lehigh Acres Community Correspondent Victoria Quevedo go to the site:
Engineers will develop trails and improve security around the site as part of the revitalization project, now possible thanks to the newly secured funding.
Lindsay says people will need to be patient with the project as they still need to purchase the building for the center.
"It's going to take a little while to open. Our goal is to get it open sometime in 2027," Lindsay said.
Plans include cleaning up the site, installing a protective fence, and creating a public park. They also want to purchase a building on the property to create a Lehigh Acres museum.
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