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Aerial view of the proposed renovation and addition to the Izaak Walton Lodge & Marina
The History of the Town and Lodge
Historically the heart and soul of Yankeetown, the Izaak Walton Lodge and Marina is the centerpiece of new investment in Yankeetowns waterfront.
Originally built in 1924 by Yankeetown-founder A.F. Knotts, the original Izaak Walton Restaurant and Lodge was for decades a destination for visitors from Florida and around the world looking for a quiet retreat along the banks of the Withlacoochee River. Its kitchen dazzled town residents and visitors alike with the freshest seafood in Florida, delivered at docks with deep-water access to the Gulf only 15 minutes away.
The restaurant was rebuilt after a fire destroyed the original structure in 1999, but the lodge was not. Now the most notable site in Yankeetown is finally undergoing a complete renovation and reconstruction by Izaak Walton Investors, which purchased the property earlier this year. The renovation of the restaurant is the first phase of the Izaak Walton Lodge and Marina, and will include the dining room and bar on the first floor, a multi-tiered dining terrace (see picture above), as well as banquet and meeting facilities on the second floor. The second phase of the development will include a bed and breakfast attached to the restaurant (refer to the left hand side of the picture above), a general store, art gallery, resort-residential units, and boat slips along the riverfront.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the mixed-use project being proposed by Izaak Walton Investors for the commercially-zoned
property in Yankeetown?
There are three separate projects proposed for the commercial property we have acquired in Yankeetown. These projects will include a mix of lodging rooms and permanent residences, restaurant and retail, and wet slips and dry dock boat space.
The Izaak Walton Lodge and Marina consists of the current Izaak Walton Lodge and the Riverside Marina, which are both zoned for commercial development. The first step is a renovation of the Izaak Walton restaurant and rebuilding of the bed and breakfast lodge, which burned down in 1999. Additional construction will include a general store, galleries, resort-residential units and a marina.
The Yankeetown Boat Company and Fish Camp incorporates the Speck parcel, Yankeetown Marina and Bs Cypress Marina. The current zoning allows eight single-family residences and eight boat slips on the five-acre Speck parcel. The Yankeetown Marina is commercially zoned will include thirty-six resort residential units and twenty-four boat slips. Bs Cypress Marina is also commercially zoned, and will include fifty-four resort residential units and thirty-one boat slips.
The Anchorage Boathouse and Preserve is a dry dock marina along Cormorant Canal on property currently zoned commercial as a Special Marina District. This is the only property in Yankeetown that allows for a dry rack storage facility. Appropriately, this project will consist of two eighty-eight slip storage buildings, and two buildings with twenty-four resort residential units each.
The Wickman Marina, formerly known as the Saxon Oil Property, is a brownfield project. The Saxon Oil Basin will be reworked to provide 28 wet slips, and designed and constructed to meet and obtain Clean Marina Certification.
Why havent you started renovating the Izaak Walton Restaurant so it can reopen?
We would like to begin renovation as soon as possible, but we are not being allowed to proceed because of action by the town council. Izaak Walton Investors is ready to renovate the restaurant immediately, but is not allowed to proceed until the town council of Yankeetown authorizes Levy County to proceed with issuing a building permit. In fact, Levy County has been told not to issue a building permit for this renovation.
How tall will the buildings be?
None of the proposed buildings along the Withlacoochee River will be higher than two stories over parking, or about the height of the existing Izaak Walton Restaurant. The dry dock buildings on Cormorant Canal will be about 46 feet high, and the residential buildings in the Anchorage Boathouse and Preserve will be three stories over parking.
Where will new residents park?
Most of the resort residential units will include parking spaces under the buildings, with some additional on-site and street parking. Off-site valet parking is also being utilized, and will be located on land on the north side of County Road 40 near the package plant.
What are the plans for a wastewater treatment plant?
The development will be served by a package plant constructed by Izaak Walton Investors at no cost to the community. Package plants are facilities commonly used to treat wastewater in small communities. There are more than 200 permitted wastewater treatment plants located in Citrus, Levy and Marion counties, with 3 located in Inglis, and another in Yankeetown serving the school. They typically operate by treating biological waste to release a clear, chlorinated effluent while the removed solids are trucked away. The package plant will be constructed to allow it to tie in to a centralized sewage treatment system further inland after one is constructed by either the county or the municipalities. Construction of a central sewage system is a long-standing goal of the community that will result in an immeasurable environmental benefit to water quality in the river, and construction of the package plant as proposed will further this goal.
Is it true that Izaak Walton Investors is not allowed to build a wastewater treatment plant under town ordinances?
No. The towns ordinances, as well as state and county rules, do allow the construction of a wastewater treatment plant on the property that we have acquired for this purpose. The town council has no legal basis with which it may prevent construction of a wastewater treatment plant to serve new residences in Yankeetown.
Will the package plant smell, or be visible from the road into town?
When operated properly, package plants do not produce an offensive smell. The current site is on the north side of County Road 40, and the site plan will include setbacks and mounding to eliminate any visuals from adjoining properties. A buffer of existing vegetation will be included in the site plan to shield it from passing vehicles along County Road 40.
What can you do to reduce noise from the dry docks?
Some residents have expressed concern that the loading vehicles for the boat racks will be noisy with the familiar beep beep warning that is required when motorized equipment is reversing. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulates this activity and provides alternate approaches in lieu of the back-up alarm. Through discussions with OSHA we have identified some viable alternatives to the traditional back-up alarm, including such things as the use of strobe lights and spotters. IWI will not take short cuts when it comes to the safety of our patrons and employees, but we are aware of the public concern and therefore will be considering these alternate methods to minimize impact to our neighbors. We recognize our obligation to protect the lives and safety of our employees and patrons, and we will promote a safety program which meets or exceeds the levels of safety required by OSHA.
Will clear cutting be required for the development?
We envision a development that preserves the tree-shaded character that makes people want to live here. Removing too many trees will harm that goal. There will be trees removed, just as there were trees removed for the current town residences. But none of the sites will be indiscriminately clear cut, and town ordinances have established procedures for the identification and removal of trees. Our current site plans preserve as many trees as practical, and we are incorporating the concerns of the town for the preservation of the most prominent trees. In addition, it is our intention to mill suitable trees for incorporation in the actual construction, as well as save and transplant suitable trees back into the project as part of the overall landscape design.