Volusia County is threatening to rescind two taxpayer-backed grants totaling $900,000 that were used by a local historic preservation organization to buy and maintain two homes in Daytona Beach.
The grants, approved by the county’s voter-backed ECHO program, were awarded to the Historic Preservation Trust of Volusia County to buy and renovate Lilian Place − the oldest house on the Beachside − and the adjacent Hotchkiss House.
The homes have fallen into disrepair, which sparked a letter from a county attorney threatening legal action, which can be avoided by maintaining the property so that it can be used for ECHO-approved functions, or by paying it back.
“This notice has been provided to you as a courtesy in an attempt to amicably resolve thismatter prior to any legal proceedings being pursued,” wrote Senior Assistant County Attorney Sebrina Slack on Nov. 13.
The plight of the two homes was scheduled to be discussed at a 9 a.m. meeting today, Jan. 6, of the Volusia ECHO Advisory Committee Meeting.
Trust president has plan to save one of the historic homes
The owner of the homes, Historic Preservation Trust of Volusia County, is a nonprofit established in 2006. Its president, John Dillard, said in a Jan. 5 interview with The News-Journal, that it has a contract to sell the Hotchkiss House, with a scheduled closing in mid-February.
“We’re going to take proceeds from the sale of Hotchkiss and roll it into the 501(c)(3) we have with Lilian, and be able to do some needed repairs with Lilian, and save that. That really is the jewel between the two,” Dillard said.
How much did Volusia taxpayers invest in Lilian Place and Hotchkiss House?
The trust landed more than $900,000 in ECHO grants − $425,100 in 2009 and another $485,509 in 2012 − in order to purchase the two homes. ECHO − an acronym for Environmental, Cultural, Historical and Outdoor Recreation − grants are supplied by property taxes through a program approved by Volusia County voters.
Last April, Volusia’s Resource Stewardship Division visited Lilian Place and Hotchkiss House, finding numerous problems.
Lilian’s foundation “appears compromised,” and its third-floor window was blown out and covered with a black garbage bag, while Hotchkiss’ outside railing and front porch show structural problems, while exterior surfaces show “extensive discoloration, substantial paint peeling and visible mold growth,” according to a letter to the Historic Preservation Trust from ECHO Manager Daniel Marsh.
Historic Preservation Trust has maintained Beachside homes since 2009 and 2012
Dillard said the trust has held fundraisers and relies upon volunteers to maintain the houses.
The trust, he said, has put some $1.2 million into renovating and maintaining Lilian Place alone.
“They’re money pits,” Dillard said.
He estimated it costs about $6,000 or $7,000 a month for operational costs, such as insurance and electricity, but the pandemic cut into the organization’s ability to raise funds and attract volunteers. It has been unable to fully bounce back.
In June 2025, Dillard wrote Marsh back, stating the trust’s board had “after great deliberation” voted to sell the Hotchkiss House and use the proceeds from that sale to double down its efforts on renovating Lilian Place.
That sale dragged on for several months and when Slack responded in November, she noted the original price had dropped and the home was still on the market.
The grants came with “restrictive covenants,” legal requirements that the trust “maintain the property so that it continues to be used for an ECHO facility … and if the trust violates the restrictions within the first 20 years, the county is entitled to liquidated damages in the entire amount of the grant.”
A follow-up monitoring visit in November showed the trust had not delivered on earlier promises to repair Lilian Place and Hotchkiss House, Slack wrote.
Projects the trust promised to complete earlier in 2025, including staircase repairs, tower windows and third-floor wallboard finishing at Lilian Place, have all been scheduled for later in 2026, Slack’s letter states.
What is the historic value of Lilian Place and Hotchkiss House?
Dillard said he and other trust volunteers have put 15 years into the property and are trying to save the structures.
“We can either repair it, or we can buy it, but we don’t have the funds to do both,” he said. “… They’re beautiful homes. And Lilian is absolutely gorgeous on the inside.”
In addition to being the first house built on the Beachside in Daytona, Lilian Place is a Florida vernacular, Italianate Victorian style house with “incredible charm,” Dillard said.
Stephen Crane, author of “The Red Badge of Courage,” stayed in Lilian Place in 1897 after a shipwreck left him stranded in the Ponce Inlet area.
Meanwhile, Hotchkiss House was originally the home of a businessman, Eli Hubbell Hotchkiss, who became known as the “Stapler King” because his company developed a paper fastener that became popular worldwide. News-Journal columnist Mark Lane noted the Japanese word for stapler is “hotchikisu,” derived from the Hotchkiss product.
Dillard said he wants to hear from the ECHO committee, but is concerned Volusia County isn’t as committed to historical preservation as it is to other aspects of the ECHO program.
“The county … even though there’s the letter H in ECHO, which is supposed to stand for historical, they really are not that interested in the historical aspects of stuff,” Dillard said, “which is kind of sad.”
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Owner of two historic homes may have to pay back $900K in ECHO grants
Reporting by Mark Harper, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
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