Kissimmee approved a $199,550 contract to tear down the Berlinsky Community House behind the Monument of States. A new community house is planned for the site.
The Berlinsky Community House, the low building behind the Monument of States on the downtown lakefront, is coming down. The Kissimmee City Commission approved a demolition contract for it on Tuesday, Nov. 3. The city plans to build a new Berlinsky Community House on the same site.
The contract with Cross Construction Services Inc., of Lutz, is capped at $199,550. It passed as part of the consent agenda, according to the city’s action summary for the meeting.
What the contract covers
The building stands at 300 E. Monument Ave. City staff said the work will remove the building and “designated site improvements” and prepare the site for the new community house. The details are in item 7.F of the Nov. 3 agenda packet, which includes the contractor’s proposal dated Oct. 2.
Cross Construction’s base price is $128,792. It covers:
- demolishing the 7,874-square-foot masonry building, at $23,622
- 2,500 feet of temporary screened fence, plus 60 days of fence rental, at $11,430
- about 2,220 cubic yards of imported fill dirt, at $18,870
- 822 hours of additional work at $85 an hour, at $69,870
- seeding 25,000 square feet of ground, at $5,000
The city added three allowances on top: $20,000 for permit fees, $25,000 to remove the old septic system and a $25,758 contingency for unforeseen work. That brings the total to the $199,550 cap.
The city did not put the job out to its own bid. It is buying the work through a demolition contract the City of Orlando bid and awarded to the same company, which Florida law allows. That contract has been renewed from Nov. 11, 2026, through Nov. 10, 2027, staff said.
Who pays
The money comes from the city’s share of the federal American Rescue Plan Act. Staff moved $200,000 from the city’s ARPA account into the Berlinsky Community House project, the staff report shows.
The demolition is described elsewhere in the same packet as “the first phase” of the Berlinsky House construction project. Under item 7.T, also approved Nov. 3, any ARPA money left after the demolition goes to infrastructure work at the Haven on Vine affordable housing complex. That staff report said federal rules require the money to be spent by Dec. 31, 2026.
The commission also approved carrying forward $1,389,341 for the Berlinsky Community House project into the 2026-27 budget, in two lines of $162,627 and $1,226,714 on the item 7.N schedule. The packet does not include a design, a cost estimate or a construction date for the new building.
The monument next door
The Monument of States stands in front of the building. It is a stepped tower of donated stones from every state, built by volunteers in 1942 and 1943 after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
The monument was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2015. The National Park Service nomination calls the building “the present-day Berlinsky Community House (formerly Kissimmee Community Center).” It says the building historically housed the Kissimmee All-States Tourist Club, whose president designed the monument. The listing counts the monument itself as the one historic resource. It counts no buildings.
The north side of the building also carries the Kissimmee Pioneer Families Memorial Wall. That is a set of family plaques the city put up in 1983, according to the Historical Marker Database.
The demolition contract and staff report do not mention the monument or the memorial wall. They also do not say what “designated site improvements” will be removed.
What it means for you
Nothing has started yet. The packet gives no start date, and the contractor is paid on completion.
Expect fencing around the building when work begins. The proposal allows for 60 days of temporary fence on the site.
Groups that rent or use the Berlinsky Community House should ask the city where their bookings will move. Our guide to who to call at City Hall has the contacts. For the rest of the lakefront, see our parks and trails guide and our downtown Kissimmee guide.
The same Nov. 3 meeting approved a new control tower at Kissimmee Gateway Airport and design work on the Columbia Avenue complete street.
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