60-foot sinkhole in Clermont swallows large amount of land, threatens nearby shopping plaza

CLERMONT, Fla. - Another sinkhole has opened in Lake County. The gaping hole is located in the middle of a shopping plaza off Eastbound State Road 50 near US Highway 27.

According to a City of Clermont employee, the sinkhole opened not long after Hurricane Milton tore through Central Florida. Looking into the hole, exposed pipes and cables are visible. One of them is Vincenzo Scamardella’s gas line.

"It cut the gas line off, and unfortunately the gas had to be turned off," Scamardella said.

Scamardella, owner of Mamma Rita’s Pizzeria and Italian Grill, was worried the sinkhole would push back the grand opening of his business. The ground gave way just one week before his pizzeria opened, but luckily for his customers, a temporary gas line allowed them to stay operational.

Lois Laing who was getting a pizza to-go, said she didn’t even notice the gaping hole on her way in.

"When I’m here, I’m focused on coming in, I’m getting pizza, I didn’t see anything else," Laing said.

Surrounded by barricades and piles of sand, the sinkhole is close to multiple businesses.

"It would be a shame if the Dunkin' Donuts fell in," Laing said.

Work has begun to fix the issue. On Monday, Mose Fleming, owner of Fleming Hauling, LLC., dropped off a key piece of equipment.

"I unloaded this SANY 235 excavator," Fleming said. "It’s about 55,000 pounds in a very tight spot."

Checking out the sinkhole, Fleming estimated it to be about 60 feet in diameter.

"I knew it was something crazy, but I didn’t know exactly what this was," Fleming said. "That’s insane. They’re going to need a lot more sand!"

It’s not the first sinkhole in Lake County.

"Sinkholes happen in this area," said Scamardella. "I don’t want to say it’s the community, but something is happening here in Florida, yeah, and definitely can be something dangerous."

A few months ago, residents in a Groveland neighborhood were evacuated after a sinkhole (or depression) opened in July near Compass Rose Drive.

In December 2022, a sinkhole in Clermont swallowed a large area of road near Bradley Circle and Montevista Road.

Then, in May 2020, a sinkhole opened in the middle of State Road 46 near Deerwood Farm Road in Sorrento.

A representative for the City of Clermont said the sinkhole along State Road 50 is on private property, so the city is not involved with fixing it. However, according to one of the property owners, the sinkhole is located on a service street and is currently being repaired by the city of Clermont.