Sebring, a charming town of about 11,000 in Central Florida, has long been known for its robust golf courses and a famous auto race. Legendary golf course architect Donald Ross started the golf scenario when he designed the Pinecrest course in 1923. The Sebring International Raceway, which opened in 1950, is one of the oldest continuously-operated road tracks in the United States.
Now, while those attractions continue to flourish, Sebring is making big progress in another direction. Its downtown area is about to get major television exposure. The city’s Community Redevelopment Agency spearheaded a campaign to get Sebring a place on “Home Town Takeover!,’’ a smash hit as a series on HGTV.
In early 2025 Sebring will be the focal point of the series in which Ben and Erin Napier headed a team of renovation experts that revitalized the area known as City on the Circle.
“We applied for the first season,’’ said Kristie Vazquez, executive director of Sebring’s Community Development Agency. “Over 5,000 cities responded, and we were chosen for the third season.’’
Cities in Mississippi and Alabama were sites for the well-received series’ first two seasons.
Ben Napier announced Sebring’s selection in February and the downtown area has been buzzing with activity ever since. The goal has been to breath new life into the town with work projects on several homes, several local businesses and the historic aspect that is unique to Sebring.
Said Napier: “Renovating one house at a time is an awesome experience, but the chance to give support to an entire town, where we can help bring an entire community back to life – that’s something we wanted to try.’’
The Sebring CRA has the task of “carrying out economic revitalization, promoting renovation of buildings and assist in coordination and promotion of downtown events.’’
With Home Town Takeover involved the renovation work will get widespread attention.
Vazquez said the show was looking for cities of about Sebring’s size, and its circular downtown was a big plus. There are few such cities left that have a downtown area situated around a circular park. Sebring’s has six avenues feeding into Circle Park. More
