Volusia County Council Awards Nearly $1.4 Million in ECHO Grants

The grant money is going toward projects that will restore, construct and improve popular facilities around the county.

  • By Volusia County Community Information
  • | 4:57 p.m. March 20, 2025
Volusia County Council Chair Jeff Brower delivers his annual State of the County address at the Ocean Center on Tuesday, Feb. 25. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
Volusia County Council Chair Jeff Brower delivers his annual State of the County address at the Ocean Center on Tuesday, Feb. 25. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
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Four projects that will restore, construct and improve popular facilities around the county earned $1,367,500 in financial backing Tuesday from the Volusia County Council.

The council unanimously approved four grant awards through the Volusia County ECHO program, a voter-approved initiative that helps fund projects for environmental, cultural, historical, and outdoor recreational purposes. All four grant requests were reviewed and recommended for approval by the County Council’s ECHO Advisory Committee.

The grants included:

  • Hub on Canal: $600,000 to construct a 3,100-square-foot educational building that will feature two ceramics studios, two classrooms for art and cultural activities, storage space, restrooms, and a covered outdoor area for additional programming and activities.
  • Conservation Florida: $600,000 to restore and convert a 5,000-square-foot existing building into a nature center on conservation land in the Florida Wildlife Corridor.
  • City of DeBary: $110,000 to add a third pickleball court at Bill Keller Park, resurface the tennis and basketball courts, and add new fencing and LED lighting.
  • Little Theatre of New Smyrna Beach: $57,500 for an LED cyclorama that will serve as a versatile backdrop for events and transparent LED panels to improve visibility and provide real-time announcements.

To complete the projects, the grant funds will be leveraged with combined partner investments and match from the applicants totaling $3,004,387.

 

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