Ground Breaks on Expanded 60,000-Square-Foot Veterans Clinic
Lecanto, FL · September 5, 2026
A damp morning drizzle is keeping things slow and easy, but between morning farm stands and evening stage lights, there is plenty lined up across the county today.
The Lead
Crews have begun preliminary site work on a 15-acre parcel along County Road 491, kicking off construction on a 60,000-square-foot outpatient Veterans Affairs clinic in Lecanto. Designed to nearly triple the physical footprint of the county’s current outpatient facility, the new center will expand local healthcare access for more than 17,400 Citrus County veterans who currently face long drives to Gainesville or Tampa for routine specialties.
Beyond general primary care, the facility adds dedicated physical therapy suites, on-site radiology, prosthetics support, and specialized audiology testing booths to treat service-related hearing loss. Staffing will roughly double to 110 medical and administrative personnel, supported by a newly routed public transit turnaround. Subcontractors will spend the coming months completing heavy grading and utility connections across the acreage before vertical framing begins early next year.
Local Pulse
Property Assessment Challenge Deadline Arrives Tuesday Property owners seeking to dispute their annual tax valuation must submit petitions to the clerk before Tuesday's cutoff.
Park Lightning Detection Temporarily Offline in Homosassa Visitors to Homosassa Area Recreation Park should monitor local weather independently while technicians repair the field alert system.
Today's Outlook
- High 87°F · Low 78°F — Drizzle
- Keep a light umbrella handy today as passing dampness lingers through the afternoon.
What's On Around Town
Inverness: Market at the Depot Depot Pavilion (300 N Apopka Ave), 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM Pick up seasonal produce, seafood, and artisan goods along the lake.
Inverness: Let's Get Smudgy Drawing Class Inverness Art Co-Op (109 N Apopka Ave), 10:00 AM Try your hand at charcoal and graphite sketching in a welcoming workshop.
Crystal River: Saturday Night in Town Square Town Square (559 N Citrus Ave), 5:00–9:00 PM Enjoy food trucks, lawn games, and live music from local rockers.
Inverness: Boeing Boeing Valerie Theatre (207 Courthouse Square), 7:30 PM Catch the high-flying 1960s Parisian farce live on the historic downtown stage.
Spotlight & Story
- Sabertooth Cave
- Barely 1.2 miles northwest of town, local explorers lowered ladders 40 feet down a limestone sinkhole shaft in 1928 and unearthed a complete saber-toothed cat canine. The find cataloged dozens of prehistoric mammal species buried beneath the pine ridge.
Lecanto Daily Digest — compiled from local sources as of 6 AM. For breaking updates, follow your local newsrooms.
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