Leisure World’s governing body on Sept. 4 approved up to $180,000 to restore the gated community’s iconic globe.
Renovations to the 14-ton sphere at the entrance to the retirement community had begun in March, but work was halted when major structural damage was discovered.
The board of directors of the Golden Rain Foundation (which runs Leisure World) voted to replace the globe’s continents and repair the tubular steel framework that supported them.
Lack of regular maintenance, a series of patchwork repairs and exposure to marine elements had compromised the 52-year-old orb, raising the prospect that it might have to be demolished.
The Golden Rain Foundation received proposals from more than 40 contractors across the country to renovate, rebuild or raze the globe.
Leisure World residents have been divided—and vocal—about the globe’s future, with some calling it an historic structure while others saw its restoration as a waste of money.
The costs to demolish and remove the globe, and landscape the area where it now stands, had been estimated at more than $200,000.
The Golden Rain Foundation has already spent around $100,000 on the project.
