Homeowners Increasingly Contest Developers' Desire To Build On Golf Courses
It's happening time and again across South Florida.
Developers finding dwindling open space turn their attention to golf courses, some of which aren't doing well financially because there's a glut, and make a pitch: We'll buy the course, get the homeowners association to let us build on it, and we will upgrade and preserve it. But increasingly, developers find themselves in the middle of a battle between residents who oppose the plan and decry blocked views and others in those communities whose views won't be obscured. It's a tough slog for developers to get both sides in those associations to agree, even with the millions of dollars in incentives they offer.
"It's about getting a higher return on the land," said Jim Murley, director at Florida Atlantic University's Anthony James Catanese Center for Urban & Environmental Solutions.
As open land becomes scarcer in the region, developable space that's near existing infrastructure such as public sewers, water service and schools becomes more valuable, he said.
Nonetheless, developers are trying to keep golf amenities while seeking more from their investments. That means residents face a changed landscape, and some won't like it. Some residents say new construction will decrease their property values, scar their scenic views, add traffic and density, and open the floodgates to more development.
"Any time you face uncertainty, you're going to face opposition," Murley said.
In Boca Raton, MCZ/Centrum Florida V Owner LLC, the owner of Ocean Breeze Golf and Country Club in Boca Teeca, said it will pay millions to renovate the clubhouse, build a new social center and refurbish the 18-hole golf course and nine-hole executive course. Other upgrades and benefits also are planned. Residents must agree that MCZ/Centrum can build 225 townhouses by consenting to lift a deed restriction that prohibits development on 30 acres of the south golf course.
"The success of the club and the success of the community are intertwined," said Slade O'Brien, a consultant to MCZ/Centrum, which bought Ocean Breeze late in 2004.
Many of the residents have agreed with O'Brien. By late last week, 45 percent of unit owners returned consent forms asking the association to lift a deed restriction, he said. The majority of Boca Teeca residents are for the project, said Shirley Schnuer, president of the Boca Teeca Unit Owners Association.
"There's some give and some take," she said.
But a vocal group of homeowners, led by George Gershon, president of the Teeca Woods Homeowners Association, have protested, distributed fliers and organized a campaign to defeat the plans.
"We just don't believe he's sincere," Gershon said about the developer, echoing a sentiment often heard from other golf course residents who oppose building projects.
Bob Carson has poured $1.5 million into refurbishing the Grand Lacuna Golf Club west of Lake Worth since he bought it last year with the association's approval that he could build on a 9.5-acre driving range. Carson's plans include putting up a two-story, 76-unit condo complex.
"We want your approval that you will not fight the development," Carson recalled telling a meeting packed with 250 people.
But since then, opposition has arisen. A petition protesting the project made the rounds at Lacuna, frustrating Carson, who said the course needs the infusion of cash development brings for it have a viable future.
"People don't want to see you survive," he said.
Wallace Dale, vice president of the Country Club of Coral Springs, started seeking a developer so the club could return to its former glory when Arnold Palmer and Lee Trevino played the course.
"For it to be competitive, we need a new clubhouse, new golf course and, of course, we need new members," Dale said.
After consulting city officials, Dale courted Watermark Communities Inc., which proposed putting up 168 luxury condos on the course's northern perimeter.
Dale said it took one-on-one discussions with those who opposed the plan for them to come around. Still, there are skeptics citing the added density and traffic concerns.
The fight between residents in Boca del Mar with the owner of the Mizner Trail Golf Course west of Boca Raton has been broiling since early 2004. Compson Development proposes building 236 townhouses on holes three through eight of the 18-hole, 132-acre course, and promised to upgrade the course and not develop the remainder of it.
However, some residents didn't want it, even though the master association agreed. They formed a coalition, hired a lawyer and have railed against the project at government meetings and in letters to government officials. In September, Dutch Bliss, the owner, closed the course. Weeks later, Compson offered to contribute $1,000 per each approved unit to be split among three public schools in the area as an incentive. The principals at two of the schools, Omni Middle and Boca Raton High, wrote Palm Beach County Commissioners that each could benefit from the extra money offered by the developer.
Gary Brandenburg, a lawyer representing the project, said most of the opposition to the project comes from two developments that aren't part of Boca del Mar or its master association.
"Those people have no rights whatsoever to their views," he said.
Developers finding dwindling open space turn their attention to golf courses, some of which aren't doing well financially because there's a glut, and make a pitch: We'll buy the course, get the homeowners association to let us build on it, and we will upgrade and preserve it. But increasingly, developers find themselves in the middle of a battle between residents who oppose the plan and decry blocked views and others in those communities whose views won't be obscured. It's a tough slog for developers to get both sides in those associations to agree, even with the millions of dollars in incentives they offer.
"It's about getting a higher return on the land," said Jim Murley, director at Florida Atlantic University's Anthony James Catanese Center for Urban & Environmental Solutions.
As open land becomes scarcer in the region, developable space that's near existing infrastructure such as public sewers, water service and schools becomes more valuable, he said.
Nonetheless, developers are trying to keep golf amenities while seeking more from their investments. That means residents face a changed landscape, and some won't like it. Some residents say new construction will decrease their property values, scar their scenic views, add traffic and density, and open the floodgates to more development.
"Any time you face uncertainty, you're going to face opposition," Murley said.
In Boca Raton, MCZ/Centrum Florida V Owner LLC, the owner of Ocean Breeze Golf and Country Club in Boca Teeca, said it will pay millions to renovate the clubhouse, build a new social center and refurbish the 18-hole golf course and nine-hole executive course. Other upgrades and benefits also are planned. Residents must agree that MCZ/Centrum can build 225 townhouses by consenting to lift a deed restriction that prohibits development on 30 acres of the south golf course.
"The success of the club and the success of the community are intertwined," said Slade O'Brien, a consultant to MCZ/Centrum, which bought Ocean Breeze late in 2004.
Many of the residents have agreed with O'Brien. By late last week, 45 percent of unit owners returned consent forms asking the association to lift a deed restriction, he said. The majority of Boca Teeca residents are for the project, said Shirley Schnuer, president of the Boca Teeca Unit Owners Association.
"There's some give and some take," she said.
But a vocal group of homeowners, led by George Gershon, president of the Teeca Woods Homeowners Association, have protested, distributed fliers and organized a campaign to defeat the plans.
"We just don't believe he's sincere," Gershon said about the developer, echoing a sentiment often heard from other golf course residents who oppose building projects.
Bob Carson has poured $1.5 million into refurbishing the Grand Lacuna Golf Club west of Lake Worth since he bought it last year with the association's approval that he could build on a 9.5-acre driving range. Carson's plans include putting up a two-story, 76-unit condo complex.
"We want your approval that you will not fight the development," Carson recalled telling a meeting packed with 250 people.
But since then, opposition has arisen. A petition protesting the project made the rounds at Lacuna, frustrating Carson, who said the course needs the infusion of cash development brings for it have a viable future.
"People don't want to see you survive," he said.
Wallace Dale, vice president of the Country Club of Coral Springs, started seeking a developer so the club could return to its former glory when Arnold Palmer and Lee Trevino played the course.
"For it to be competitive, we need a new clubhouse, new golf course and, of course, we need new members," Dale said.
After consulting city officials, Dale courted Watermark Communities Inc., which proposed putting up 168 luxury condos on the course's northern perimeter.
Dale said it took one-on-one discussions with those who opposed the plan for them to come around. Still, there are skeptics citing the added density and traffic concerns.
The fight between residents in Boca del Mar with the owner of the Mizner Trail Golf Course west of Boca Raton has been broiling since early 2004. Compson Development proposes building 236 townhouses on holes three through eight of the 18-hole, 132-acre course, and promised to upgrade the course and not develop the remainder of it.
However, some residents didn't want it, even though the master association agreed. They formed a coalition, hired a lawyer and have railed against the project at government meetings and in letters to government officials. In September, Dutch Bliss, the owner, closed the course. Weeks later, Compson offered to contribute $1,000 per each approved unit to be split among three public schools in the area as an incentive. The principals at two of the schools, Omni Middle and Boca Raton High, wrote Palm Beach County Commissioners that each could benefit from the extra money offered by the developer.
Gary Brandenburg, a lawyer representing the project, said most of the opposition to the project comes from two developments that aren't part of Boca del Mar or its master association.
"Those people have no rights whatsoever to their views," he said.
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