Sabal Point a Florida Golf Course Could Shrink Golf Course
Changes are likely at the closed Sabal Point Country Club as the property's new owner is expected to follow a national trend of trading Florida golf courses for more moneymaking development.
Officials of REGem Management told residents this week that they are considering revamping the golf course to make it shorter, more affordable and easier to play -- qualities they say have made courses such as Winter Pines and Dubsdread popular and successful.
At the same time, they would develop some of the land to help pay for the course's million-dollar makeover and bolster the venture's overall viability. Just what might be built, however, remains unclear.
For many years, golf courses throughout the country and especially in Central Florida have struggled as the number of rounds being played has dropped. Last year was the first since 1945 that the number of golf courses nationwide decreased compared with the previous year, according to a National Golf Foundation report. The number of golf courses closing has grown from 32 in 2001 to 93 last year, according to the report.
Sabal Point's tentative development plans mirror a trend toward converting troubled golf-course properties -- either partially or wholly -- into more profitable uses, such as residential or commercial developments.
Of the courses that closed last year, more than half were turned into residential or commercial ventures.
Sabal Point residents say they need more details about what might be built in their community before they'll get behind any changes.
"In Sabal Point, the golf course runs through the interior of the community," said Wayne Hunicke, president of the largest homeowners association. "So residents here will want to know more about what's planned before they can support it."
The new owner says the old model cannot survive in the current market.
"They want us to realize that just re-opening the club is just a repeat of something that hasn't worked," Hunicke said. "Everybody now knows the course is in pretty bad shape. I think most people will be willing to consider adjustments that won't affect their lives or their views."
Sabal Point was one of three Florida golf courses taken over by Banc of America Strategic Solutions last year and put on the market.
About two miles way from Sabal Point, some residents of Wekiva Springs are facing a similar situation -- plans for building 48 new town houses on nearly 5 acres at the Wekiva Springs Golf Club. Owners of the Florida golf course want to add the two-story units around the clubhouse and along the 16th fairway.
This project -- which would be built on an undeveloped, wooded lot -- is scheduled to go before the Seminole County Planning and Zoning Commission next week. Some residents say they don't want more dense development in the community and have been meeting ahead of the P&Z meeting.The proposal would require amending the master plan for the Wekiva Planned Unit Development, a blueprint for the 1,022-acre golf-course community approved 30 years ago. That blueprint requires 255 acres to remain as open space. There are currently 260 acres of open space, just enough to allow the project. The project's 48 town houses, however, would put the development over its limit of 3,137 dwelling units.
Officials of REGem Management told residents this week that they are considering revamping the golf course to make it shorter, more affordable and easier to play -- qualities they say have made courses such as Winter Pines and Dubsdread popular and successful.
At the same time, they would develop some of the land to help pay for the course's million-dollar makeover and bolster the venture's overall viability. Just what might be built, however, remains unclear.
For many years, golf courses throughout the country and especially in Central Florida have struggled as the number of rounds being played has dropped. Last year was the first since 1945 that the number of golf courses nationwide decreased compared with the previous year, according to a National Golf Foundation report. The number of golf courses closing has grown from 32 in 2001 to 93 last year, according to the report.
Sabal Point's tentative development plans mirror a trend toward converting troubled golf-course properties -- either partially or wholly -- into more profitable uses, such as residential or commercial developments.
Of the courses that closed last year, more than half were turned into residential or commercial ventures.
Sabal Point residents say they need more details about what might be built in their community before they'll get behind any changes.
"In Sabal Point, the golf course runs through the interior of the community," said Wayne Hunicke, president of the largest homeowners association. "So residents here will want to know more about what's planned before they can support it."
The new owner says the old model cannot survive in the current market.
"They want us to realize that just re-opening the club is just a repeat of something that hasn't worked," Hunicke said. "Everybody now knows the course is in pretty bad shape. I think most people will be willing to consider adjustments that won't affect their lives or their views."
Sabal Point was one of three Florida golf courses taken over by Banc of America Strategic Solutions last year and put on the market.
About two miles way from Sabal Point, some residents of Wekiva Springs are facing a similar situation -- plans for building 48 new town houses on nearly 5 acres at the Wekiva Springs Golf Club. Owners of the Florida golf course want to add the two-story units around the clubhouse and along the 16th fairway.
This project -- which would be built on an undeveloped, wooded lot -- is scheduled to go before the Seminole County Planning and Zoning Commission next week. Some residents say they don't want more dense development in the community and have been meeting ahead of the P&Z meeting.The proposal would require amending the master plan for the Wekiva Planned Unit Development, a blueprint for the 1,022-acre golf-course community approved 30 years ago. That blueprint requires 255 acres to remain as open space. There are currently 260 acres of open space, just enough to allow the project. The project's 48 town houses, however, would put the development over its limit of 3,137 dwelling units.
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