For Sale: 18 Hole Florida Golf Course
The New York-based owner of the Serenoa Golf Club plans to put the 18-hole course up for sale beginning this fall.
United Golf LLC's decision to sell the 16-year-old Florida golf course comes amid rising taxes and maintenance costs for links' owners in Southwest Florida, a trend that has forced some courses to close or sell to residential developers.
At Serenoa, though, the sale stems more from United Golf's plan to liquidate its portfolio and reallocate resources.
The company, which at one time owned three dozen golf courses nationwide -- including Eagle Ridge in Illinois and the Cleghorn Plantation in North Carolina -- has sold all but the 233-acre Serenoa and a course in Wisconsin.
United Golf bought Serenoa in April 1997 for $7.02 million, Sarasota County property records show.
The company has not set a price for the club, which was designed by Mark Alden and includes a 7,000-square-foot clubhouse with a full-service restaurant.
"From my perspective, we've owned this asset for 10 years, and our operations were spread out all over the country. Because of the dynamic growth in the golf business, we determined it was a good time to sell," said Mark Mashburn, United Golf's chief executive and until March a top executive with the firm that owns the Longboat Key Club.
"We don't have a minimum price in mind," Mashburn said. "We paid $7 million back in 1997, and we hope and expect to get more than that. The market is so dynamic down there. Housing is cooling somewhat, but it's still very dynamic."
United Golf intends to sell Serenoa following a series of "open houses" beginning Sept. 20, Mashburn said.
The company hopes to complete Serenoa's sale by early next year.
Serenoa, off Clark Road east of Interstate 75, would become the latest in a series of Southwest Florida courses to trade hands in recent years.
Most recently, the Foxfire Golf Course sold in mid-July for $3.6 million. Buyer Foxfire Properties LLC said it has no immediate plans for the 188-acre course, but residential development is a likely option there.
"It's a wonderful Florida golf course that's been underutilized," Michael Saunders, president of giant real estate brokerage firm Michael Saunders & Co. Inc., said of Serenoa.
"But it needs somebody who's really going to focus on it," Saunders said. "The success of the Concession and Founders Club and the Ritz-Carlton courses show we have a demand here for golf. It'll be a great opportunity for someone."
Though Serenoa does have spare land that could be developed into as many as 10 lots -- for homes that would fetch roughly $1 million each -- its future will likely be centered around golf.
Moreover, the Florida golf course already has a residential community surrounding it, a 192-home neighborhood developed by Cy Bispham. The course has 35 homes surrounding it.
Though Serenoa has averaged 40,000 public rounds a year since 2002, the club has operated as "semi-private," meaning it both has members and is open to transient players. The club's 100-plus members pay annual dues of $2,340 and $6,890, plus a $750 initiation fee.
Mashburn believes Serenoa's value has increased as other area courses -- including Heather Mills, Venice East and the Sunrise Golf Club -- have closed.
"One would think that as three other places have gone away, one of those remaining would absorb some of that."
United Golf LLC's decision to sell the 16-year-old Florida golf course comes amid rising taxes and maintenance costs for links' owners in Southwest Florida, a trend that has forced some courses to close or sell to residential developers.
At Serenoa, though, the sale stems more from United Golf's plan to liquidate its portfolio and reallocate resources.
The company, which at one time owned three dozen golf courses nationwide -- including Eagle Ridge in Illinois and the Cleghorn Plantation in North Carolina -- has sold all but the 233-acre Serenoa and a course in Wisconsin.
United Golf bought Serenoa in April 1997 for $7.02 million, Sarasota County property records show.
The company has not set a price for the club, which was designed by Mark Alden and includes a 7,000-square-foot clubhouse with a full-service restaurant.
"From my perspective, we've owned this asset for 10 years, and our operations were spread out all over the country. Because of the dynamic growth in the golf business, we determined it was a good time to sell," said Mark Mashburn, United Golf's chief executive and until March a top executive with the firm that owns the Longboat Key Club.
"We don't have a minimum price in mind," Mashburn said. "We paid $7 million back in 1997, and we hope and expect to get more than that. The market is so dynamic down there. Housing is cooling somewhat, but it's still very dynamic."
United Golf intends to sell Serenoa following a series of "open houses" beginning Sept. 20, Mashburn said.
The company hopes to complete Serenoa's sale by early next year.
Serenoa, off Clark Road east of Interstate 75, would become the latest in a series of Southwest Florida courses to trade hands in recent years.
Most recently, the Foxfire Golf Course sold in mid-July for $3.6 million. Buyer Foxfire Properties LLC said it has no immediate plans for the 188-acre course, but residential development is a likely option there.
"It's a wonderful Florida golf course that's been underutilized," Michael Saunders, president of giant real estate brokerage firm Michael Saunders & Co. Inc., said of Serenoa.
"But it needs somebody who's really going to focus on it," Saunders said. "The success of the Concession and Founders Club and the Ritz-Carlton courses show we have a demand here for golf. It'll be a great opportunity for someone."
Though Serenoa does have spare land that could be developed into as many as 10 lots -- for homes that would fetch roughly $1 million each -- its future will likely be centered around golf.
Moreover, the Florida golf course already has a residential community surrounding it, a 192-home neighborhood developed by Cy Bispham. The course has 35 homes surrounding it.
Though Serenoa has averaged 40,000 public rounds a year since 2002, the club has operated as "semi-private," meaning it both has members and is open to transient players. The club's 100-plus members pay annual dues of $2,340 and $6,890, plus a $750 initiation fee.
Mashburn believes Serenoa's value has increased as other area courses -- including Heather Mills, Venice East and the Sunrise Golf Club -- have closed.
"One would think that as three other places have gone away, one of those remaining would absorb some of that."
posted by John at
7:38 AM
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DGV Platzreife, at 5:05 AM
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