PulteGroup’s purchase of the 40-acre site on the Boca Raton, Fla., property is part of a larger trend in South Florida, where vacant land is at a premium and developers are buying up shuttered or underused golf courses to build housing, frequently drawing protests from residents.
PulteGroup has closed on a 40-acre site within the Boca Lago Country Club in Boca Raton, Fla., for $8.3 million, the New York, N.Y.-based Real Deal reported.
Pulte plans to develop a retirement community called Boca Flores on the Boca Raton land, the company announced on Monday. The 130-unit project will have two-story carriage-style homes with elevators and one-story villas, the Real Deal reported.
The Atlanta-based home builder will launch sales in August. Homes in the gated community will include social memberships to Boca Lago. The Boca project will be built on part of the golf course that was previously closed by the club, the Real Deal reported.
Pulte and other home builders in South Florida have taken advantage of available golf course land in recent months. Last week, Pulte proposed building 850 homes on the former Oak Tree Golf Course in Broward County, Fla., a 139-acre site that closed about 10 years ago, the Real Deal reported.
The Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Sun-Sentinel also reported on the trend of homebuilders buying up former golf courses in the region.
In just the past few years, golf course neighbors in South Florida communities have struggled, mostly in vain, to stop the projects. The developments often are mired in controversy—and sometimes litigation—for years, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
“There’s a reason it’s not operating as a golf course,’’ Pulte real estate acquisition Director Tony Palumbo said of the Oak Tree development. “The cost to operate and maintain a golf course, they’re shutting down everywhere.’’
Even in Palm Beach County, one of the golf capitals of America, courses are closing, and homes are rising. There are 10 golf courses at some stage of conversion to residential development, golf course appraiser Vince McLaren said. That’s of the roughly 149 18-hole courses in the county, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
In Boca Raton, for example, the Mizner Trail golf course remains closed years after a housing project was approved there. County Commissioner Steven Abrams voted against the development, after residents told him they’d be satisfied even if nothing got built and the acreage became “their own Serengeti,’’ he recalled. Indeed, nothing has been built, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
“It’s a big eyesore,’’ Abrams said of the former golf course. “The clubhouse in particular. I’m trying to see if we can demolish it.’’
When developers sought to build on the Century Village course in West Palm Beach, Abrams voted for it. “We took a lot of heat for that,’’ he said. “In their documents, it called for the golf course to exist in perpetuity. … [But] were we going to keep it a weed patch in perpetuity?’’
Each case offers its own quandary, he said, and neighbors do best if they work with the developers, and face reality. “The reality is it’s not going to be a golf course,’’ he said.
In another case, Boca Raton homeowners successfully fought to stop development of the Ocean Breeze/Boca Teeca golf course. It’s slated to be purchased by the Greater Boca Raton Park and Beach District. Meanwhile, the Boca Raton Municipal Golf Course in West Boca is for sale, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
Broward County and Miami-Dade don’t have as many golf courses, but they have their share of the same controversies. According to Broward Property Appraiser Marty Kiar, there are about 45 golf courses in the county, and at least three closed in the past five years. Miami-Dade Property Appraiser Pedro Garcia estimates 37 there, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
As in many of the cases, the 139-acre Oak Tree site in Oakland Park isn’t zoned for a residential community. The developer needs approvals from the city, county and state. Though no plans have been submitted, the developer this month conducted the required preliminary meetings with the community, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
Palumbo and other developer representatives faced a sometimes-hostile crowd of more than 100 people airing concerns about traffic, views, crime and property values, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
When someone asked why the company is seeking to build so many homes, Palumbo’s answer drew groans: “Why not?’’ He said it’s too soon to say how traffic and environmental concerns will be dealt with, and whether the number of homes can be cut, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
“Today’s day one,’’ he said. “We’re going to have to stand before the public bodies. We’re going to have to answer the questions. We are, believe it or not, we’re listening.’’
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