An initial contract was scheduled to be signed on July 18th with Price Fazio Design to start the assessment process for the redesign of the former private Ocean Breeze golf course, which was bought by the city and will be renamed Boca National Golf Club when it reopens as a public venue. At least three public feedback sessions will be held, primarily to address the controversial issue of whether the course’s 27 holes should be preserved.
Golfers and neighbors will have their say before work begins on the redesign for Boca Raton, Fla.’s new public golf course, the Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel reported.
At least three public feedback sessions were approved on July 16th by the buyer, the Greater Boca Raton Beach & Park District, the Sun Sentinel reported.
“We’re looking forward to a late-August meeting for input from the public,” said Robert Rollins Jr., the district’s chairman. “There could be four meetings if there’s still work to do.”
The former 212-acre, private Ocean Breeze golf course closed in June 2016, and the district bought the 27-hole course with a $20 million loan from the city and renamed it Boca National Golf Club.
Golfers who expect to use it and 3,000 people who live on or near the course in the Boca Teeca neighborhood want a say in what it will look like, the Sun Sentinel reported, and preserving all 27 holes, instead of converting it to a traditional 18-hole course has been a sticking point.
“I hope there are two views, for 27 holes or 18,” Harold Chaffee, president of Keep Golf in Boca, told the Sun Sentinel. “It’s important to listen to residents and golfers, to make sure they don’t conflict.”
The Park District was expected to sign an initial $720,000 agreement on July 18th with Price Fazio Design, the Jupiter, Fla.-based firm that has been selected to do the work, the Sun Sentinel reported. The firm said the initial site work will take four or five weeks.
The budget for the project is $1 million, according to the Palm Beach Post.
The Post reported that Price Fazio’s fee is likely to top $1 million once the team assesses the land and better understands the 212-acre golf course’s needs, according to district director Arthur Koski.
“It could be more [than $1 million], depending on anything unexpected discovered on the site,” Koski told the Post.
Wayne Branthwaite, heading the project for Price Fazio Design, told the Post that “No decision has been made on this golf course yet,” regarding the 27- or 18-hole configuration. The new layout could also include a driving range, golf school or other elements, the Post reported.
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