(AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
Aerial images now show the rough outline of an 18-hole course, bunkers and areas for water hazards on the property on Florida’s Treasure Coast. Developers are now expected to seek permission for four golf cottages that weren’t part of the original site plan.
Construction on basketball legend Michael Jordan’s new golf course on Florida’s “Treasure Coast” is well underway, TCPalm.com reported, although its expected completion date is still unknown.
The 226 acres in Hobe Sound, Fla. is slated to become Grove Golf Club, with the NBA Hall of Famer as principal owner, TCPalm.com reported. It’s beginning to take shape, with aerial images from the Property Appraiser’s Office, taken earlier this year, showing the rough outline of an 18-hole course, bunkers and areas for water hazards.
Developers are giving no timeline for completion and opening of the course, TCPalm.com reported. Rick Melchiori, General Manager of Becker Holding Corp., the Vero Beach, Fla. development group behind the club, declined to comment.
TCPalm.com was first to report about the course in 2016, when sources close to the project said they expected it to cost $15 million to $20 million with the participation of about 25 partners.
The course, east of Interstate 95, is expected to comprise 18 holes, a driving range, 9,800-sq. ft. clubhouse and maintenance facilities, according to the developer’s application filed with Martin County, TCPalm.com reported.
Grove Golf Club would be at least the 36th golf course in Florida’s Martin County, and with its anticipated high-end membership, it would be in good company, TCPalm.com reported. Within about a 15- minute drive of the Grove Golf Club site are two world-class clubs: The Medalist and McArthur Club. The course is also just up the road from Hobe Sound Polo Club.
Jordan — the 56-year-old retired Chicago Bulls superstar and current owner of the National Basketball Association’s Charlotte Hornets — is no stranger to the golf scene on the state’s Treasure Coast and in its northern Palm Beach County, TCPalm.com reported. He has been a member at the Medalist and at two other high-end private clubs: The Floridian in Palm City and The Bear’s Club in Jupiter.
Martin County commissioners approved the project in November 2017 and signed off on a revised final site plan in September, TC Palm.com reported. Developers are expected to come back before county officials in August, seeking approval for up to four golf cottages, which previously weren’t a part of the plan.
While still under construction, the club is valued at nearly $2.5 million by the Property Appraiser’s Office, TCPalm.com reported.
As work on the course continues, its developers have run into issues with the South Florida Water Management District, TCPalm.com reported. In February, the district fined the developer about $8,000 for polluting the South Fork of the St. Lucie River. Construction along the canal on the property sent dirty water through a series of nearby canals and into the South Folk, the district reported in 2018.
The issues are now resolved, according to Randy Smith, spokesman for the district, and existing permits for environmental work extend to 2022.
The course is bordered by agricultural land to the east, south and west and by Atlantic Ridge State Park to the north, TCPalm.com reported.
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