The 34-acre property in Flagler Beach, Fla. has been unused and overgrown for seven years, but now is seen as better-suited for revival because of its potential as a nine-hole course. Pine Lakes GC, Indigo Lakes GC and Flagler Golf Management have presented plans to the city’s Alternative Use Committee.
Disused and overgrown for seven years, the 34 acres of what used to be the Ocean Palm Golf Club at the south end of Flagler Beach, Fla., are back in serious play, FlaglerLive.com reported, after a city committee heard proposals last week from three organizations, including two clubs, that seek to take over the grounds and run them as a golf course again.
The city has owned the grounds since 2013, when it bought the acreage for $490,000 in a foreclosure sale, FlaglerLive.com reported. But it has had trouble finding a firm willing or capable to lease and run the site. Now, though, it is hoped that the property offers the opportunity to take advantage of the growing interest in nine-hole courses.
“From a time standpoint, we’re all busy, everybody is connected full-speed all day long,” Flagler Beach City Manager Bruce Campbell said. With a 9-hole course, Campbell noted, “you can get down here after work at 5 o’clock and be done at 6:30.”
The presentations by the three golf concerns took place, without time limits, before an Alternative Use Committee that has no binding power on the Flagler Beach City Commission, FlaglerLive.com reported. But its recommendation to the commission will carry weight, the website noted.
The three organizations that made presentations, FlaglerLive.com reported, were Pine Lakes Golf Club of Stuart, Fla., Indigo Lakes Golf Club of Daytona Beach, Fla., and Flagler Golf Management, a firm that was formed in March, listing Duane McDaniel of Flagler Beach and Terrence McManus of Wellington, Fla., as its principals.
The golf club includes an enclave of about three acres that the city does not own and tried to buy, but the owners have so far been unwilling to sell, FlaglerLive.com reported. The enclave appeared to have been an obstacle in the past as the city sought a solution for the property, but the organizations that presented to the commission understood that those three acres would remain out of their hands.
Flagler Golf Management is proposing to take over the grounds in a 40-year lease, at $1 for the first five years, FlaglerLive.com reported. It would then pay the city 3 percent of all gross revenue, including food, alcohol and other drinks, over the next 35 years.
Annual gross operating costs are projected at $189,000 in Flagler’s proposal. The company expects a gross revenue of $470,000 a year–$400,000 of it from 20,000 rounds of golf per year, or 55 rounds per day, to yield a net profit of $281,100.
The 3 percent share for the city, according to those calculations, would be $14,000, or $1,175 a month, far less than what the city would be earning in tax revenue if the land was owned privately and run as a golf course privately, FlaglerLive.com reported.
Flagler Golf Management proposed to invest $274,000, including $166,300 in capital improvements and 10 golf carts for $30,000. The company asked the city to contribute $14,700 towards maintenance, FlaglerLive.com reported. The company pledged to get the operation going within 120 days of signing the agreement.
Flagler Golf Management’s full proposal can be viewed at https://docs.google.com/viewerng/viewer?url=http://flaglerlive.com/wp-content/wp-content/uploads/Ocean-Palms-Presentation.pdf
The Pine Lakes and Indigo Lakes golf clubs did not turn in proposals in advance of the commission meeting, FlaglerLive.com reported. In March, the website reported, Indigo Lakes sent a letter of intent to the city, in which it requested the complete demolition and removal of the existing clubhouse and required that Flagler Beach buy the 3-acre enclave.
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