Boca Council staff to review sealed bids by Kathy Bushouse
May 4th, 2001
Two companies-the owners of the Boca Raton Resort & Club and a West Palm Beach business that builds and operates “resort-style” senior citizen communities-submitted bids on Wednesday to buy the Boca Raton Municipal Golf Course.
The sealed bids for the 187-acre, 27-hole golf course will be made public in 10 days, but there’s no word on when a decision will be made to sell the course.
The bids will be reviewed by a committee of city staff members, then forwarded to City Manager Leif Ahnell, who will take his recommendation to the City Council.
Ron Castell, a spokesman for Boca Resorts, said the company would not discuss details of its bid. ‘We don’t want to talk until they open it up,” Castell said.
William Meyer, managing partner of Devonshire Life Care Associates, said the company would keep the 18- hole golf course if it wins the bidding, but would turn the nine hole executive course into a resort-style senior citizen community. The complex would have 350 independent living apartments and a 150-bed assisted-living and skilled-nursing unit, all on 40 acres.
Meyer said the company’s Palm Beach Gardens complex, Devonshire at PGA, is an example. It’s built around a center that houses a bank, movie theater, performing arts center and other amenities such as a wellness center and billiards room. ‘From the time a person moves in, all their needs are met.’ He said.
Meyer said the proposed community would have little effect on nearby neighborhoods.
“You don’t have any school issues, you have minimum road impacts because most of them don’t drive, and we provide transportation to the residents, “Meyer said.
The project would require a rezoning of the golf course, which is classified agricultural, but he said he thinks he could persuade Palm Beach County to grant the change.
“We knew that any kind of housing that was other than senior housing would be totally unacceptable to the county,” he said.
It will definitely require rezoning, but I think when the County Commission becomes familiar with what a life-care community is, and the fact that the impacts are [minimal], they will certainly look far more favorably on this than any other form of housing.’
The Boca Raton City Council voted in February to offer its 15year -old golf course for sale, to see if the land would yield enough money to build a new golf course on 165 acres of city land at T-Rex Technology Center at Boca Raton.
The proposed course would be located south of Spanish River Boulevard and between Interstate 95 and Military Trail.
Neighbors of the Boca Raton Municipal Golf Course had opposed the sale if it meant the golf course would disappear. On Wednesday, some had mixed feelings.
‘If Boca Resort come in, that’s the ideal situation because they’ll definitely keep it as a golf course,’ said Irv Stempel, president of Brentwood
of Boca Homeowners Association.
A senior community, however, might not be well received. Stempel said residents who use the nine-hole executive golf course would not want the property converted to a senior community.
‘We cannot tell the city who to sell to, but we will definitely take any form of action to keep it as a golf course, ” Stempel said.
Norma Leardi said she wouldn’t mind a senior community on the property “as long as they keep the structure low.”
If it’s tall I would definitely be against it,” Leardi said. We’re always vigilant of [potential development], We’ll just have to keep our eyes and ears open.”