Monday, June 19, 2006

Future of site to draw debate

By Don Ruane
druane@news-press.com

Originally posted on June 17, 2006


The Golf Club could become a tennis club, maybe an amusement center or Cape Coral's next multi-housing development after it closes Aug. 1.

Or it could remain a golf course or some form of a city park.

None of nearly a dozen purchase offers in the past year materialized. Now the future of the site, surrounded by hundreds of homes in the southeastern part of the city, is uncertain.

Whatever is in store for the 175-acre course will have to pass rigorous tests of public opinion and political will before it can be built.

There were a lot of protests when the 232-unit Banyan Trace condos were built next to the course around 2001, planning consultant William Nolan said.

"There were a lot of people who didn't want those condos," Nolan said.

One complaint was that the condos would ruin homeowners' views. Anyone who wants to put homes or more condos on the property will have a tough sell, Nolan said.

Any new proposal could produce more pressure on the City Council, Councilwoman Dolores Bertolini said.

"People already are asking me to make promises I cannot make," Bertolini said.

The council should wait to see whether The Golf Club really closes or whether a buyer emerges before it discusses possible city involvement in the course's future, Bertolini said.

"It's a private property deal," Bertolini said.

The Lee County School District, which tried to buy the property last year, has no plans to make a new offer, spokesman Joe Donzelli said.

"Our view is it is a city of Cape Coral issue," Donzelli said. "Will it change down the road? I don't know."

The property is zoned for single-family homes but appears on the city's land-use map as land for parks and recreation uses.

A single-family developer would have to request a large-scale land-use change if the project involves more than 10 acres or more than 10 units per acre, city planner Rick Sosnowski said. Such a change would require a review by the state's growth managers at the Department of Community Affairs.

Large-scale map amendments are allowed twice a year. The city is preparing its second submission now, so it's unlikely a large proposal could be considered before next year, Sosnowski said.

That doesn't mean another project, such as a tennis center or something like Greenwell's Bat-A-Ball Family Fun Park, couldn't qualify under the parks and recreation land use category, Sosnowski said.

Multifamily might be the most likely use, Nolan said.

The course probably could remain but be shortened, narrowed and still handle some multifamily housing around the edges, Nolan said.

"From a single-family standpoint, the golf course goes," Nolan said. Roads and other features would take up too much room, he said.

"But there probably is enough room for some kind of multifamily uses," Nolan said.

Owners ready to fight for homes — again

Closing of course raises fears of declining values

By Pete Skiba
pskiba@news-press.com

Originally posted on June 17, 2006

Residents with golf course views from their backyards took the news that Cape Coral’s The Golf Club will close Aug. 1 with a deep sigh of resolve.

“I guess I’ll have to get my sign out again,” said Delia Cianciotti, 77. “We’ve been through this before.”

In a letter to homeowners that surround the 175-acre course, managing partner Scott Siler wrote that the course would close because “we can no longer operate the course at a substantial deficit.”

Cianciotti kept her yellow “Save The Golf Course” sign from when it seemed the course would be sold to the Lee County School District. Angry neighbors turned out for meetings, rallied to petition the City Council and even put their homes up for sale, fearing a drop in value if schools moved in.

Because of the public firestorm, the district backed out of the deal in July 2005.

Almost a year later, the neighbors feel their backs are against the wall again. They bought their homes because of the views, not only of the course but the wildlife that inhabit it.

People living along streets such as Country Club Boulevard, Palm Tree Boulevard, Southeast Fourth Place and other streets that make a ring around the course said they were sad, ready to fight again and wondered what would happen to their property values.

“I understand the business part of why they have to sell,” said Southeast Seventh Place resident Beth McGuire Brodman, 42. “But we are very unhappy about what might go in.”

The desirability of a home with no rear neighbors, adds to the value of a home, said Realtor Phyllis Shelton, of ERA Heritage. Substantial development such as high-rise condominiums, schools or anything else would lower home values in The Golf Club neighborhood.

“There would be no adverse effects if the area is kept as green space,” said Shelton, a former president of the Cape Coral chapter of the Women’s Council of Realtors.

Many neighbors, as well as Shelton, believe The Golf Course exists under zoning that should keep it as a park or a golf course. If not, those neighbors are ready to protest again.

“I think it is terrible news. We built here because of the golf course,” Southeast Sixth Avenue resident Gen Reed said. “The city will not stand for it if it is sold to the school board.”

Cape's Golf Club to close after losing more green

By
Originally posted on June 17, 2006

Cape Coral's first golf course — a popular social destination throughout the years — will close for good Aug. 1.

Mounting debt, a lack of play and an inability to find a suitable buyer are primary reasons The Golf Club, which opened in 1961, will shut down in 45 days, managing partner Scott Siler told The News-Press on Friday.

"I can't foresee a time when revenues would outstrip costs," said Siler, who indicated the course has a $3 million operating debt accumulated over the five years since it was purchased.

"I've been playing there since it reopened," said Cape Coral resident Steve Personette, 59, who is a member. "It's sad that it is closing, but I'll just find another place to play."

Siler said his group will pay all of its bills — total debt is around $15 million — and continue to look for a buyer during and after the closing date.

Longtime residents of the city and golfers have said the course's downfall may have been high greens fees and a failure to do more to recapture its place as the top social destination in the city.

"It is really a heartbreaker," said former city councilwoman Gloria Tate, whose family moved to the city in the 1950s. "The golf course, when it first opened, belonged to the people. It seems to have lost that over the years."

Since a failed deal last July to sell the course to the Lee County School District for about $26 million, Siler said two other potential buyers had signed contracts to buy the 175-acre facility. Both pulled out, Siler said, because they could not figure ways to make it profitable as a golf course.

What doomed the 18-hole course more than anything, Siler said, was that golfers weren't showing up to play.

"The beginning golfers weren't coming as much, avid golfers were not coming around and the most avid golfers got sucked out of the market," he said.

Golfers played 35,000 rounds last year at The Golf Club, well below the 57,010 at another public facility, Coral Oaks. The Golf Club's membership has dwindled to around 200, compared to 325 at private Palmetto Pine Country Club and 265 at Coral Oaks.

The Golf Club greens fees were $72 in season and $35 out of season in peak times. Coral Oaks charged $55 for residents and $65 for nonresidents in season and approximately $20 out of season. The national average, according to the National Golf Foundation, is $34.

Siler says ownership tried to control the cost to golfers, raising fees only $3 to $5 during the past five years.

Although rounds were up this year, the course was going to finish the year another $400,000 in debt, compared to $500,000 last year and $1.2 million in 2002.

"We just couldn't predict people would come and play golf," Siler said.

Members and neighbors received letters Friday detailing the course's closing.

"I just like playing golf here," said Cape Coral resident Alex Medinis, 16, a junior member of the club. "I've been playing here for three years. I've gotten better because of it."

Members were told they would be issued a rebate to cover their dues for the rest of the year as well as continued course services until the last day of play July 31.

Employees — about 50 full- and part-time — were told that if they stay until the club closes, they could each receive an additional $2,500.

In Siler's letter to his neighbors, he said: "I respect the impact that The Golf Club closing has on you and your neighborhood. Please know that we are working hard to ensure a smooth transition."

Those residents were primarily responsible for keeping a deal with the school district from going through. They complained that the deal to demolish the course and build five new schools would devalue their property and increase traffic to an unmanageable level in the southeast part of the city.

"When that deal didn't happen, what we looked at was the community wanted the golf course and would support it," Siler said. "We had a little more revenue, but not enough."

Siler said the club would have needed about $1 million in additional revenue and 8,000 to 10,000 more rounds of golf in a year to stay open. The course was on pace for about 40,000 rounds this year.

Now, one of the biggest pieces of property in the 116-square-mile city will go dormant.

Once it closes, Siler said, the owners will continue to do limited maintenance — cut the grass, monitor the ponds and consider what type of security may be needed. Eventually, grass will grow over the sand bunkers, and fairways and greens will be undistinguishable.

In essence, it will look like a big field with trees.

"This will never be a golf course again as far as I am concerned," Siler said.

The history

In addition to golf, the club has a rich social history, hosting dances, weddings, entertainers and community fundraisers. When early residents moved here and when perspective buyers toured the area, the club was the place to be seen.

"My husband and I would go there on Friday nights for dinner and dancing," said City Council member Dolores Bertolini, who moved to the city in 1986.

The course even hosted the 1972 NCAA Championships, when Ben Crenshaw and Tom Kite tied for the title. It's the only time in NCAA golf history two players shared the title.

"It was the social setting," Tate said. "Our children got married there. There were even funerals there."

Siler and his approximately 50 partners bought the course five years ago under the entity of The Golf Club of Southwest Florida LLC, intent on making it a key golf destination in Lee County. Condos were built, holes were renovated, and after $5 million worth of changes, the course reopened in December 2001.

His business plan was to take advantage of "a growing community, especially at the higher end, no other golf courses (coming in) and a quality product," Siler said.

"If I had to do it again, I would do the same thing."

The course lost money from the first year, and the cycle never changed.

Added Bertolini, whose district includes the course: "We have green space; now, we have closed green space."

— Staff writer Pete Skiba contributed to this report.