Subject: Re: Golf Club & off-road trails
Dear Mayor, City Council, City Manager,
RE: Mr. Frueh' letter about the old Golf Club & actual economic benefits of city neighborhood bike & walking trails
Not allowing a change in land use for the old Golf Course makes economic sense if a park and bike and walking trails are added eventually, especially if Bimini Basin is eventually linked up via the canal to the old Golf Club:
- In Indianapolis. the value of properties within a block of high-quality biking and walking trails has increased an astonishing 148%.
- Property values in Uptown since 2006, climbed nearly 80%.
- Residents and tourists are drawn to this lush greenery and commissioned art work along this trail.
- In Dallas, restaurants and bars claimed a three fold increase in business since the first day of the new Katy Trail's open.
- In Atlanta, the Beltline 26-mile loop of walking and biking trails noted that homes near the trail that used to stay on the market for 60 to 90 days now sell within 24 hours and people are willing to pay up to $5,000 extra for a home.
- Vancouver noted an increase in property values thanks to a nearby bike trail.
- In North Carolina, property values increased $5,000 or more along the small Shepard's Vineyard greenway in the town of Apex.
- The uptick in property values and economic development are often attributed to the millennials who have a clear preference for places that provide a range of mobility and transit options, including biking and walking. Note millennials and Gen X are each larger populations than the Baby Boomer population. http://www.
pewresearch.org/fact-tank/ 2016/04/25/millennials- overtake-baby-boomers/ . - A federal Tiger grant was leveraged by private and philanthropic donations in Indianapolis and we can do the same here.
- A relatively small investment in trails like Indy's Cultural Trail or the Beltline or Katy Trail in Atlanta and Dallas are smart economic bets that also attract the much larger population of millennials.
The value of holding firm on the land-use designation and eventually creating a park with bike and walking trails will provide a greater return on investment for the City.than allowing a rezoning to single or even mixed-use designation. This City is woefully short of park land even in the SE quadrant of the City.IF the Bimini Basin project can eventually be linked up with the old Golf Course via the canal along Country Club Blvd. the economic and quality of life benefits will be similar to the San Antonio Riverwalk https://www.thesanantonioriverwalk.com/ .
Hold tight. I was happy to see D.R. Horton create a small single-family gated community in my neighborhood in the SW at Sands Blvd. and Cape Coral Parkway, but don't lose this valuable large parcel of land in SE, the old Golf Club property. The economic and quality of life value of creating a destination will be so much higher for the City.
The City needs to eventually create a park on the Old Golf Club property linking up via the canal with Bimini Basin. If it takes 20 years to accomplish that is still better than eliminating a needed piece of open space in SE Cape Coral!
Thank you for your thoughtful consideration and hard work on our behalf.
Carolyn
Carolyn Conant-Adair
Cape Coral Bike Ped
