Developer has 18 months to buy Boca Raton Municipal Golf Course

Golfers have at most a year and a half left to tee off, putt and grapple with sand traps at the Boca Raton Municipal Golf Course before the city officially sells it.

The City Council voted on Tuesday to sell the nearly 189-acre property, signing off on a $65 million deal with developer GL Homes and kicking off an 18-month countdown until a contract has to be signed. The contract could be signed earlier if GL chooses to move forward before then.

“We’ve been at this process for a long time,” Mayor Susan Haynie said before voting for the sale. “The market seems right.”

It’s been more than a year since the city received unsolicited offers for the course, which stands west of the city limits in unincorporated Palm Beach County. Officials narrowed down the list of potential buyers and picked GL Homes last month for $8 million less than the Sunrise-based developer originally pitched to the city.

The only dissenting vote on selling the course Tuesday came from Councilman Jeremy Rodgers, who said he didn’t think the city needed to rush to sell. Instead, the city should sit on the idea and see if the property value increases, he suggested.

“I’m having a hard time seeing a compelling reason to act,” Rodgers said.

It’s unclear for what the city will use the $65 million. Council members Tuesday mentioned potential uses could include new city buildings, park improvements or funding efforts to improve the former Ocean Breeze Golf Course, which officials are hoping to buy and renovate.

City Manager Leif Ahnell said the funds will go into their own account until the council decides.

Neil Schiller, attorney for GL, said the company plans to put about 480 homes on the municipal course property. The company will start the site plan process with the county, which has jurisdiction over the area, by the end of the year, Schiller said.

The property is at 8111 Golf Course Road on the west side of the Florida Turnpike and just north of Glades Road. It edges the Wedgewood Estates community.

The neighborhood’s board president Dominic Cirisano said he doesn’t have any major problems with the sale, but he’s concerned about traffic from GL’s plans for homes. Cirisano moved to the community in 1987 and his backyard abuts the course.

“This little Golf Course Road is one lane in each direction, so there’s no way that’s going to be an avenue for that volume of traffic,” Cirisano said.

Schiller said it could take most of the 18 months for the GL deal to close, during which the company will inspect the site and conduct tests.

The city will continue to operate the course and if any plans change and GL isn’t able to close on the purchase, the city gets to keep $2 million from a deposit.