The previous owner of Carrollwood's premier golf club failed to achieve his grandiose plans to turn the club around. But the new owners have hit a hole-in-one.
Townhomes and condominiums will soon be part of the landscape along the newly renovated golf greens that ramble through the heart of Carrollwood Village.
County commissioners unanimously approved a milestone rezoning Tuesday that is intended to transform the Emerald Greens Golf & Country Club into a destination resort.
"Our objective is to make sure everything we have planned is for the benefit of the community," said Frank Hayden, the developer and head of an investment group that bought the private club for $3.75-million last September.
Hayden and his partners will build 56 townhomes and 50 condominiums on the 27-hole golf course. Income from the sale of the townhomes and condos will help pay for extensive renovations at the club, which have already begun.
Where the previous owner, John Blaeser, failed, Hayden succeeded,partly because of the approach he took in gaining community support for the rezoning.
Blaeser announced eight years ago he wanted to spend up to $15-million to build 190 to 300 luxury suites along the golf course to raise the money he needed to improve the golf and tennis facilities.
Neighbors vehemently opposed Blaeser's proposal. The idea eventually died.
Hayden, however, worked closely with Carrollwood Village homeowners and compromised with them on every issue of concern. He inspired more confidence by tackling long-overdue renovations to the golf greens immediately after purchasing the club.
He's replacing the old clubhouse, which was recently demolished, with a new 21,000-square-foot facility. He's also building a new pro shop, a day spa and a new 6,000-square-foot pool at the private club.
The extensive resodding and ambitious plans also have helped multiply the club's membership base. Hayden says memberships have gone from 350 when he bought the club to 734.
Several neighbors spoke in support of Hayden's proposal at Tuesday's land use hearing before the County Commission.
"The community as a whole overwhelmingly supports" the Emerald Greens project, said Frank Phelan, a Carrollwood Village Phase I director who worked closely with Hayden's group.
Only one neighbor spoke in opposition.
Chuck Apgar told commissioners he's concerned about drainage problems that he says will arise because of the project. He said he believes the developer hired people to do studies that weren't actually done.
Hayden's planners assured county Commissioner Jim Norman that all the necessary studies were completed.
"I have a lot of confidence in that man there," Norman said, referring to Apgar. Norman said Apgar was a pioneer watchdog in Carrollwood who worked tirelessly to make the county fix drainage problems in the early years of suburban development.
Still, Norman voted in favor of the project. And Commissioner Ken Hagan called the golf club rezoning a case study on how a developer and a community can work together.
"Personally, when I first heard about this plan, I thought there was no way it would be acceptable to the neighbors," Hagan said.
Source: St. Petersburg Times (Florida)