A “People’s Park” for Fort Lauderdale?
Posted Under: Ft Lauderdale Parks and Green Spaces,Important Issues for Fort Lauderdale,Neighborhood Issues
As many of you know, the 200+ acre area that encompasses the Coral Ridge Country Club and the old American Golf course (the area roughly between Federal Highway and Bay View, & north of Oakland Park and south of Commercial) was sold a few years back to some private developers & investors for approximately $17M. A pretty good deal for a piece of property in the City that large!
Apparently, it was the intention of these investors/developers to buy the property (zoned for green space, or golf course & park), and then convince the local City and County Governments here to change the zoning so that residential and commercial development could have taken place. Doing so would have changed the property value from $17M to well over $200M, and would have netted a nice fat profit for the folks who bought the parcels.
However, the residents around the properties last year took action and convinced County Government to keep the zoning as is. Since then, the investors have been sitting on the property and areas have stagnated. The Pro Shop on the public Golf Course was gutted by fire. The developers (I have been told) have still made money on the property since they bought it, having received upwards of $8-9 million from a FEMA grant for damage that hurricane Wilma did. (If someone can verify the accuracy of this, I would appreciate hearing from you…). This is taxpayer money these developers have received; have they improved the property?
I haven’t seen improvements yet, have you? So here is a huge piece of property that’s just sitting there, with the developers apparently pocketing half of their original investement, compliments of us, the taxpayers. What have they used that money for?
I feel that our leaders in Broward County and in the City of Fort Lauderdale should approach the developers/investors and offer to purchase the property from them, and turn it into a “People’s Park” for us, the residents of Fort Lauderdale.
I feel a reasonable price to buy the property should be about $10M. The $10M we’d offer them plus the $8-9M they got from the FEMA grant will still be more than they paid for the property, and in this economic environment any return at all is better than the norm. (FYI: the City can also use a carrot and stick apporach if the investors did not want to sell. Property taxes on those properties could be adjusted upwards, making it more attractive for the current owners to sell to the City.)
And we have the financial ability to purchase this property, with the savings we could achieve by reductions in other areas of our swollen budget (go to www.abetterftlauderdale.com). I’ve already suggested savings of over $150M in a recent post on that site.
Purchasing this last large green space in the City would be a great way for our leaders to show that they care about the residents of Fort Lauderdale. Once purchased, this property could be turned into a true gem of a park. For those of you who have visited New York or San Francisco, you’ve seen the value that these tourist cities place on having a large public park for their residents and tourists. These places become destinations unto themselves, places people flock to. Our City has an opportunity now to obtain a similar park; we will never have this opportunity again.
So what do you think? Post a comment here, or contact your Mayor and/or Commissioner and ask them to act!
Reader Comments
The price is too high. We should use our power of eminent domain and buy the land for $5m.
I would not want a public park in my neighborhood. A country club is one thing, a tourist attrction is quite another. Also, you know what public parks attract?
Well explained. A wonderful solution to empty space.
And some cities to have central parks…and this
may be our last chance.
Thank you for all your suggestions that you have
sent us.
Buy it back.
Excellent idea. We’re running out of space for parks.
As someone who drives by that space almost daily I would love to see it put to good use. It is an amazing stretch of property and there simply isn’t enough green space in Fort Lauderdale. It would be wonderful if a bike/jogging track could be created around the park (similar to Pompano Beach) since it is so close to the bike paths on Bayview. Thanks for your help!
I think a public park in this area is a great idea. There is so little undeveloped land left in Fort Lauderdale. This is a rare opportunity to do something that will improve our lives long into the future. I’m lucky enough to live near Holiday Park and what a treasure that is. I work near on Oakland Park Boulevard and feel surrounded by a sea of concrete when I’m at work.
Converting the Coral Ridge Golf Club into a park should be the objective of our Commissioners. There is a sufficient number of hi-rise to dampen the allure of the City. Adding bricks does nothing for air quality, traffic and congestion.
Planning should focus on the quality of life
not solely on tax revenue.
Colonel Earl:
Exquiste Idea! Simple as this statement.
Thhank you again,
JWR
I agree! However not knowing the do’er or the do’ee I can only determine there is a higher force.
With that being said, have you notice the wet lands south of Port Everglaades and north of Hollendale, all sub-divided, including the beaches, waiting for a developer to come along
The Coral Ridge Country Club and the Old American Golf Course, I suggest filing a “Complaint” with State of Florida “Commission of Ethics”, .
I’m sure when the people bought their home surounded by this once lovely golf course, they had a certain amount of expectation, of looking at that park like setting for the rest of their lives. Also the park like setting would be a benifit when selling the property. That is a form of “taking”, property rights.
Why does Cardinal Gibbons, Archdioces of Miami own a parcel within the golf course? Just like, why does the Cardinal Gibbons, Archdioces of Miami own a parcel at the mouth of the Port Everglades?
I’ve got my own battles, Central Beach Master Plan. Good luck………….
I agree! However not knowing the do’er or the do’ee I can only determine there is a higher force.
With that being said, have you notice the wet lands south of Port Everglaades and north of Hollendale, all sub-divided, including the beaches, waiting for a developer to come along
The Coral Ridge Country Club and the Old American Golf Course, I suggest filing a “Complaint” with State of Florida “Commission of Ethics”, .
I’m sure when the people bought their home surounded by this once lovely golf course, they had a certain amount of expectation, of looking at that park like setting for the rest of their lives. Also the park like setting would be a benifit when selling the property. That is a form of “taking”, property rights.
Why does Cardinal Gibbons, Archdioces of Miami own a parcel within the golf course? Just like, why does the Cardinal Gibbons, Archdioces of Miami own a parcel at the mouth of the Port Everglades?
I’ve got my own battles, Central Beach Master Plan. Good luck………….Never ben on this wb site, could not have submitted previously.
As one with delightful personal memories of the pict and putt course and as a citizen of a town that needs to hold firmly to every speck of greenery, I applaud your ideas for a peoples park (though a less Russky name might attract a larger following!)
What if a friendly landscape/golf course architect were to volunteer drawungs of plans for such a park? So many people need a visual to imagine what could be.
The City of Fort Lauderdale has no public golf course. This would be great if the city or county would buy it. Our child learned to play golf at American, as did many other kids. Now there is nothing like it. I wholeheartedly support this idea.
I agree that it is time we save some of our land for healthier recreation.
Thank goodness this has come to the people’s attention. I lived on the second fairway for 15 years and we were told it would remain a golfcourse. What city father sold this land?????? Who approved this to happen?????? Greed is a disease that spreads and infects the good of man, or woman. I think a city park or replace the golf course, with the driving range would be an added plus. It was the only public course on the east side. It was a peaceful view, as far as the eye could see was trees and green. I am still shocked that this land is now a burnt field, the people who live there must be furious.
Carol Cappadona resident since 1967
As if we have not learned years ago, while the plans were being thrown down the cities’ and residents’ throats that they were overbuilding – only to have a surplus of vacant, unpaid condos, etc. SO we all need to get the City to RESTORE the green areas and do so with this park. Yes, the City and the County need to act on this before another property has a fence around it, rotting for sale or coming soon signs (only to sit there for years), etc. Seeing something kept green rather than more concrete would certainly enlighten all of us and even give us a place to go for recreation.
I am providing a link from my website to this article. I have several volunteer friends that would just love to raise awareness of this gem.
Those of us who live in the Easternmost part of the county would love to have a place to run, walk, jog, and participate in sports like disc golf, volley ball (semi final beach vollyball could be played here just before the finals – a great ESPN event.) and picnic, etc.
Let me know how we can help. I would love to further discuss this issue. You seem to be the type of person that cares for Fort Lauderdale. My family is native to Fort Lauderdale and would love to see you hold public office.
I drove by the park today and thought what a nice environment for mixed activity, including disc golf. I’m just getting into the sport and this course is ideal!
Thank you for your efforts, Lt. Col. Earl Rynerson.
(Incidentally, I am proud to say I voted for Earl in the mayoral election. Will vote again if running in next one.)
Why can’t we just turn it back into what it was…. a great driving range for Ft. Lauderdale residents. Why do we have to drive to Pompano or Coral Springs for a grass driving range. How many people work in downtown Ft. Lauderdale as well as live in Ft Lauderdale that would use it. IF the city did buy it back, why build another park…. make a revenue generating business- a driving range!!! Since it is already a driving range, rejuvinate it and make some money!
I agree completely with blogger “Sue”. Why don’t we turn this valuable piece of land into a profit center? As a frequent customer of the former American Golfers Driving Range, it has been frustrating not having a suitable practice facility in the Ft. Lauderdale area. A First Tee program would be a fantastic addition to the many youth programs already offered in our city. Let’s do it….
Very informative post. Thank you.
Renovate the golf course and keep it public. Make money and stop trying to waste money by doing other things with it. The US1 corridor from Oakland Park Blvd. to Floranada Rd. has continually gone downhill for the last 20 years with businesses leaving or going of of business. Try and keep something for the citizens without spending additional funds.
A park would be the best use, forget the driving range, the City would never be abel to make a profit if they ran it. Just passive use with trails and jogging paths. Maybe hire a private firm to run driving range and pay the City a fee.
Yes! People’s park.
First of all, Hi Carol Cappadona…mom of my life-long friend Gina!
I like the idea of it continuing to be a golf course/driving range…it’s already set up that way and would cost much less to re-construct that then raise for a whole park…although a nice park would be good…however, look at Holiday Park…a nice piece of land and great playground/tennis center, but still a place for the homeless and unsavory to gather. I like the public golf idea. I also grew up around that course and would like to see it put back to use.
I think it should be a Park…….the Peoples Park and that means a park for everyone.
Having it remain a golf course/driving range does not serve all of the people in the area, only a select few who play golf. How ridiculous and self serving to take that amazing parcel of land that can be filled with greenery, flowers, walkways, perhaps even a dog park and put golf back on it. Can’t we just have an open space filled with some natural elements to enjoy?
I think that making it a public park is a great idea as it would attract people during the day and could be a great spot at night. with the city’s night life already in full swing it would be nice to have something nice and calming to do in the area.
I agree. Buy it back. Keep it green.
I don’t think another golf course is needed. As the old golfing generation fades away into the sunset we need a new vision for the young families of Fort Lauderdale who are now moving into the neighborhood. That means places for play, exercise and just sitting in the shade under the trees.
I suggest, since the roads have become dangerous, that we put in a bicycle path, running paths and places for the locals to exercise.
We need more public green-space and more space outdoors to exercise, or our children will grow up to be couch potatoes.
MAKE IT A PARK with trees, shady walkways and benches where you can lookout over the ponds. Turn the sand traps into sand pits.
Does the City have 10 Million to spend? How much would it cost to develop and maintain a park? Governments aren’t good are running profit centers. Its better done by entrepreneurs. It might be in everyone’s best interest to allow the “investors” to wait for the right buyer. Which is their right as property owners.
I am not in favor of Governments compelling property owners to sell in a bad economy by use of power. While a park might be nice, its certainly not badly needed. Eminent Domain is intended to allow Governments to build highways and Railroads, not to force out investors to build bike paths. How would any of us like it if we had a property we couldnt sell at a fair price and the City decided it would be nice to build tennis courts there?
The owners of this parcel have every right to hold onto the property until the economy improves and they can get a better price. Likewise, City and State Governments are going to face budget issues for years to come; taking on another financial burden is probably not a good idea. More grass to cut, more trees to trim, more parks to provide security for; more bills for a city that can’t pay the ones they have now.
FEMA guidelines require recipients to pay the money back if it can’t be demonstrated that it was spent on disaster-related repairs. They cannot “pocket” the money. I’m not sure who has standing to challenge the owners as to the use of the money, but if they haven’t spent the money to repair the property they should be compelled to either do so or pay the FEMA money back.
We already have a park like that Earl, it’s called Holiday Park, and the city is more likely to turn into a tent city than make it Central Park.
Large public parks are a great idea. Look at Central Park in New York. Who would not want to live in a condo that overlooks a huge green park. A park of this size would inspire ivestement and building around the park. 10 mil might be a bit high in this market. I’m sure the value of the land has plummetted since they bought it. If they break even, they should be happy that they did not lose money like everyone else is.
This is so needed, I support the idea 100%. We need more open green space in NE Fort Lauderdale.
Earl, with all do respect, this is land that pays taxes, we have enough parks and enough tax free space, I think that is an important fact that should have come out if there is unbiased reporting. Also this was a privately owned piece of property, the owners should be able to do what is allowed in the code, as far as changes, there are many properties in the County that have gotten land use changes that provided better use for the land, Also one other item, what makes you qualified to respresent what that property is worth, its worth what a qualified buyer and a motivated seller are willing to pay for it.
This is a great idea! I believe that more green space is necessary in Fort Lauderdale.
Earl.
This is madness. Why would you think the same incompetent people who can’t run the city would do a better job? Also eminent domain is very risky business and for the most part anti-capitalistic. What we need, as you have said, is a comprehensive zoning plan for the city. Then if some light development makes sense there great, if not then the owners paid their money and took their shot and lost. Those properties are not “ours” they were paid by private people like your house and business.
I would like to see a nice mixed use development that has lots of green space and sensible businesses in the area that would support local jobs.
Joe
Joe:
The developers who bought the property bought it with the intention of trying to get the zoning changed. They wanted to break the rules and profit from it. There are many other examples in South Florida of developers (many of them crooked) paying “pennies on the dollar” to buy up green spaces, then bribe or coerce public officials to change the zoning, so that they can make millions by building more homes or condos. In this situation, the residents got active and stymied the developers plans. Then the economy tanked. Now the driving range sits as an abandoned and uncared for piece of prime property. The developers have no intention of doing anything but just sit on it.
I’m sorry Joe, but I disagree with you; this is one space that should be reserved for the people of Fort Lauderdale, not wealthy developers. And “Eminnent Domain” is a useful tool to obtain property (at a fair market value) and transform it into something that residents can be proud of. This is a perfect example of where “Eminent Domain” should be applied. We should save our green spaces!
Earl
I have sent the following e-mail message to the mayor and all the commissioners, regarding the Golf Course Purchases:
Please try to purchase the last remaining green space for the pleasure of the citizens and future generations.
Please take the imitative to make this happen , especially in this favorable climate for land value that cannot be rezoned.
It would be a bargain for all of us.
Please make a statement as to your position – since this is so very meaningful to the voters.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Frank G. Baratta, M.D.
Good job, Frank!
I wish more people would do what you just did! It would go a long way for us residents getting what we need to make Fort Lauderdale a better place for all of us!
Earl
This area desperately needs a city park for jogging and bike riding, and strolling and picnics, and reading the paper on a beautiful Sunday afternoon – like Balboa Park (San Diego), Central Park (NYC), Golden Gate Park (San Francisco), and Rock Creek Park (Wasington DC)! Over time we could add some statues that personalize the park, and we could feature some beautiful natural Florida landscaping. It is also essential that we balance the level of development that the area has experienced with appropriate green space.
Well said, Dan!
Earl
I’m all for the park/green space idea. Even Houston, TX has a park, called Memorial Park, with tons of green space, a jogging trail, fitness center, and playground/picnic areas. It attracts hundreds of people every day and more on the weekends. Is there any update on where this stands?
Hey, Why doesn’t the city trade the swimming hall of fame site for this site and instead of building an unneeded additional park, how about 1 decent middle school and high school inside Fort Lauderdale’s city limits. There is currently no public education worth having in Fort Lauderdale beyond the 6th grade.
Buy it back ASAP. The way our government is destroying the dollar, we will look back in 5 years and laugh at how cheap it was.
If you want to immediately generate income from the property, lease it to a company to develope/run a driving range, but retain parking and install meters.
This blog has now been going on since 2009, and the city still has not acted on the behalf of the Ft. Lauderdale voters one way or the other.
If we all can send a letter to the mayor and the commissioners to really let them know where we stand on this open space. I drive buy this empty space everyday and wondered what is going on with this prime piece of property? I just came across this article and I’m amazed that there is a lot if discussion, but no action from our city government or Broward County government. Please help me find a way to communicate to our Ft. Lauderdale government that we would like this space purchased for our future and not for the developers who bought it with the intention of changing the zoning to benefit there original intentions of changing the landscape to make a profit by deceiving the zoning laws. I think right there we should get this property back just on principle of not being taken advantage of.
Hope we all can pull together and communicate to the city governing body and get this property to benefit the people of Ft. Lauderdale,
Thank you
I agree Roger! Send the Mayor and your Commissioner an email. Tell your friends to do the same. It seems like getting angry is the only way to make changes!
Earl
The archiocese of Miami owns a non-waterfront plot of land near the mouth of Port Everglades, with a house on it, I would assume because it is adjacent to the catholic church. It is where the Father and Nuns live. Where is the wrong in that?
I think it is a great idea to buy back the property but why can’t it be a executive golf coarse again? It was wonderful: convenient and not a problem for the people that live around it. As an inexpensive place to play golf, it was a great asset to Ft.Lauderdale and it produced money and jobs where people really do something. Birch Estate park makes a couple hundred a day and the golf made couple of thousand.
Great idea! I don’t know if the FEMA part is true, but I’d love it if we had a nice park there. Frankly I wish we had a nice public golf driving range , but anything green and public is a major improvement to the running down desolate space today.
I love what one guy against making a park as suggested by Earl wrote here: “you know what parks
attract..” (with an implied snarl) ……..YES….
children on swings and seesaws with their moms meeting each other, making friends; perhaps a fenced
in well designed dog run; a sailboat pond. A health area for adults. An area for buying coffee, tea, afternoon snacks…..If you want to see what a great great park is go up to New York City, see Central Park!
How about just some open space, kinda like we used to have in Holiday park.
It looks as though the developers have won. IS it to late to stop them?? Coral Ridge Country Club will get the lion’s share of green space to be used for golf.
The rest is going to be poured concrete in the form of a subdvision – which is the last thing my insurance bill needs – more houses for Citizen’s to insure.
We need to talk to the Broward County Commissioners. They were the ones to stop the developers the last time. It’s another black eye for “do-nothing” Mayor Jack Seiler and those City Commissioners who think it’s OK to use up the last remaining green spaces we have, to the benefit of those shadowy wealthy developers that want to make huge profits on our park land! Send emails or call the Broward County Commission office and complain!
Earl