Once a pristine setting that attracted hopeful homeowners looking for their dream property, the 18-hole Hills course at Walden Lake Golf & Country Club is now overrun with weeds, and its fairways are indistinguishable from the residential lots that back up to it.
The Hills was closed in May 2013 from a steady decline in membership and troubles from the economy, General Manager Steve Mercer said. After filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2011 and emerging a year later, Mercer planned a new route for the country club — to redevelop the Hills into an assisted-living facility, and single- and- multi-family units.
But the vision has been thwarted. Residents filed a class action lawsuit Jan. 25 to stop the entity that owns and operates the country club, Visions Golf Inc., from rezoning the golf and country club to be redeveloped. In the suit, the residents, under Walden Lake Community Preservation Inc., are seeking to maintain their rights as homeowners and keep Walden Lake a 36-hole golfing community.
THE ORIGINAL INTENT
In the suit, the residents said the original intent of the premiere neighborhood was for it to be modeled around the Walden Lake Golf & Country Club — and that it was to stay that way.
“Everything on what was planned for Walden Lake was the intent that the courses were suppose to be there,” Harley Herman, the attorney representing Walden Lake Community Preservation, said. “It was clearly the intent of the developers.”
The suit references a Restrictions and Easement Agreement that was signed in 1993 when Walden Lake Inc. and its affiliate entity, Sun City Center Corp., sold the properties within Walden Lake that comprised the two 18-hole golf courses to Fairways Group LLC.
“To preserve the common plan and general building scheme of Walden Lake was so critical to the developer, Walden Lake Inc. … (the) Restrictions and Easement Agreement (required) these properties to be ‘utilized solely and exclusively as a golf course, golf club and uses ancillary thereto only,’” according to the suit.
“All portions of the Golf and Country Club shall continue to be operated and open for use by members during the term of the restriction … Fairways (or successors) shall not attempt to initiate any change in the existing community unit zoning district pertaining to the Golf and Country Club pursuant to the Plant City zoning regulations,” according to the portions of the agreement quoted in the suit.
The restrictions are the amount of time that the golf course should be maintained: for a period of 25 years from the date of the agreement, or 15 years after Walden Lake Inc., Fairways or its successors stop selling lots or property located within Walden Lake, whichever comes first. Hampton Place was platted in 2001, putting the earliest development could even begin in 2017.
THE TOLL
Herman is teaming up with Texas attorneys Matthew Kornhauser and Dylan Russell of the law firm Hoover Slovacheck. They have worked on three similar cases in Texas involving golf course communities. Kornhauser toured the golf course and was surprised at its mismanagement.
“The look on his face when he saw how badly the course had been destroyed — he was shocked and appalled at what happened,” Herman said. “We would not have filed the case if we didn’t think we had good legal principles to go on.”
The closed golf course decreases property values, but getting rid of it all together would be detrimental to some homes bordering the course. Herman said some of the residents could lose as much as $50,000 in depreciation.
“Regrettably for people who spent a half million dollars or more to get their dream home … there’s patches of dead grass, broken bridges,” Herman said. “Weeds, snakes, rodents — it’s supposed to be a golf course. This is one of those things that should never have happened, and we hope to reverse it.”
Once Mercer responds to the suit, an injunction hearing to stop Visions Golf from rezoning will be scheduled in about four months. The injunction hearing would take place in Plant City.
“We can stop things in the interim and at least give homeowners some relief,” Herman said.
Mercer’s attorney, Ron Weaver, at Stearns Weaver Miller Weissler Alhadeff & Sitterson, did not wish comment this week. They received the suit Jan. 27 and were served Jan. 26.
A BRIEF HISTORY
Walden Lake’s two golf courses date back to the 1970s, when original developer Walden Lake Inc. constructed the first 18 holes. The first nine holes of the second course were built in the 1980s, followed by the final nine holes in the 1990s.
Visions Golf purchased the course from Fairways Group in 2006. In every year since Visions Golf has operated Walden Lake Golf & Country Club, it has lost money. Mercer said he would need about 400 golf memberships to run a profitable 18-hole operation, or 700 to operate all 36 holes. In 2013, he told the Plant City Times & Observer there were only about 100 memberships.
“We understand their expectations were that when they bought the house on the golf course, it would always be there,” Mercer wrote in a letter to the editor. “But, we also had expectations that when we bought the golf course, the residents on the golf courses would be members. Unfortunately, in the end, we were both disappointed.”
After emerging from bankruptcy in 2012, Visions Golf had plans to develop or sell the country club. In April 2014, it revealed Bridgepoint Capital as a potential buyer during the Walden Lake Community Association’s Annual Meeting. Two Bridgepoint Capital principals — developer Curtis Crenshaw and golf pro Jimmy Wright — spoke at the meeting.
The day before Bridgepoint Capital’s introduction, Visions Golf submitted to the city a revised rezoning map. The revision includes a decrease in the number of residential units — from 868 to 627 — throughout all four parcel units included in the project. The revision also capped the assisted-living facility at 120 units; multi-family at 320 units (on two different parcels); and single-family units at 187 lots.
Changes to the golf portion of the property would include a new clubhouse, an 18-hole championship golf course, nine-hole executive-style course and a couple of holes reserved for a new golf academy.
WLCA Director Bob Hunter iterated the rezoning application was for the residential component of the project, and that there were no guarantees about fixing up the remaining golf courses or clubouse. At the time, the sale was pending whether or not Visions Golf could get the rezone.
For more information visit WaldenLakePreservation.com.
Contact Amber Jurgensen at ajurgensen@plantcityobserver.