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By MELODY JAMESON
mj@observernews.net
SUN CITY CENTER, FL – If there’s one thing certain about this community’s golf courses, it is prevailing and growing uncertainty.
In a nutshell, the known facts include:
The WCI-owned North Lake Course closes Monday, October 5;
This course, along with Sandpiper and Caloosa Greens, remain for sale on the open market;
Developer WCI has offered a deal involving a cut of the sales price at closing and short term opening of the north course in exchange for forfeit of specific rights;
SCC Community Association directors are not sold;
A community-wide survey is turning up a number of alternative suggestions.
Among the unknowns are such issues as:
Who is going to maintain the north course as a golfing feature when closed:
If allowed to go fallow, how and by whom will the acreage be maintained;
What is the impact of the north course closing on other courses;
Are there any genuinely interested, qualified golf course buyers in the wings?
Closure of the North Lake Golf Course on Monday was publicly disclosed over the weekend with a letter to golf members from John Luper, WCI’s regional general manager of amenities. The two-paragraph communication hints at reasoning behind the decision with the statement “Continuing to operate the facility any longer could negatively affect the other golf operations in Sun City Center.”
Luper’s letter goes on to express the hope that a buyer “will be found soon that has the vision and resources to reopen North Lakes and keep it and the other courses as an integral part of the community.”
Luper’s communication would seem to indicate that no viable buyers are waiting to snap up all or any of the three SCC courses at the $3.9 million aggregate asking price WCI has advertised. Nonetheless, the scaled- downed developer emerging from bankruptcy reorganization also made an offer to the SCC CA concerning any potential sale that might materialize.
In its own informational release on Monday, the CA board disclosed the WCI offer conveyed to CA President Ed Barnes in a letter hand-delivered last Thursday. With it, Richard Barber, WCI vice president for business development and the executive charged with spinning off assets for cash, asked that the association “agree to amend the 1984 agreement to release WCI as it presently relates to the North (Lakes) Course and the South (Sandpiper) course in all ways (WCI italics for emphasis) regarding the right of first refusal and private membership requirements.”
In other words, the developer wants to be released from the agreement made 25 years ago that guarantees the CA‘s right to meet the terms and conditions of any viable purchase offer received by the developer. Moreover, the developer seeks release from the commitment that gives CA members exclusive use of the north and south courses. The Caloosa Greens course is not mentioned in Barber’s offer because it was not built at the time the 1984 agreement was executed.
Barber’s letter goes on to state that if the CA will release the developer from the pledges in a timely manner, WCI will re-open the north course for four months during the upcoming season, from January 1 through April 30, 2010.
In addition, Barber told Barnes that if the association will amend the 1984 compact as requested, the developer will pay a fee of three percent “ of the closing price of the North Course and/or the South Courses at the time of their closing.”
Board directors, though, are not particularly excited by the WCI concept. Barnes said he believes the developer should keep the North Lake Course open through 2009 because members have paid their dues through the end of the year. As for the proposed sales price cut, the CA president said the fee is estimated to be in the $80,000 neighborhood.
Barnes indicated early this week that the WCI offer would be discussed at length by board directors. However, he said, his personal opinion is that “giving away the restrictions in the 1984 agreement would only benefit WCI.” And, he added, according to Barber’s letter, the north course still could be closed.
Don Schings, also a CA director, pointed out the developer wants release not only from the first refusal commitment but also concerning the promise of exclusive use of the courses. Borrowing a quote, Schings said “this is the time to walk slow and measure twice in order to cut just once. Time is on our side,” he added.
Director Anne Cross vigorously emphasized she’s opposed to amending the agreement, pointing out the CA has tried at several points to obtain reliable information from the developer and to offer a compromise on the north course. WCI, however, has uniformly refused to respond, she said. “Now, they’re trying to sell us a Brooklyn bridge.”
Howie Griffin, like fellow director Schings, sees advantages in elapsing time and indicated little interest in the WCI proposition. Meanwhile, concerned about protecting property values for the 404 homeowners around the north course , his task force conducted a survey of that group and is developing a menu of acceptable options which, he said, should be ready at the end of the month. The approaches, he noted, are numerous.
And, a survey of resident opinions on the golf course issues is proceeding. The survey forms, designed for both golfer and non-golfers, are available for downloading from the CA website, www.suncitycenter.org, and in hard copy form at the CA office. As of Monday, (September 28) about 1,000 survey responses have been received, Barnes said, containing a variety of ideas about the courses, many of them completely unrelated to golf. Saturday, October 10, is deadline for returning survey forms, he added, and a compilation of the results also should be finished by end of the month.
As for the unknowns, there are no answers yet at hand. Barnes said he’s received no information from the developer concerning maintenance of a closed north course.
WCI’s Luper also did not respond to inquiries by The Observer earlier this week.
© 2009 Melody Jameson
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