A $15 million project to revitalize the defunct Baymeadows Golf Club is supposed to include a hotel and a retail center, though tenants have not been named yet.
At a media rollout Wednesday, Councilman Danny Becton said the project, which will cover close to six acres, will feature a 100-room hotel and 35,000 square feet of retail space.
“There are many moving parts that I’m announcing today that have been ongoing for many, many years,” he said.
The golf course closed in 2004 and redevelopment plans over the years have failed, reported our Daily Record news partner. D. R. Horton bought the property a year after the golf course closed from Bay Meadows Golf Club LLC for $15 million.
Horton’s 2005 plan to develop the area included 1,200 condominiums, 200 single-family homes and commercial space, but it was met with opposition from homeowners associations. Former Mayor John Peyton vetoed a plan approved by council in which Horton would pay $7.1 million to mitigate traffic volume in exchange for new housing.
Becton said the area’s traffic flow problems aren’t only a safety issue, but present logistical issues for any potential retailers. He said his office, the mayor’s administration and the Florida Department of Transportation began planning for traffic changes in 2016.
“It is with this plan that Baymeadows traffic will be greatly improved for years to come,” he said.
That $6.6 million plan would add a third westbound lane to Baymeadows Road between Baymeadows Circle East and Western Way. It would also add and relocate traffic lights, turn signals and sidewalks close to Interstate 95. Becton said that FDOT will soon be conducting meetings to get the public’s input and answer questions.
As part of the project, property owner Horton has also agreed to beautify roadways around the planned hotel and retail center, adding new lighting and landscaping.
Mayor Lenny Curry, who joined Becton for the Wednesday announcement, said the dual-approach to development at the defunct golf course grounds will quickly help revitalize the entire neighborhood.
“This sends a message to every neighborhood, where citizens rally and work together and make it their cause, they can change things and make a difference,” Curry said.
Becton hopes to break ground on the project this fall.
