The partnership that bought the club is called Ridgeline Equestrian Estates LLC and is headed by Orange Park Acres resident John Martin. Bettencourt says that a preliminary analysis concludes that the site of the club, at 1051 N. Meads Ave. would most likely be most suitable for a development of equestrian estates.

"We've been working on this property for the past two years," Bettencourt tells GlobeSt.com. "We've performed a highest-and-best use analysis, and our business judgment is that the highest and best use is an equestrian-oriented estate lot project."

The Ridgeline property includes only a nine-hole golf course, not an 18-hole championship course, and is surrounded on four sides by one-acre lots. "We still saw a use for the tennis club [at Ridgeline], but we were skeptical about the long-term viability of a nine-hole golf course," Bettencourt says. Rates are continuing to decline even for 18-hole courses, so a nine-hole course would likely have a tougher time of it over the long run, the planner adds.