Big Gift: Boca Raton Resort Offers Golf Course to City
Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer says Dell Technologies' Michael Dell and resort hotel owner are offering to donate the Boca Country Club to the city.
This is a bigger gift than most. The city is poised to become the new owner of the 130-acre Boca Club, which is part of the Waldorf Astoria-branded Boca Raton Resort & Club.
Dell Technologies founder and CEO Michael Dell’s MSD Partners LP and hotel owner-operator Northview Hotel Group are offering to give the country club section of the resort to the city, Mayor Scott Singer announced Wednesday. The City Council is set to vote on the donation Oct. 14.
Boca Country Club includes an 18-hole championship golf course, clubhouse, pools and tennis courts.
MSD Partners acquired the entire 337-acre resort last year from the New York-based investment giant Blackstone Group Inc. for a whopping $875 million, the biggest South Florida commercial real estate transaction in 2019.
The resort opened in 1926 as a much smaller version of the current 1,047-room resort. Today guests have a choice of the luxury boutique Yacht Club Suites, Boca Bungalows, The Cloister and the 27-story tower, all facing Lake Boca Raton, which is part of the Intracoastal Waterway. The Waldorf Astoria Boca Beach Club is on the barrier island.
The golf course at 501 E. Boca Raton Road is east of U.S. 1.
If the council accepts the gift, the city will assume ownership of the country club and open it to the public next Oct. 1.
Singer in an email announcing the donation touted it as good news for Boca Raton, saying the city would assume ownership of the golf course and other facilities without taking on any debt.
The city over the next year would develop a management plan with the expectation that user fees will cover operating costs, Singer added.
Unfortunately, golf courses have been decreasing in popularity, especially in Florida, which over over-saturated with courses during the game’s boom years. While interest in golf may not have necessarily declined, there is more supply than demand based on the number of players.
Developers have been scooping up closed golf courses for redevelopment.
Boca Raton already has a municipal golf course northwest of Florida’s Turnpike and Glades Road. It is under contract to be sold, according to Singer’s email.
Separately, the closed Ocean Breeze Golf Course at 5801 NW Second Ave. is overseen by a elected Greater Boca Raton Beach & Parks District board, which is working on reconstruction plans.
“It is very possible that the district will choose not to move forward with building another golf course,” Singer said.