Heron Bay Golf Club {Photo by Sharon Aron Baron}
By Bryan Boggiano
Elected officials from Parkland and Coral Springs discussed purchasing land and developing the former Heron Bay Golf Course at Wednesday’s Coral Springs City Commission workshop.
Parkland Mayor Rich Walker said that although his city is still analyzing all options for the golf course development, collaborating with Coral Springs on the land’s future could serve as a model for municipal collaboration in the county, state, and country.
“A partnership with Coral Springs is absolutely vital,” he said. “For us, it would be absolutely crucial for that partnership to happen.”
The Parkland City Commission previously discussed its plans at their June 30 meeting.
North Springs Improvement District purchased the 223-acre former golf course in 2019 from Clublink for $32 million.
NSID will use about 150 acres for stormwater retention and green space. That green space will include a natural preserve, 5 miles of 10-foot-wide pedestrian and bike paths, and five water stations.
There will also be a memorial to the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Shooting victims along the border of Coral Springs and Parkland.
The roughly 70 acres remaining would be used for residential, commercial, or mixed-use space. Of that land, approximately 28 percent lies in Coral Springs, and 72 percent lies in Parkland.
To develop on the land, both Coral Springs and Parkland would have to iron out several specific details and obstacles.
“There’s many hurdles we’re trying to overcome,” said Parkland City Manager Nancy Morando.
The Heron Bay Homeowner’s Association owns small easements along the canals, which they would need to release to Parkland for developers to build access points to the proposed development.
The city would also need to conduct traffic and noise studies.
There is also a land covenant at Heron Bay, so any new construction could not start until December 2027. Parkland would have to get this covenant lifted.
For residential properties, Walker said the city must keep school capacity in mind before construction.
Walker reported that Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School is overenrolled by 498 students and that focusing too much on residential properties could exacerbate that number.
Parkland would have to pay $25,411,000 to purchase the property from NSID. Coral Springs would reimburse $7,114,800 to Parkland, but the City of Coral Springs would have to approve this.
At the meeting, Coral Springs city officials and the commission expressed support for the preliminary plan for development at Heron Bay, but they noted that they would like to know more details.
Parkland will host a workshop on Aug. 4 to discuss the matter further.
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