DEERFIELD BEACH-
One of the largest pieces of natural green space in the city, the Deerfield Country Club, is going to be paved over.
The 74-acre, 18-hole golf course is set to become an industrial and office park, with an outdoor recreation area and community center thrown in by the developer.
50,000-square-foot business park will have 450,000 square feet of industrial space, with the rest for offices, and will eventually be home to 1,500 employees. The site is located near Interstate 95 and Hillsboro Boulevard, and borders neighborhoods in both Deerfield and Boca Raton.
The Hillsboro Technology Park, as it will be called, will specialize in technology-based businesses, mostly distribution centers and offices, said Dennis Mele, an attorney who represents the developer. It will be the third office/industrial park of similar size in Deerfield Beach, joining the Newport Center and the J.M. Family campus.
It will bring the city about $1 million in initial fees and permits as well as $1 million in taxes every year, Mele said.
“The city is not so broke we should approve a bad project,” said Commissioner Bill Ganz. “But this not a bad project. Yeah, the city is losing open space. Open space is the one category that when you lose it you can’t get it back. But I’m not going to stop progress.”
Broward County approved the necessary zoning change last week; Deerfield’s commission approved it earlier this month. While the loss of green space was controversial in Deerfield this summer, residents and commissioners were mostly supportive at the city commission’s most recent meeting.
Neighbors say the course was carelessly maintained, leading to vermin, overgrowth and other problems.
“I just want to say Butters Construction Corporation, welcome,” said Diane Chisolm, who lives near the course she said. “Welcome to our neighborhood.”
Other cities have grappled with their own golf course issues.
Developers in Plantation, Tamarac, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Boca Raton, among others, have sparked controversy when they put forth plans to build houses or otherwise pave over the greens.
The loss of open space, views and traffic increases were among the most commonly voiced objections.
Some residents in Deerfield do worry the industrial park will snarl traffic, but Butters’ plans include adding lanes to nearby roads and intersections at the company’s expense, allaying some fears.
Butters also plans to leave some of the green space. The former Country Club’s southern portion would be left as 10 open acres with a 3.5-acre park and a 3,800-square-foot community center, Mele said.
The country club will remain open as the industrial park plans develop.
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