APOPKA, Fla. — The Rock Springs Ridge neighborhood in Apopka has a 39-hole golf course that has sat untouched and inoperable for more than a decade, but the homeowners association there now has plans to bring it back.
It’s part of an effort to keep that 300-acre plot of land from being used for new development.
What You Need To Know
The Rock Springs Ridge HOA has been fighting to keep a 300-acre plot of land untouched and get ownership
Instead of hundreds of new homes on the land, the HOA wants to turn it back into a golf course
The HOA is now in control of the land, paid for by an increase of $370 a year in HOA fees
If everything goes according to plan, work to restore the golf course at Rock Springs Ridge could start this summer and take around a year to complete
Rock Springs Ridge HOA president Simon McKenna has been fighting to keep the land untouched.
“If you believe where you live is worth fighting for, go fight for it,” McKenna said. “Literally 18 months after I moved here, they closed the south and tried to develop.”
Instead of hundreds of new homes on the land, the HOA wants to turn it back into a golf course.
Rocky Hodge, the CEO of Tamarack Golf Management, plans to partner with the HOA on this project.
“It felt like a good opportunity for both,” Hodge said.
Hodge took on a similar project at Stoneybrook West a few years ago. The Rock Springs Ridge is not a done deal yet, but once the paperwork is signed, they can move forward.
The HOA is now in control of the land, paid for by an increase of $370 a year in HOA fees.
“My goal was always to secure the land first, then we stop development, then we move the process forward,” McKenna said.
The uncertainty of the land has caused concern for home buyers.
“One of the deterrents was actually the unknown and the uncertainty of whether or not there was going to be a golf course in their backyard,” said Realtor Brian Whalen. “Other people see the opportunity. They see the timing that if they buy now and the course happens and they do a good job and it is well maintained, it will increase the value of the home.”
Whalen recently sold a house in Rock Springs Ridge. He said the golf course deal being done could help sellers and buyers in the future.
“Right now, it is just probably hurting home values a little bit … but when it is finished, it is going to increase the value of the homes,” Whalen said.
If everything goes according to plan, work to restore the golf course at Rock Springs Ridge could start this summer and take around a year to complete.