Palm-Aire Land

 

From Day One, lots of people have wondered which land hereabouts belongs to the Country Club and which doesn’t.

As late as 1957, it all belonged to the first developer—a big empty swath of 1,400 acres (just over two square miles). The developer in the late 1950s began splitting off neighborhoods and assigning them to builders. That process continued for a few decades, and eventually the original tract was built out with 27 residential neighborhoods, 2,450 homes and about 4,000 in population. That land, of course, no longer was owned or controlled by Palm-Aire Country Club. What the Club still held (and still does today) includes a total of 232 acres, as follows:

1. The Clubhouse and its surroundings (parking lot, tennis courts, fitness center, pool, cart barn and Clubhouse putting green). That covers 13 acres.

2. The Champions and Lakes golf courses, a total of 213 acres. That includes the driving range, the Champions putting green and the chipping green.

3. Maintenance Center. This two-acre area on the east side of Whitfield lives up its name. It is headquarters for the golf-course workers. It is where the Club’s machinery is maintained and stored. And it is where large amounts of supplies and materials are kept.

4. The Whitfield entrance off University Parkway, about two acres. When Whitfield was built through Palm-Aire in 1979, the roadway was turned over to the County except for the center strip and pieces on both sides of the entrance. The Club wanted to have an inviting presence on what became University Parkway, and has maintained it ever since. The Club has a bit of land behind the masonry walls on both sides of the entrance, but that does not include the commercial center on the east side.

5. The west entrance to Palm-Aire on Lockwood Ridge Road at Tournament Boulevard. This was the first entrance, and for more than 20 years the only entrance. The Club still owns and maintains that small area, less than an acre.

6. The Library and Activities Center. That one-acre chunk on West Country Club Drive was originally the developer’s main sales office. It is still used for both Club and community meetings, although the Library is now closed. It is possible that this property will be sold in the future for other uses.

The last of the original tract‘s four developers, Florida Palm-Aire Inc., turned over the Club’s properties to member ownership and control in May 1990.

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