by Michele Newbern Gillis
Staff Writer
Country clubs usually include amenities to attract housing dollars. But today’s times are different and a Northeast Florida country club is adding housing to finance its amenities.
Facing aging facilities blamed for a drop in membership, Selva Marina Country Club in Atlantic Beach needed dollars to modernize and has embarked on an ambitious plan to redesign its 54-year-old golf course in order to create 98 homesites.
“About four years ago, it was very apparent to the club’s board that younger members were looking for a new club with modern amenities,” said Lee Elmore of Prudential Network Realty. “Selva saw the need to provide some things that the club was not currently providing.”
Assessing its members to finance changes was out of the question. So where to get the money to build a new clubhouse, a fitness center, renovate an old golf course and add a modern tennis center?
By selling land. But, there was there an open space for a home development.
The club hired the Jacksonville Beach architectural firm of Bobby Weed Golf Design to make space.
“The course actually had plenty of non-used areas because many holes were laid out in a triangular form with three holes around an area,” said Weed. “By redesigning the course and putting holes closer together, we could create space for a development and still have enough room have a top-flight course.”
The housing area is to the west of what is now the 8th hole and to the south of the 6th fairway. There will be 98 sites on 35 acres and it’s called The Cove at Selva Marina.
Prices range from $175,000 to $550,000 and buyers get a free Selva membership. A few lots already are under contract.
Prudential is handling sales; Elmore and Yvette Pinfield are the site agents.
Now, the challenge is to sell the lots so work on the club can be financed.
“We have to sell 35 lots to get us to our amount that the bank will release the funds to do infrastructure,” said Elmore, who was one of the lead agents at the Villa Riva condo in Jacksonville’s Riverside area. “We are thinking that will take us up to 18 months.”
The infrastructure, which includes roads, lakes, a bridge, sidewalks, electrical, plumbing and sitework, should take about another 12-15 months to complete.
“Buyers will close when the infrastructure is complete,” said Elmore. “Realistically, buyers won’t close for two and a half to three years. Also, there are no restrictions on when they build.”
Buyers must follow the community’s architectural guidelines.
“The whole concept is modeled after new Florida communities like Seaside, Rosemary Beach and Celebration,” said Elmore. “The architecture is very compatible, but not cookie cutter. It will look like a beach community.”