By Mary Hladky
The new owners of the Boca Raton Resort & Club plan to donate the 130-acre Boca Country Club to the city, which would take over the operation of the 18-hole championship golf course, tennis courts, clubhouse and pool, the city announced on Oct. 7.
The plans call for MSD Partners, formed by billionaire Michael S. Dell’s private investment firm, and Northview Hotel Group to convey the property to the city this month. But the resort will operate it as a private club through Sept. 30, 2021, after which the city would take over.
“This incredible opportunity will enable us to deliver world-class recreation to more residents, including championship golf on a beautiful course,” Mayor Scott Singer said.
MSD Partners and Northview acquired the Boca Country Club when it bought the resort in 2019 for $875 million in Palm Beach County’s biggest-ever property deal.
They now have embarked on a massive, $150 million makeover of the luxury resort and want to concentrate on that project, according to Coburn Packard, partner and co-head of real estate at MSD Partners.
“The Boca Country Club is an excellent facility, but as a private club, it has been underutilized for well over a decade,” he said. “We will be pleased to see it achieve its full potential while supporting the greater Boca Raton community.”
The Boca Country Club is located on Congress Avenue north of Clint Moore Road, in unincorporated Palm Beach County just north of the city limits and 7 miles from the resort property.
It was not immediately clear how the gift will affect the state of public golf in Boca Raton. An affiliate of developer GL Homes is under contract to buy the city’s municipal golf course, off Glades Road west of Florida’s Turnpike, for $65.5 million on April 30, 2021. But the city has an option to delay the sale until Oct. 30, 2021.
Meanwhile, the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District has submitted plans to the city to build a new 18-hole golf course on the site of the defunct Ocean Breeze golf course on Northwest Second Avenue north of Yamato Road. The district bought the site in 2018 for $24 million with financial help from the city.
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