GL Homes’ yearslong attempt to buy a golf course owned by the city of Boca Raton, and build more than 500 homes, will take another year.
Last week, Boca Raton city council members unanimously approved delays to the deal for the 190-acre golf course on Glades Road, west of Florida’s Turnpike.
The commission agreed to the 12th modification to its agreement. The inspection period is now delayed to Feb. 28, 2021, allowing GL Homes to address a lawsuit over a 400-foot communications tower proposed for the site. It also moves the closing date to Oct. 31, 2021.
As part of a prior agreement with GL Homes, the delays increased the homebuilder’s purchase price by an extra $250,000, bringing the total price to $65.75 million. The commission will still need to vote on the sale, easements and other details related to the deal at a future meeting, according to documents provided to the commission.
GL Homes, based in Sunrise and led by Misha Ezratti, received approval in 2018 from Palm Beach County to build more than 550 homes on the site.
The city of Boca Raton had approved the sale of the Boca Raton Municipal Golf Course to GL Homes in 2017.
In August 2019, Glades Road Self Storage LLC sued the Palm Beach County Commission, Palm Beach County and GL Homes over the 400-foot tower, according to Palm Beach County court records.
Glades Road Self Storage, an affiliate of Sunshine Self Storage, alleged that the county inappropriately approved the communications tower near the golf course, that GL allegedly failed to meet all the criteria for waivers related to building the tower, and that the county allegedly failed to consider the effects of the tower on nearby property owners like Glades Road Self Storage.
Glades Road Self Storage owns property at 20555 Boca Rio Road, which houses a self-storage facility and 511-foot communication tower. The lawsuit is still open.
Meanwhile, earlier this year GL Homes was the sole bidder for development rights along the Lake Worth Drainage District, which could give the homebuilder the ability to build an additional 313 homes in the Agricultural Reserve.