MARGATE, Fla. – A golf course in Margate could be changing course in a big way. There is a proposal in place to flip the Carolina Golf Club into a new housing development and not everyone is happy about it.
Harry Robinson, a regular at the golf club, is facing the reality that his backyard greens could become a residential community.
"I'm sad about it. I'm very sad about it, and I wish we could keep it, but it's not a done deal yet," Robinson said.
The 140-acre golf course off North Rock Island is up for sale.
Local 10 News reporter Samantha Bryant spoke with the president of 13th Floor Homes, who wants to buy the property and build 350 homes called The New Carolina.
"Many golf courses here is South Florida are undergoing significant financial pressure and, as a result, (we've) seen numerous golf courses shut," 13th Floor Homes President Michael Nuziata said.
The company also bought and opened Central Parc, a residential community in Tamarac that was formerly the Sabal Palm Golf Course.
"No one has gotten up and said, 'I want to see high-end housing,'" Margate Mayor Arlene Schwartz said.
Schwartz said many residents want to keep the golf course and the clubhouse -- the only of its kind in their city.
"As a resident, I would never want to see more apartments in the city, and I certainly don't want them there," Schwartz said.
"I can always find another place to golf, but nothing like home though. I want to keep it at home," Robinson said.
The plans are still preliminary and the golf course has not been sold as at this time. Representatives with 13th Floor Homes are hoping to meet with local residents to find a way to keep the Carolina Club's well-known clubhouse.
If the property is sold, construction could begin as early as 2020.