After years of uncertainty and debate over the future of a defunct golf course, the Rock Springs Ridge homeowners association (HOA) has inked a deal to acquire the land, ensuring it will not be sold to developers.  

The HOA and the golf course’s current owner, known as the Golf Group, signed a 15-year lease-to-own contract at a Tuesday night HOA meeting, which finalizes one of three options the HOA had presented to residents during a July town hall.  

“We now have an interest in the land, so it can’t be developed,” HOA president Simon said in a Wednesday phone interview. “When the final payment is made, we, the Rock Springs Ridge Homeowners Association, will own the land. So it won’t be developed.” 

Unlike the initial options of a municipal bond – which McKenna said the city was unfavorable toward – or a land swap deal with Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC), the HOA opted for a direct 15-year lease-purchase agreement with the Golf Group.  

The total cost of the purchase, including interest payments, is set at $7.3 million. The original purchase price was $5.5 million. This deal will be financed entirely through a $370 increase in HOA annual dues per household, with no city funding or external borrowing involved, McKenna said.  

The closing date for the deal is set for Jan. 5. Deposits have been exchanged, and the 15-year payment plan will begin shortly after. 

The purchase marks a victory for residents who have long sought to protect the property from being converted into new housing developments.  

“We’ve taken a massive step to protect the future development within Rock Springs Ridge,” McKenna said, who became HOA president in April and who has been involved in efforts to protect the land since 2009.  

Homeowners have been kept informed through two in-person town halls, a virtual town hall, and the Tuesday HOA meeting, where the resolution to sign the contract was passed.  

As for the status of the 50-acre gopher tortoise area, which the HOA already owns outright, remains an “ongoing situation” as the association continues to pursue options with the FWC, McKenna said.   

The golf course, which opened in 1997, meandered through the 1,320-home Rock Springs Ridge. The Golf Group purchased the golf course in 2005, but the course permanently closed in 2014 due to financial issues.