Lighted, 18-hole golf course to locate on Grand Island Golf Club property

LEESBURG — Not only will Lee County soon be home to a new 50-bed hospital on the property now occupied by the Grand Island golf course, it will also welcome a Peachtree City-like development that will boast golf cart paths, a new restaurant, and a lighted 18-hole par-3 golf course.

County officials announced that the Lee County Development Authority has been working with a developer who plans to invest roughly $4 million to purchase and develop the remaining Grand Island property not included in the recently announced hospital development.

County Commissioner Billy Mathis said details of the development plan, which was presented to members of the Grand Island Neighborhood Homeowners Association Wednesday night, clearly show homeowners concerned about the future of their property that the county intends to see something beneficial and unique developed on the site.

“Uncertainty is always bad,” said Mathis of the homeowners’ meeting. “Uncertainty is bad for property and bad for property sales, and that’s what these folks were concerned about. We told them we had a grand plan for that area of the community.”

According to details provided by Mathis and Development Authority Director Winston Oxford, in addition to the lighted 18-hole golf course, virtual golf and hunting, a new restaurant, walking trails and other amenities will be part of the development.

“They were all very excited about the plans, I think,” Mathis said of the homeowners group. “It should help restore and protect their property values.”

In addition to being beneficial to homeowners in the area, Mathis said he sees the development as being something that will benefit the entire Lee County and Albany community.

“It’s something that’s going to be very unique to the community,” Mathis said. “I think it’s going to be very, very nice. It’ll be great for the entire community.”

The proposed development will be especially beneficial to Lee County, as Oxford estimates that the finished golf course and restaurant complex will generate somewhere in the neighborhood of $120,000 in SPLOST income annually, as well as add $50,000-$60,000 in property taxes.

“This could generate $180,000-$200,000 of income annually for Lee County,” Oxford said. “Whereas in the 14 years of owning the golf course, the county received no taxes at all.”

Oxford said that the deal is still in its infancy and contractual details still need to be ironed out, but he said he feels everything should be worked out soon and that the project will move forward in conjunction with the hospital development early next year.

This latest news comes on the heels of a June announcement that Lee County officials had struck a deal to see the bulk of the Grand Island property developed into a high-end, $50 million hospital complex that, when completed, will feature a private 50-bed hospital built by Marietta firm Freese Johnson LLC.