Charlotte County Commissioners voted Jan. 28 to purchase a 158-acre golf club that was damaged by Hurricane Ian for $3 million and later discussed making the land part of the Parkside neighborhood.

The deal for Port Charlotte Golf Club will close if no major problems are discovered following 90 days of due diligence, including an environmental study.

Owned by The Golf Links of Charlotte Harbor LLC, the land is at 22400 Gleneagles Terrace in Port Charlotte, near Conway and Olean boulevards and the Parkside area.

After the Promenades Mall was purchased in 2024, the new owner renamed it Promenades at Parkside and planned a walkable neighborhood on the mall’s 26 acres.

Part of the mall was severely damaged by Hurricane Ian in September 2022 with some stores never reopening. In June 2024, the new owner began demolition, with the future development being touted as Port Charlotte’s downtown.

The golf course opened in 1959 as The Golf Links of Charlotte Harbor and later became Port Charlotte Golf Club. Hurricane Ian tore up the course and destroyed its structures, and it has been closed ever since.

The seller will pay $300,000 for the structures’ demolition, county Real Estate Specialist Stephen Kipa said.

Commissioner Chris Constance suggested expanding the Parkside Community Redevelopment Agency due to the land’s proximity to the Parkside neighborhood.

Commissioners agreed the acquisition was a good deal for the county. Kipa said two appraisals of the property produced an average value of $3.8 million.

The use of the acreage will be determined by some of the county’s department personnel and the public, Deputy County Administrator Emily Lewis said.

Some of the land’s use could include a park or sports facility. Constance suggested a nine-hole golf course. Port Charlotte Golf Club’s course had 18 holes.

Commissioner Stephen R. Deutsch cautioned that maintaining a golf course is very expensive.

Lewis said during the due diligence period, the county will also consider stormwater and drainage issues.

“The opportunity to acquire 100-plus acres of green space does not come along every day, and this was a great price,” Commissioner Joe Tiseo said. However, he noted the golf club was paying between $70,000 and $80,000 in taxes and that revenue will be coming off the tax rolls.

He said the county will lose the revenue stream and it will be using funds to maintain the park for an unknown period of time “until we have a plan.”

But Tiseo said the purchase is a “tremendous value that outweighs any of the negatives.”

Deutsch lauded the addition of more green space for the county and said that approximately a third of the county consists of green space that will never be developed.