Hobe Sound, just north of Palm Beach County’s golf mecca Jupiter, has emerged as a hotspot for developers looking to build the next generation of exclusive golf developments.
The golf community is hardly a new real estate phenomenon. Done well, they become prestigious luxury mini-markets.
Heavy hitters like billionaire Related Ross chairman Steve Ross and Discovery Land Company’s Mike Meldman, best known for building the Yellowstone Club in Montana, are among the developers with skin in the Hobe Sound game.
Michael Jordan, famously a resident of Jupiter’s Bear’s Club, turned to Hobe Sound for his own golf development. Grove XXIII, named for his number 23 jersey, doesn’t have a residential component but has attracted a stacked roster of high-profile members. A leaked membership list obtained by Golf Digest in 2021 includes Mark Wahlberg, Bret Baier, Wayne Gretzky, and golfers Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler and Rory McIlroy. From the real estate industry were Meldman and Frisbie Group’s Cody Crowell.
The result is a pipeline of hundreds of luxury homes and thousands of acres soon to become immaculate greens.
Florida is a well-established golf destination. The National Golf Foundation counts more than 1,200 golf courses in Florida, more than any other state. The pandemic inspired many Americans to take up golf and pursue private club membership. It also triggered a wave of migration to South Florida, and developers responded in kind, planning thousands of luxury single-family homes and condos.
That includes luxury golf club communities like Centaur Holdings’ Panther National near Palm Beach Gardens, a 218-home development with an 18-hole course designed by Jack Nicklaus and Justin Thomas. But much of the open land in Palm Beach County has already been cannibalized, and land prices have soared.
So developers went north. Here’s a look at the planned golf developments in Hobe Sound.
Apogee | 2103 Southwest Bridge Road | Developers: Related Ross, Michael Pascucci
Steve Ross teamed up with Michael Pascucci, the chairman of investment firm Duck Pond Associates and owner of the Sebonack Golf Club in Southampton, to develop Apogee. The private club will have three 18-hole courses when it is completed. While there are no homes for sale, the club does have a residential component. Apogee will have 54 villas ranging between two- and four-bedrooms, for member use only.
Ross announced this week that Apogee will be part of a South Florida air taxi network, as part of a partnership with Archer Aviation.
Atlantic Fields | 2645 Southeast Bridge Road | Developers: Discovery Land Company, Becker Holding Corporation
Atlantic Fields is Discovery’s first project on Florida’s east coast, developed in partnership with the Becker brothers’ Becker Holding Corporation. The 1,500-acre project includes 317 single-family homes, an 18-hole golf course, equestrian facilities, a farm and other recreation and wellness amenities, according to the website.
The Ranch | 4505 Southwest Kanner Highway | Developer: Ken Bakst
Historically known as the Calusa Creek Ranch, this 3,900-acre development is slated for 175 single-family homes and two 18-hole courses, according to the project’s website. The developer is Ken Bakst, who built the Friar’s Club on Long Island.
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