13th Floor is one of South Florida’s largest homegrown development and homebuilding companies. We focus on South Florida not only because it is our home base, but because we believe in its future as one of the most desirable places to live in the country. We are dedicated to adding value through thoughtful planning and the mutually beneficial repositioning of underutilized properties throughout Florida.
13th Floor has been working collaboratively with the Woodlands community since late 2017 and together, we have designed The Woodlands Vision Plan. The vision plan addresses the current cloud of uncertainty over the fallow former golf course through the partial redevelopment of the property, which in turn provides resources to make improvements that will increase property values, bolster security, upgrade infrastructure, improve resiliency and set aside the majority of the property to remain as maintained and manicured open space, in perpetuity.
We are hopeful that by continuing to work together with the Woodlands community, our collective vision plan will be approved and underway in 2023.
With the permanent closure of The Woodlands Golf Course operations, the sale and redevelopment of the property is inevitable.
It is our goal, through the vision plan, to directly address several of the Woodlands community’s current and near-term concerns, such as: the uncertainty surrounding the golf course closure, the aging infrastructure, stagnant values, existing drainage issues, safety concerns, and the decline in property maintenance and upkeep.
The Woodlands golf courses are currently owned by a company affiliated with Clublink, a Canadian golf course owner-operator who has issued a statement that the golf courses will not re-open.
Given the state of the course today, it would take significant investment to bring the courses back to life. It is implausible that any qualified operators would be willing to reopen a course that has already proven unsuccessful and many industry professionals agree that it will always require outside subsidy to stay operational.
This situation is not unique to Tamarac. Golf courses have continued to close in record numbers, not just here in South Florida, but across the country. More than 1,400 golf courses have closed nationally over the last several years, and 45+ courses have closed in the last few years in the tri-county area alone.
The community will feature over 3 miles of walking trails, a new state-of-the-art amenity campus including a new clubhouse; with a fitness center, cafe and multi-purpose room, resort-style pool, spa, pickleball and tennis courts, outdoor gardens, entertainment areas and more.
The vision plan includes enhanced security and gates at all community entrances, a grand gated main entry and landscaped perimeter walls surrounding the community. Additionally, the creation of new lakes and updated above and underground infrastructure (planned and approved in coordination with Broward County and the City of Tamarac) will improve the community’s drainage and resiliency.
13th Floor will bear the burden of all improvement costs, which we estimate at over $15 million dollars. Our plan places the ongoing maintenance costs of the new improvements solely on the new homes in the proposed Woodlands “Section 9.” The only exception to this would be as it relates to the new Woodlands Clubhouse and Amenity Center, where there will be a nominal monthly fee for existing Woodlands homeowners to utilize the Club.
The plan includes 335 luxury single family homes that embraces and contributes to the mid-century architectural context of the community. There will be numerous floor plans ranging from 2 to 5 bedrooms. There will be no townhomes, multifamily or workforce housing included in the plan.
While we can’t be certain as to the exact pricing of the homes at the launch, we believe that if the contemplated program were offered to the market today that the homes would start in a range in the $600’s and extend much higher with options and premiums included as part of this program. As the community begins to take shape, we are optimistic that this pricing will continue to grow and pricing will push the million dollar threshold on some of the homes. With this, the new development will push values for all homes, new and existing, and help to reestablish the Woodlands as the exclusive community it has historically been known as.
We recognize that the Woodlands Vision Plan will result in an increase to the number of cars on the surrounding roads. To address that fact, we’ve worked tirelessly with traffic engineers and various government agencies to find a solution. Through this process, we’ve identified ways to not just offset the new cars on the road, but actually improve the level of service through the construction of numerous improvements and payments for upgraded systems that control traffic on the roads.
Yes. John Burns Real Estate Consulting was commissioned to study the impact of golf course conversions on neighboring property values. The report found that thoughtful golf course repositioning can positively impact neighboring property owners.
A summary of the JBRE study is attached for your convenience.
Existing residents of the Woodlands can feel confident that 13th Floor will carry out the project as proposed based on a signed, legally binding Development Agreement, which will outline 13th Floor’s responsibilities and restrict 13th Floor to carry out the plan as presented and approved at the City, County, and State level. In essence, this means that 13th Floor will be bound to build no more than 335 single-family homes (no townhomes, affordable or workforce housing) and preserve 160 acres of green space and lakes.
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*All renderings are artist prepared conceptual images
The Woodlands Vision Plan is a concept and vision plan proposed by 13 Floor Homes. The plan is not created by nor does it have an affiliation with The Woodlands homeowner's association or other community groups within The Woodlands.