The Collier County Board of Commissioners unanimously agreed Tuesday to the next steps for the county-owned Golden Gate Golf Course property. The plan is to shift a proposed 120-bed veterans nursing home project to an 18-acre part of the course originally slated for a BigShots Golf entertainment center, which terminated its lease June 19.
The move for the facility is an upgrade from the originally designated 12 acres for the project.
The discussion started with state Sen. President and Naples resident Kathleen Passidomo taking the podium to voice her continued support for the proposed veterans facility. She has been involved with the project for almost eight years when Commissioner Burt Saunders first brought the project to fruition.
Sen. Kathleen Passidomo
“One of the biggest issues that we’re going to have with this veterans facility is staffing, so our No. 1 priority is going to be how do we attract more and more health care providers, whether it be doctors, nurses, companies, hospital workers. From soup to nuts, we’re working on that this summer to pass some legislation to attract health care workers to the state, and we’re looking at all kinds of different ways of doing that,” Passidomo said. “That coupled with the workforce housing, which you will have near this facility, is going to make this veterans facility probably one of the best in the country.”
This month, the Legislature passed an additional $500,000 to help start the site project plans. The county committed $10 million earlier this month to expand the nursing home to provide adult day health care and outpatient therapy services, hoping to receive a state match next April.
Dallas-based Invited, which was previously known as ClubCorp and was developing the proposed BigShots facility, was also responsible for constructing a 12-hole public golf course and The First Tee — Naples/Collier facility on the property.
“They weren’t really honest with us as to what was really going on,” Saunders said. “As late as April they were in here talking about financing, and we all knew that that was probably not the case.”
In 2020, ClubCorp requested the county spend $7 million to build the 12-hole golf course, which was ultimately approved by the board. Commissioner William McDaniel said although he is in support of the First Tee facility, the use of that money should be reevaluated, as it was determined at a recent budget hearing that the county has more than $10 million in unfunded requests.
Commissioner Rick LoCastro said the $7 million should be viewed as an investment into the project as a whole, as the golf course will complement First Tee and the veterans who will have a view of the green.
The commissioners voted 4-1 to proceed with the 12-hole golf course, using $7 million of county funds.
“I was disappointed when BigShots fell away, but as soon as I heard that there was a problem, the wheels started turning in terms of how do we make lemonade out of these lemons,” Saunders said. “And I think we’ve done that, moving the nursing home and developing this the way we’re looking at it. I think is better for the community in the long run, and that’s why I’m moving this forward.”
