Residents Fight For Clubhouse

Article Courtesy of the Tampa Tribune

By KEVIN WIATROWSKI
Published November 9, 2004

LAND O' LAKES - Residents of the Grand Oaks subdivision will meet tonight in an effort to keep the development's clubhouse in residents' hands.

Grand Oaks' builder, Lennar Corp., plans to sell the clubhouse by the end of this month. Residents worry the sale will drive up dues.

This is one of the first times Lennar has put a Tampa-area clubhouse up for sale. The company has sold other clubhouses in Orlando and on the east coast of Florida, according to company officials.

"A lot of the residents complain that they didn't realize what they were buying into,'' said homeowner Jack Barfield.

Residents will meet at 7 tonight at Victorious Life Church in Wesley Chapel to vote on whether to make a new bid on the clubhouse.

Homeowners tried twice this year to buy the property, but Lennar declined their offers, said resident Bob Crum, who helped arrange for financing.

Lennar representative Bill Kouwenhoven told residents last week that the company had an offer of $2 million for the property, which includes a swimming pool, exercise room and activities center. The company offered the facility to residents for $1.7 million, which was still higher than residents' last offer of $1.5 million, Crum said.

Kouwenhoven declined to comment for this story.

Residents plan to finance the purchase with a bank loan repaid by membership dues. Even at the higher loan figure, Crum expects dues paid by each household to drop if residents are able to take over the clubhouse.

"We're trying to keep it so the people here don't have to pay more than they do now,'' Crum said.