ORMOND BEACH, Fla. – Ormond Beach is one of the latest communities to lose a golf course.

​The defunct Tomoka Oaks Golf Course was just sold to developers much to the dismay of many who live around it.

“Tomoka Oaks is a subdivision that has about 550 homes in the whole subdivisiion, there are 178 homes that surround the golf course,” said Jim Rose, a longtime resident of Tomoka Oaks, while pointing at his map.

To Rose, Tomoka Oaks is more than just a golf course. Living right on its border, it’s where he raised his family for the last 30 years.

“I played it when I was in high school, played it a lot of years, a lot of people around here did so when you see something that has been part of your life, its hard to see it go away,” Rose said.

The now run-down course suffered hurricane damage and closed three years ago. According to the Volusia County Property Appraiser, it was sold back in April to developers for $2.6 million. Rose said although it was a shock to him and his quiet neighborhood, it should not have been. 

“Who would have thought all the golf courses would be shutting down? But there are hundreds that have shut down across the United States now, we’ve got several in Volusia County, a bunch of them in Seminole county too, so its a phenomenon,” Rose said.

Developer Carl Velie and his partners shared in a statement that they plan to redevelop the property for single-family residential use providing a new upscale neighborhood development in town:

“Mr. Barshay and I are both longtime residents of Ormond Beach and believe that this property could be redeveloped into a residential use that would be an asset to the community as a whole, providing a new upscale neighborhood development in-town.  Currently there are no in-town subdivisions where a family can build a new house. Most new subdivisions are located either on the western or northern edges of the community. None have the central location of this site.”

However, one glance outside the homes of those who currently live in Tomoka Oaks and the signs of growing concern are clear. Many have yard signs that read “Preserve Tomoka Oaks Golf Course.”

“A lot of people are telling me they are disapointed and they are thinking of moving because of that,” Rose said.

Rose said that his biggest concerns are increased traffic and less green space. He bought his home 30 years ago thinking the lush foliage behind him would always be protected. But now, it’s not.

“Everything you see from there over is theirs,” said Rose, as he pointed to just a few feet behind his screened in pool. “We don’t want houses sitting right up next to us, we want buffers and we want to keep the trees, there are a lot of very nice trees out here and we want some green spaces.”

As Chairman of the subdivision’s golf course committee, Rose said some of his neighbors are trying to keep the land from being developed all together, even petitioning the city to try and buy the land.

However, he believes that is likely a long shot.

“I don’t think we are going to be super happy about what is happening but we are hoping to make the best that we can and to protect the way of life we have,” Rose said.

In a statement, Velie acknowledged those concerns.

“We have been gathering information from a recent neighborhood meeting in order to incorporate design characteristics that we hope will mitigate some of the neighbors’ concerns,” he said.

As for Rose, he is hoping that any new development won’t be too intrusive.

“Preserving this little piece of paradise is certainly what I want to do, but you can only do what you can do and the best we can do,” Rose said.

Velie stated that they are still a few weeks out from presenting a more definitive plan.

Spectrum News 13 reached out to the City of Ormond Beach to see if it has had any discussions about attempting to buy the land, but have not yet heard back.