Lennar set to buy 27-hole golf course in Boca Raton

Miami-based homebuilder Lennar Corp. has a contract to acquire a public golf course in Boca Raton from Wells Fargo Bank for an undisclosed amount on July 1.

Lennar plans to build homes on the entire grounds of the 27-hole Ocean Breeze Golf Club at 5801 Northwest 2 Avenue  in Boca Raton.

Wells Fargo owns Ocean Breeze because the bank’s South Florida predecessor, Wachovia Bank, filed a foreclosure suit in 2010 against the property’s previous owner.

A Wells Fargo spokeswoman told the Sun-Sentinel that Ocean Breeze is too expensive to maintain as a golf course.

The 27-hole golf course is the largest of two public courses in Boca Raton that are open to the public.

According to city officials, Lennar plans to build homes on the entire Ocean Breeze property. Ocean Breeze spans more than 200 acres in the Boca Teeca subdivision of Boca Raton.

Residents of Boca Teeca previously challenged another developer’s plan to build 211 homes on 30 acres of Ocean Breeze. The development plan, approved by the City of Boca Raton in 2007, never materialized. [Sun-Sentinel] — Mike Seemuth