Kolter pays $37M for golf course dev site proposed for 707 homes near West Palm Beach

Reflection Bay community would be built on 53.7-acre site

Kolter Land President Jim Harvey and the golf course development site on the NE corner of Okeechobee Blvd. and North Haverhill Road in Palm Beach County (Google Maps, Kolter Land)
Kolter Land President Jim Harvey and the golf course development site on the NE corner of Okeechobee Blvd. and North Haverhill Road in Palm Beach County (Google Maps, Kolter Land)

Kolter Group paid $36.9 million for a former golf course near West Palm Beach that is proposed for redevelopment as a townhouse community.

An affiliate of Kolter Land, Kolter’s residential land development arm, bought the 57.3-acre site on the northeast corner of Okeechobee Boulevard and North Haverhill Road from an entity led by Andrew and Ana Waldman, according to a deed. The property is in unincorporated Palm Beach County.

Arlington, Texas-based home builder D.R. Horton filed an application last year to build the 707-home Reflection Bay community. D.R. Horton would be the home builder and Kolter Land would develop the lots, according to media reports.

D.R. Horton also provided an $8 million mortgage to Kolter Land’s purchasing affiliate, records show.

The deal and proposed redevelopment come amid a boom in South Florida’s housing market, driven by a population influx and demand for homes during the pandemic.

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Delray Beach-based Kolter Group has been scooping up vacant land for residential development. In March, the company proposed a 563-townhouse community on 45.8 acres it owns on the northeast corner of Southwest 360th Street and 180th Avenue near Homestead.

Kolter’s wager on the south Miami-Dade County area also includes its purchase of a 41-acre development site at 202 Northeast 18th Avenue for $17.2 million in December.

Kolter Group is led by CEO Bobby Julien, and Kolter Land is led by President Jim Harvey.

Developers in South Florida have been homing in on closed golf courses, as they offer vacant, buildable property in the generally land-constrained region.

In another Palm Beach County golf course investment, Altman Companies paid $14 million for almost 110 acres within the Fountains Country Club, roughly on the southwest corner of Lake Worth and Jog roads near Lake Worth Beach, in January. In partnership with J.P. Morgan Global Alternatives, Altman plans a 318-unit, garden-style apartment community.

Also, GL Homes bought the Boca Raton Municipal Golf Course at 8111 Golf Course Road for $65.7 million in November. The land is approved for a 550-home development.