- October 4, 2024
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Palm Coast will soon have the first disc golf course in Flagler County, thanks to park land donated to the city by a development.
The nine-acre course, located at the southwest corner of Pine Lakes Parkway and White Mill Drive, will have 18 holes, water stations, a 20-30 spot parking lot and be connected to the Pine Lakes Parkway multiuse trail. The land was donated to the city by Marbella Apartments LLC as part of a $500,000 impact fee credit for the 18-acre, 300-unit development called Marbella Apartments being built along White Mill Drive.
As part of the agreement with the city, the developer will be responsible for building the park before any certification of occupancy certificates will be issued for the development. As far as a timeline of completion goes, Chief of Staff Jason DeLorenzo said the developer has already begun the development construction process with site-prep work.
“So they're going to have to complete the golf course before they can CO a building,” DeLorenzo said.
Curt Wimpée, representing the developer, said the developer is ready to begin construction on the park “as soon as we get the go ahead.”
“They want to go very quickly, because it’s a nice amenity, not only for the city, but for their project as well,” Wimpée said.
The Palm Coast City Council unanimously approved the contract with Marbella Apartments LLC for the disc golf course at the Oct. 1 council meeting.
Disc golf is similar to regular golf except that players are aiming to toss flying discs — similar to frisbees — into metal baskets using the least number of attempts, according to the Professional Disc Golf Association's website.
Converting the acres to a disc golf park will require minimal clearing, Parks and Recreation Director James Hirst said, as disc golfers prefer to have a tree canopy on the course. Minimal undergrowth will be cleared.
The park would be low maintenance once built, Hirst said, but even then, the city plans to sign an agreement with the Flagler County Disc Golf Club where the club would be responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the disc course.
Disc golf club spokesperson Craig DeWind said that club members currently have to leave the county to play at a disc golf course.
“We have to go to St. Augustine or Daytona or New Smyrna, so it would be awesome to have our own course here,” DeWind said. “Disc golf is such a great sport. It’s a great sport for any gender, any age.”
Mayor David Alfin said that though there is a trade-off of giving an impact fee credit to the developer in exchange for them building the park, it would cost much more to build additional park space in Palm Coast without the donated land and agreement.
“There is no less expensive way to add another park venue to the city of Palm Coast,” Alfin said. “This is a pittance of what any additional park space might cost.”
Impact fees for the Marbella Apartments are approximately $569,113. The preliminary cost estimate of the park is $500,000.
