City wants more testing before buying the old Cape Coral golf course

The future of the old Cape Coral golf course hangs is still up in the air. The deal for the city is to buy it on an indefinite hold right now, as more testing takes place this week to make sure there are not any environmental concerns.

It has been more than a year since the City Council decided it wants to purchase the old Cape Coral golf course. The 175-acre green space, which has been abandoned for more than a decade, now is run-down and overgrown.

In November of 2017, Mayor Joe Coviello told WINK News he wanted to turn the space into a park.

“There are things that can be done there with trails and bike paths and rec things for the city,” Coviello said. “In addition to making some of that viable from a revenue standpoint.”

But so far that has not happened.

In a letter dated February 11, the landowner, Florida Gulf Venture, put the potential sale with the city on hold as it “evaluates other options.” But when on to say they still want to keep testing for arsenic levels at the golf course.

Gary Eidson is part of the movement to keep development away and turn the course into usable green space. He said regardless of how long it takes to move forward, the area could still be a game changer for Cape Coral.

“It’s good for the youth, the youthful nature of the Cape,” Eidson said. “It’s good for the wildlife. And I think it’ll be good for business because it’ll be another resource that we can market as a benefit to living in Cape Coral.”

Over the phone Monday, Coviello said the purchase is taking more time that he would like but it is still something he believes is a worthwhile purchase. The mayor also pointed out that it is going to be a big purchase.

At one point, the city said it could cost roughly $12 million. He told me he wants to make sure the property is cleaned up to the city’s standards and that they move forward on the right terms before writing a check.