Gulf Gate Estates homeowners could face up to $500 a year in new assessments for 20 years under a Sarasota County plan to buy the shuttered Gulf Gate Golf Course.

County commissioners voted unanimously at a Sept. 9 meeting to survey about 2,000 property owners in and around the neighborhood about their willingness to pay those costs through a special taxing district. Suncoast Searchlight first reported the vote. The county is also studying the project's feasibility.

The 49-acre course, closed since 2016, winds through roughly 1,500 homes built in the 1960s in south Sarasota County. Gulf Gate Holdings LLC, a subsidiary of Miami-based 13th Floor Investments, bought the property for $3 million in 2022. The company's appraiser now values it at $14.6 million.

County appraisals came in far lower. Three 2025 appraisals placed the land at $5.3 million, $6.5 million and $9.5 million, according to the Business Observer. Gulf Gate Holdings has requested a new round of county appraisals, and commissioners approved that process.

County Commission Chair Ron Cutsinger called the developer's price unrealistic at the Sept. 9 meeting.

"It's not within the realm of reality, as far as I'm concerned," Cutsinger said.

Cleanup and construction add millions

Buying the land is only part of the bill. County Planning Director Matthew Osterhoudt estimated contamination cleanup at $5 million to $7 million, plus about $800,000 to monitor arsenic and other chemicals in the soil and groundwater. Construction of the stormwater system would cost another $7 million to $10 million.

A federal brownfield designation is in the works but not finalized. If approved, it could bring grants and tax breaks to offset some costs.

Commissioners had suggested in 2025 that federal hurricane recovery dollars through Resilient SRQ could fund the project. County officials said in September 2026 that the money cannot be used because of stringent federal requirements around acquisition costs and environmental clearances.

Commissioner Teresa Mast said she wants the survey to show homeowners the high end of potential costs. Based on a midrange purchase price of about $8 million plus expenses, county leaders estimated the annual assessment at $400 to $500 per household for 20 years, Your Observer reported. A higher purchase price would push that figure up.

Homeowners group opposes paying for stormwater fix

The Gulf Gate Association board wrote to residents in mid-September that it opposes making homeowners pay for stormwater retention it considers a countywide responsibility. But the board conceded that rejecting the special assessment would likely end the prospect of a county purchase.

Gulf Gate Holdings holds county approvals to build a 106-home development called Lotus Bay on the former fairways. Those approvals expire in April 2027.

Project could ease flooding and protect wildlife

Ben Quartermaine, the county's stormwater department director, said at the Sept. 9 meeting that the project could solve flooding on seven streets in the neighborhood and cut nitrogen discharge into Phillippi Creek. Gulf Gate was built before modern stormwater ponds and treatment were required, unlike newer developments such as Palmer Ranch.

Stephen Guffanti, a Bounty Drive resident who said he first came to the neighborhood in 1975, told commissioners that eagles, otters and bobcats use the course as a wildlife corridor. He warned that building homes on the land would leave stormwater with nowhere to go.

The county has not announced a timeline for distributing the survey.