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New houses soon will be par for course

Links At Valley Oaks may be reborn as a 747-residence development, indicative of a decline in golf's appeal here.

By CHUIN-WEI YAP
Published July 23, 2006

A golf course that lay dormant the past 1 years is about to sprout homes on its rolling green hills.

It's a sign of both the apparent decline in the appeal of golf courses and a greater interest in the developer-friendly area around Zephyrhills.

Valley Oaks, about a mile east of the Zephyrhills city limits, is poised to go for rezoning hearings next month.

It has been quite a comeback for the former golf course, which was called Links At Valley Oaks.

In 2004, its clubhouse was ruined by Hurricane Jeanne, owner F. Carl Streck II said.

"That's the thing that set it off," Streck said. "The golf course wasn't making money anyway."

In its place, 747 proposed residences will be built on 259 acres, with a mix of townhouses and single-family homes.

The development abuts Wire Road in the southwestern corner of 23rd Street and Richland Road, and access is proposed from Wire Road. Secondary entrances may be built on 23rd Street, according to county filings.

Streck is a managing owner of Siblings LLC, which is developing Valley Oaks as well as Crestview Hills nearby, overlooking Gore's Dairy.

The Streck family also owns Priority Development Group of Tampa, which has expertise in mixing golf courses with homes.

That won't be the case at Valley Oaks, though it's the physical attributes of the defunct course that would potentially sell the development.

"When you look at it, it's got a terrain like you won't see in Florida," Streck said. "It's a beautiful piece of property."

Golf courses have not been a strong suit for developers of late. Developer Terrabrook removed a golf course from its master plan for Connerton in October, citing a waning demand for golf.

Streck may be following that trend, but he is bucking another in forging ahead with a major master-planned unit development in shaky times for the residential market.

"A great product is always going to sell, and in Zephyrhills, you still can get something affordably priced," he said. Prices range from the mid $200,000s to the mid $300,000s for Valley Oaks, he said.

"People move here every day," Streck said. "(This slowdown) is just an adjustment in prices, and it's going to go away in a year."

Chuin-Wei Yap covers growth and development in Pasco County. He can be reached at cyap@sptimes.com or (813) 909-4613.

[Last modified July 22, 2006, 20:19:56]