Six months after Ian: Are dramatic changes coming to rustic Pine Island golf community?

Lance Van Auken
·4 min read
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Nearly six months after Hurricane Ian, a tree is draped across the front of the Alden Pines Golf Course clubhouse.
Nearly six months after Hurricane Ian, a tree is draped across the front of the Alden Pines Golf Course clubhouse.

It’s been nearly six years since we bought our home on the sixth fairway of Alden Pines Golf Course in Bokeelia, an unincorporated part of Lee County’s Pine Island.

A Pinellas County native, I spent 25 years in Pennsylvania before retiring from Little League Baseball Inc. Robin, my wife, owns and operates a small business.

More:Hurricane Ian six months later: Many SWFL golf courses still in recovery mode

Like most people in Alden Pines, the laid-back lifestyle, low population density and vast natural areas of Pine Island brought us here. We could not believe a place like Pine Island still existed.

The rustic nature of Alden Pines Golf Course was fine with us. Outside our back door, almost on a daily basis, we see bald eagles, ospreys, otters and dozens of other animals.

In recent years, it appeared maintenance of the golf course was lacking. It became run down and saw fewer golfers using it. Complaints to the owners were met with silence.

The practice putting green, without regular watering, is brown. Nearby, the upper story of the clubhouse is open to the elements.
The practice putting green, without regular watering, is brown. Nearby, the upper story of the clubhouse is open to the elements.

Then came Hurricane Ian.

Trees toppled all over the course. Wind tore off part of the clubhouse roof, and the maintenance building was a shambles.

Our home had only light damage, as did most in the Alden Pines community, compared to other parts of Pine Island. Like many, we helped our neigbors where we could. I cut trees blocking our roads with a chainsaw so we and others could access food and water, and helped unload cases of water from helicopters that brought help. I know many others did far more.

Lance Van Auken.
Lance Van Auken.

We specifically chose this location because open space and hundreds of yards of thick mangroves of Carver Preserve to our west mitigate both wind and rising water. Even though our house is only nine feet above sea level, water never came close to coming inside.

We and most others made repairs to our homes, but the same cannot be said for the golf course. Six months on, it lies fallow, unmowed, with downed trees rotting. The clubhouse roof is open to the elements, with a tree resting on the front porch. Large metal pieces of the maintenance building litter the fairways. Dead fish float in fetid ponds.

We understand a developer is attempting to purchase the golf course. At the annual HOA meeting earlier this month, Jason Picciano of Hawks Run Development and managing partner of Paradise Realty Holdings said he’s been told by Lee County that as many as 76 new residences, including townhomes, can be built on existing golf course areas, and “possible duplexes would fall under current zoning.”

Mr. Picciano said there is no need to seek rezoning, and that Lee County is “not asking for specifics regarding which parts of the golf course would be used for redevelopment.” He plans to reduce the number of golf holes to 12 (from 18), and reduce the length of the course, in order to accommodate new homes.

Scorecard for Alden Pines, an 18-hole, par-71 course that covers more than 5,000 yards from the men’s tees.
Scorecard for Alden Pines, an 18-hole, par-71 course that covers more than 5,000 yards from the men’s tees.

One plan is to possibly place residences along the edge of Carver Preserve to provide “water views.” However, we were happy that Mr. Picciano said “no major development decisions that materially alter the landscape of the current course will be made without further direct interaction with the immediate community.” Plans also include a new clubhouse with a pool, pickleball courts, a restaurant, and other amenities.

The Alden Pines HOA, while incorporated, has little standing. Membership and compliance with its rules is voluntary. The golf course is a separate, private entity. Most of the properties here, ours included, include portions of the golf course or ponds, so it remains to be seen how that will work in the proposed plans.

Many in our community feel that our voices should be heard, and some are concerned about reducing the golf course footprint in order to sell new homes. It is disheartening to learn that areas used as a golf course six months ago may so easily be converted to housing.

We realize that operating a golf course is expensive. Shrinking it somewhat, to save money on upkeep, is probably a good idea. We also recognize the importance of progress.

Speaking personally, even with regular maintenance, the course is a real challenge. Narrow fairways and water hazards feature on every hole. It could use some taming.

The plan, if fully realized, adds more residents to Pine Island, increases traffic, and may negatively impact the already damaged ecology of this area. Completion of the sale, we were told by Mr. Picciano, is awaiting the current owner’s insurance settlement. Ultimately, anything (in terms of a golf course) is better than what we have now.

We hope, whatever happens, our little slice of paradise can still be called that.

Lance Van Auken is a Pine Island resident.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Pine Island's Alden Pines Golf Course still closed after Hurricane Ian