(TALLAHASSEE) Home to dozens of graves, the sale of Capital City Country Club was approved by the city commissioners.
In a 3-2 vote, the city commissioners decided to approve a sale of the property on which Capital City Country Club operates. For just over $1.2 million, Capital City Country Club will gain full ownership of the golf course property.
Since 1956, the city of Tallahassee has supplied the golf course to Capital City Country Club for an annual one-dollar lease.
After nearly seven decades, the arrangement finally fell apart, with more appropriate compensation agreed upon.
(Photo: Capital City Country Club website)
The country club has come under scrutiny recently because of graves on the golf course.After decades of rumors, the National Park Service (NPS) was called upon to find evidence of any graves on the course.
Jeffery Shanks, an archaeologist for NPS, spoke on the investigation years ago.
“Preliminary results from the GPR data revealed the presence of approximately 40 subsurface anomalies near Hole 7 on the golf course that can be identified as graves with a high level of confidence,” Shanks said in 2019 in the Palm Beach Coast. "The discovery of these graves at the Capital City Country Club will be an important part of the statewide conversation on how to best protect abandoned African American cemeteries."
(Photo: From Jeffrey Shank's Instagram)
Six years and numerous failed plans later, the city was open to selling away the land. The sale was once controversial for several reasons, including financial. At one dollar a year, why did the club want to get out of its lease?
The controversy was significant enough for the commissioners to unanimously delay a sale just months ago. After the graves were discovered, plans were made to commemorate the deceased with appropriate barriers and signage to create a historical site marker.
Unfortunately, the 2021 plans were only implemented in October, placing a historical marker on the site after discussions about a sale were already underway. The Commissioners spoke about the club and cited the NPS investigations several times while speaking about the sale.
According to the AI summary produced by opgov.ai, the sale occurred “despite overwhelming public outcry."
“We need to be inclusive, not exclusive," Greg Uchock said. "We can and should do better."
Jeff Blair said there was a "rushing forward with the sale of the golf course with virtually no transparency."
The Capital City Country Club sale shares many similarities with Tallahassee Memorial Hospital as Florida State University moves to acquire the hospital. Both the golf course and hospital have been leased from the city for only a $1 annual fee. Additionally, both are in the process of giving the city of Tallahassee millions to get out of their lease. As Capital City Country Club has completed its sale, FSU and TMH are still negotiating terms.
Both have been criticized for a lack of transparency and for moving quickly through the city commissioners. Some believe steps are being negligently sped, as a public speaker stated that important city officials have not been included in the process.
As Tallahassee prepares for another large sale, be sure to comment and email jason.f@4leadforearth.org with any questions or important information.
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