Golf club residents mounting opposition to proposed housing, auto dealerships in Stuart
STUART — A $120 million proposal to build three car dealerships and apartments adjacent to a golf club is facing strong opposition from club residents — some of whom are ready to move if the project is built.
About 35 residents of Willoughby Golf Club turned out earlier this month to express their disapproval to TCPalm . Mario Murgado, president and CEO of Murgado Automotive Group, is proposing to build three luxury car dealerships and 268 apartments along U.S. 1 between Indian and Pomeroy streets.
Murgado's proposal was set to go before the city's Local Planning Agency April 11, but his team requested an extension to May 9, leaving some Willoughby residents wondering if he is stalling until fewer seasonal residents are in town. Murgado's team received a separate extension earlier this year.
"I believe that this is a strategy to delay the decision-making process until many of our members are out of residence," Michele Reilly, general manager and chief operating officer for the golf club, said to TCPalm in an email.
Murgado's team denied any deliberate delays.
"I wish that was the case," said Jose Martinez, owner of JM Advisors LLC, which does consulting work for Murgado's business.
Murgado bought the land for more than $10 million, he said. Imagine the monthly payment on $10 million, he added.
Murgado's team is waiting for a final city staff report on the project, Martinez said, that they should have had by December.
Murgado is asking the city to change the land use from commercial to special neighborhood district, which would allow housing to be built.
Keeping to prior terms
Willoughby residents want Murgado to keep to the terms of an agreement with the city in 2012, when only a retail development was planned for the location. That agreement limits the heights of the buildings to 26 feet "and will include a parapet," a low protective wall on the edge of a roof, according to an ordinance passed by city commissioners.
It also would keep the proposed buildings as far away from the golf course as the adjacent Lowe's store, according to a site plan provided by Reilly. Lowe's is about 250 feet away at its closest point, according to Google maps.
Murgado's "doing a slight of hand," Reilly told TCPalm.
But "this is a new" development, Martinez said. And the Infiniti dealership is taller than 26 feet. He predicted that apartment residents will be unable to see into the backyards of Willoughby homes.
"I think we've been a great neighbor for the community," Murgado said in February. A "huge buffer" is planned for the border between the golf club and the development, he said.
A May meeting before the Local Planning Agency, which makes recommendations to the City Commission, means it will be July or August before the commission first weighs in on the proposal, Reilly suspects. Residents of Willoughby say they are ready to turn out in force to make their voices heard at the Local Planning Agency meeting.
Other reasons for opposition
The 268 apartments would be in three four-story buildings abutting a buffer to the golf course and its homes. Noise, light and privacy are other concerns of golf course residents.
"Everybody worked so hard to get here," said Lorraine Kayser, a Willoughby resident. "We did it responsibly and we did it with integrity."
Willoughby is about to embark on a $5 million renovation, Reilly said in February, and wants nothing to negatively impact that.
"Can you be good neighbors?" Kayser asked of Murgado.
Lynda Schubert's golf course home will be closest to the apartments if they're built, she and Kayser said. She's concerned mainly about noise but also whether residents of the apartments will be able to see into her home.
Both, she thinks, would reduce the value of her property, and she may decide to move.
The apartments planned as part of the development may house some of Murgado's employees. Willoughby has lost employees because of housing issues and asked if some apartments could be made available to golf course workers, Martinez said.
More: Luxury auto dealer may spend $120 million on 3 new high-end dealerships, housing in Stuart
More: Dentist nixes his proposal for classy riverfront restaurant in downtown Stuart
"This is a great live and work development," Martinez added.
Murgado also owns Audi Stuart, Infiniti Stuart, Alfa Romeo Stuart, Maserati Stuart as well as automotive dealerships in New Jersey, Illinois, Virginia and elsewhere in Florida.
Keith Burbank is TCPalm's watchdog reporter covering Martin County. He can be reached at keith.burbank@tcpalm.com and at 720-288-6882.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Neighbors to oppose proposed apartments, auto dealerships in Stuart
