Mark Bellissimo's team gets final council approval for new horse showgrounds in Wellington

WELLINGTON — Months of heated public debate ended this week when Mark Bellissimo's team won its final approval from the Wellington Village Council to build a new horse megacenter just south of Wellington International.

The complex will cover 114 acres at the corner of Gene Mische Way and Gracida Street and will replace Equestrian Village, where Bellissimo has long staged the Winter Equestrian Festival, as a competition and trainign area for dressage, hunters and jumpers.

At its meeting on Tuesday, March 5, council member Michael Napoleone told representatives the Bellissimo-linked company behind the project that the new showgrounds must be noticeably better than Equestrian Village, providing better stabling and relieving overcrowding.

"It needs to be a world-class facility at all components of it, not just certain pieces," Napoleone, a candidate for mayor in the March 19 election, told representatives of Wellington Lifestyle Partners, which has won Wellington's approval to build two luxury communities in the 9,000-acre equestrian preserve.

The council voted 4-0 in favor of placing the new horse center directly below Wellington International and determined the project was compatible with the surrounding properties. Council member Tanya Siskind was absent due to a family matter.

Wellington's equestrian preserve: 9,000 acres where billionaires play, developers fight

The vote cleared the way for WLP to construct the new showgrounds, which must be fully operational before WLP can break ground on its proposed The Wellington North community, featuring 49 single-family homes, 47 townhomes, a clubhouse and a short-range golf facility.

It would rise on the site of Equestrian Village and the nearby Whitebirch polo club at Pierson Road and South Shore Boulevard and marks the first time Wellington has allowed a developer to remove land from the preserve to build on it.

Officials have discussed a target date of 2028 for the opening of the new horse showgrounds.

While the council had no dissenting votes, not everyone who gathered at Village Hall for the meeting liked the direction in which the project would lead Wellington.

One resident, Patricia Waldorf, said the project will dramatically transform the equestrian preserve.

“What did you do?" Waldorf asked council members. "This is our home."

"I want to live a peaceful life going house, barn, barn, house." Waldorf said. "You're ruining it."

What will the new WLP showgrounds look like?

Doug McMahon, the CEO of Wellington Lifestyle Partners, told the council the new showgrounds would feature facilities that would allow Wellington to compete with venues near Ocala and Sarasota.

"Tonight really is about Wellington's future," McMahon said. "Everyone wants the showgrounds to grow and thrive here in Wellington. It is an anchor a cornerstone to the way of life that defines Wellington as a premier horse sport community."

McMahon said initially Global Equestrian Group, which owns of Wellington International, was going to buy the land to build and operate the new showgrounds but the deal fell through. Now Wellington Lifestyle Partners will design, fund and build the horse facility for a future operator.

Paige Bellissimo, Mark Bellissimo's daughter and another leader of the project, said all the facilities offered in Equestrian Village will be operational in the new showgrounds when it opens, including a Derby Field, a main ring of 87,500 square feet, a covered arena of 70,000 square feet, national rings, and a lunging area.

Bellisimo said the core equestrian facilities will be placed in the middle of the 114 acres to establish a "horse-centric area" and a stabling corridor will be placed along Gene Mische Way and feature a wide-loop design to make for efficient loading and unloading of both horses and equipment.

"We started with horses first. High-quality footing and maintenance will be paramount," Bellissimo said. "It will be built and designed by best-in-class experts, safe and smart circulation for all users, increase parking especially convenient to stabling and more riding areas and trails throughout."

Wellington Lifestyle Partners hired Populous, an international design firm based in Kansas City, to design the new showgrounds. Populous has designed equestrian arenas in Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, and the London Olympic Games Equestrian Stadium.

The showgrounds will be near The Wellington South community, which will sit along South Shore boulevard near Wellington Community Park. It will bring 107 luxury villas and five 4-acre farms to 290 undeveloped acres at South Shore and Lake Worth Road.

Flooding near new horse showgrounds site raises questions

Residents who spoke at the meeting raised concerns about the flooding and removal of vegetation from wetlands on the 114 acres, also known as Pod F.

John Fumero, a WLP attorney, told the council the land is considered to be a poor-quality wetland and the company had obtained permits by South Florida Water Management District to clear it of invasive species.

Fumero said AW Consulting did an environmental assessment of the property and concluded the wildlife there was neither threatened or endangered species. He added the birds seen there were not native to the wetlands but had been attracted to the freshly excavated soil that was rich with worms and other insects.

"Wading birds on a daily basis travel 12 or more miles. They're opportunistic feeders," Fumero said.

Fumero said once the council approved the showgrounds, Wellington Lifestyle Partners has a multiyear permitting process ahead of it with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to modify its permits. The Corps' review will include flood protection and drainage, water quality and wetland impacts.

Napoleone asked Fumero about recent flooding in the area. Fumero said the land was being demucked and dewatered and WLP had to pump the water to another part of the property and create a berm to store it. He added recent rains also added to the flooding.

Residents raise concerns over traffic and security near new showgrounds

Victoria McCullagh owns Mida Farms, a property adjacent to the future showgrounds. She said she feared the intersection of Mish and Gracida would be so busy that she wouldn't be able to drive out of her property.

"How are you proposing to live your life with the traffic that will be impacted?" McCullough asked.

The traffic engineer for Wellington Lifestyle Partners said the company would perform annual evaluations on both streets and had committed to making any required improvements.

Maia Ruiz, an attorney, represents the 100-home Equestrian Club Estates neighborhood on Lake Worth Road. She said WLP had negotiated with residents to make improvements in terms of buffers, lighting and noise, and but that security remained a concern while work continues at Pod F and trucks and cars are waived in and out.

She urged the council to slow down the approval of the compatibility determination until there was a security plan in place. McMahon said Wellington Lifestyle Partners would agree to putting security measures in place and continuing talk with Equestrian Club Estates.

"The process from our perspective has been fast tracked, presumably so that this council can pass upon it before the next council takes office," Ruiz said. "So, for political reasons, this has gone through a very quick process."

Valentina Palm covers Royal Palm Beach, Wellington, Greenacres, Palm Springs and other western communities in Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post. Email her at vpalm@pbpost.com and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @ValenPalmB. Support local journalism: Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Wellington OKs new horse showground in 9,000-acre equestrian preserve