New Year, New Look for Bonita Bay Club

http://www.news-press.com/article/20110109/RE/101090326/1076/New-year–new-look-for-Bonita-Bay-Club

When Bonita Bay Club members returned to their winter homes this season, they discovered their 2,400-acre community sported a new look, with a revamped clubhouse, tennis facilities and more.

Club members – about 75 percent of whom are seasonal residents – spearheaded the completion of several interior and exterior upgrades after they bought the club from previous owner Bonita Bay Group for $11.5 million last March.

Those who bought into the reinvestment – at a level of $10,000 per golf member – generated approximately $3.5 million to be used for capital improvements, said Daniel Miles, general manager and chief operating officer for Bonita Bay Club, which was founded in 1985.

“Our goal was twofold,” Miles said. “One was to begin addressing some of the clear maintenance issues from a mechanical, infrastructure standpoint. Secondly, also prioritize some use of those funds in areas of aesthetics so when members returned in the fall, they would see they were not returning to the same club they left in the spring.”

The community’s 55,000-square-foot clubhouse underwent several upgrades, including a reconstructed entryway with a waterfall, new driveway pavers, outdoor seating areas and enhanced landscaping. The interior saw new carpeting, ceiling planks and upgraded air conditioning and decor, with new furniture on the way.

Several recreational enhancements have been completed as well: a revamped tennis center with 18 repaved courts, added shade shelters, a renovated 10,000-square-foot fitness center and spa, repaved golf cart paths and an expanded bag drop area, among other improvements.

According to members, the face-lift was long overdue.

“The members were unhappy,” said Gary Ingersoll, president of the club’s board of directors, who has lived at the community part-time since 1994 and full-time since 2002. “There were a number of maintenance items that had been deferred and they needed to be addressed.”

After taking ownership of the club, members embarked on a national search for a general manager. In June, they hired Miles, who has more than 25 years of experience in private club management and previously served as general manager and chief operating officer for Medinah Country Club, a nationally ranked club in Chicago.

Bonita Bay features approximately 3,200 homes in more than 60 communities. Residences range from condos that start at approximately $300,000 to single-family homes and high-rises upwards of $4 million.

The community has been ranked among Travel & Leisure’s top 100 golf communities every year since 2006 for its 90 holes of golf on three Arthur Hills-designed courses and two Tom Fazio courses.

For the remainder of its capital improvements, Bonita Bay is working with CCI Club Design, an Irving, Texas-based firm, to create a long-term master plan that will be developed by the end of this year. A second wave of renovation projects could begin in summer 2012, Miles said.

In the meantime, as they head out for rounds of golf and socialize with other snowbirds and locals at Bonita Bay, the community’s approximately 2,000 golf members seem to have a renewed sense of pride in the facilities, Miles said.

“There’s a lack of profit motive,” he said of member ownership. “It becomes a better value to the members because all of their investment stays at the facility and ultimately works to benefit them directly.”