A major shift is occurring at luxury golf course communities throughout Florida: Community operators and board members are starting to recognize that for younger families, a well-maintained golf course is simply not enough to meet their lifestyle needs.
Enter the idea of a high-end luxury resort community: The idea is to attract affluent families with young children. So companies running these golf course communities are revamping their properties with a diverse array of amenities and programs.
Attracting affluent young families to complement the empty nester and retiree population is essential to enhancing the vitality of these private communities in Florida. In addition, the buyer pool of families seeking an upgrade to a larger single-family home in a community with lots of programs and services continues to expand.
Here are some of the features they’ve added to their facilities.
1. Offering social events and fitness classes
Palm Beach County communities such as Mirasol, Old Palm, Ballenisles and Admirals Cove are emphasizing social events to bring residents together. The communities offer fitness centers with integrating certified cycling instructors, on-site physical therapy, high-octane fitness classes such as kick boxing, TRX, Zumba classes, low-impact classes, yoga, Pilates and personal trainers. Exclusive full spa facilities with hair and nail salons are part of the experience.
2. Serving up resort-like restaurants
The clubs also offer a variety of resort-style restaurants, smoothie stations and cafes focused on healthy light meals. Some of them also offer summer camps for children, multisport athletic facilities, which include tennis programs and tennis pros, pickle ball, bocce, dog parks and a wide variety of special interest clubs for all ages.
Members can hold their own personal social and business events on site at one of the variety of rooms, restaurants, outdoor patios or at the aquatics centers’ pool areas. Events coordinators are available to assist members with planning.
3. Creating special interest clubs
The special interest clubs developing in the luxury communities, as well as charitable foundations, are another offering that allow the members to make lasting connections.
The diversity of these clubs is prevalent, with some clubs having up to 30 different interests. They range from art to music, reading, film reviews, fishing, sewing, theater and much more. The clubs even offer dedicated rooms for members with interests in of many types of cards and games.
4. Showcasing state-of-the-art golfing
Championship golf courses, lush practice areas and golf training for all ages and levels are just a few of the many options these luxury communities have to offer.
There are a variety of membership categories available to residents to match their lifestyles. The junior golf, tennis, swimming and fitness programs — to name a few — allow the young families to expose their children to a variety of sports in the convenience of their own community.
5. Taking advantage of natural beauty
Mirasol, set in the heart of the Palm Beaches and surrounded by acres of natural preserve and picturesque lakes, has more than 500 children and young adults living in the luxury Palm Beach Gardens community.
With that in mind, the community association revamped an unused 2,400-square-foot space into a family sports complex with a regulation-size basketball court, playground, hard-surface tennis courts, AstroTurf for soccer and a variety of other sports and outdoor games.
For the parents, Mirasol has an events team that organizes holiday celebrations, as well as seasonal and summer social events, giving these residents the ability to celebrate without leaving home.
These communities are adapting to changing times, and it’s critical for agents helping buyers who might be a fit for these communities to stay current on those changes.
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Linda Bright is a top producer and Premier Luxury Specialist in the golf gated communities at Palm Beach-based Illustrated Properties. Linda can be reached at lindabright@lindabright.com.
