A plan for a former Margate golf course calls for over 500 new residences, shopping locations and renewed outdoor areas.
The Carolina Club Golf Course, located at 3011 N. Rock Island Road, would be turned into the mixed-use Lakes of Carolina community, offering new townhomes, commercial buildings and greenspace.
The golf course closed permanently in 2018. After the property was marketed for sale, the owners selected Rosemurgy Properties and entered into a contract, according to a presentation to the city. It has been common for golf courses to face redevelopment across South Florida, where there’s a demand for new housing.
“We’re working closely with the city and community to ensure a thoughtful and responsible path forward,” Alexander Rosemurgy, CEO of Rosemurgy Properties, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “We remain committed to a transparent and collaborative process and believe this project has the potential to create meaningful, long-term value for the community.”
Margate’s Carolinas residential community neighbors the former golf course. Since potential plans were first introduced years ago, the Lakes of Carolina project has received mixed reactions.
Supporters say that the development will beautify the area, giving it a much-needed makeover. Margate Mayor Antonio Arserio voted in favor of rezoning and the land-use amendment after developers agreed to change residential plans during negotiations with Carolinas residents last year. Initially, hundreds of apartment units were planned for a certain area, which many residents had opposed.
Arserio, who lives in the Carolinas, told the Sun Sentinel that working with developers allows the city to have some influence over the project’s direction. “It’s important to highlight the fact that the apartments were eliminated from the project,” Arserio said. “I also think it’s important to highlight the positives from the project, of all the greenspace.”
At city meetings, some residents raised issues that include concerns about increased traffic and population density. Margate Commissioner Tommy Ruzzano, who voted against rezoning and the land-use amendment, said many neighbors “just want to keep that green space. They want to keep that view in their backyard.”
Ruzzano said “there’s probably no other city out there that takes their best residential area in their city and puts in townhomes.”
The former Carolina Club Golf Course in Margate on Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Envisioning a new community
The current Lakes of Carolina plan would divide sections of the course into eight areas, or “pods.” The plan calls for converting a 148-acre commercial recreation district into residential, community business, and park zoning districts.
Pod A, located along Rock Island Road, would include up to 30,000 square feet of commercial spaces.
Though there are no official details on exactly what the plaza would host, the proposed development agreement between Rosemurgy Properties and the city prohibits the operation of several types of businesses, such as nightclubs, convenience stores and gas stations.
According to the drafted development agreement, Pods B and C could be the site of over 500 townhomes. Pod B would have up to 290 units, while Pod C would have up to 250.
Townhomes would be a maximum of two stories tall, located adjacent to existing residential communities on the golf course.
Pods D, E, F, G, and H would make up a total 65 acres of outdoor space. These recreation areas would include over 3.5 miles of walking trails, about 45 acres of new lakes, and at least four pocket parks, including a dog park.
Other aspects of development would include roadway and water management improvements.
Examining the land
Various former golf courses facing redevelopment in South Florida have dealt with remnants of arsenic through the decades, the result of herbicides and pesticides being used long ago, the Sun Sentinel reported in a June 2017 news article. Generally, developers follow a multi-step process to address any such contamination.
During Margate city meetings, residents have raised contamination concerns at the former golf course, which was constructed in the early 1970s and lasted for more than four decades. In compliance with regulations, the project in Margate will involve the remediation of contaminated parts, according to the proposed development agreement.
A past environmental site assessment report, issued in March 2024, mentioned a maintenance building on the property, and that “arsenic above soil and groundwater cleanup target levels has been documented at the maintenance area as well as outside the maintenance area.” It noted that “assessment and remediation have been ongoing for years.”
Moving forward
Last November, Margate city commissioners voted 3-2 to approve developers’ rezoning request, converting the 148-acre commercial recreation district into residential, community business, and park zoning districts.
They also voted to amend the city’s land-use plan to allow for development.
Now that rezoning and the land-use amendment have been approved by the city, the Lakes of Carolina plan will face a public hearing before the Broward County Planning Council on April 23, where county officials will consider a proposed amendment to the county land-use plan that would allow development. It also will move forward to a second hearing before Margate city commissioners in July.
It will still need permissions from the county and state before any construction begins. At city meetings, a representative for the developers said that it may be several years before they break ground on the project.