Residents upset as development starts on golf course lost in hurricane

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. — Leaked information about a possible development on the former Hombre Golf Course has sparked major concerns for some residents.

The course once was a pillar in Panama City Beach enjoyed by locals, tourists and even training PGA professionals.

Now, more than three years after it closed because of damage caused by Hurricane Michael, the once championship-level course is basically a blank canvas for construction.

This has left some residents living in the surrounding area nervous their property values might drop—annoyed they no longer live along a golf course—and scared future growth on the Hombre’s footprint could dramatically increase traffic in their neighborhoods.

“It was a prime golf course in its heyday,” said Tom Trossen, president of the Glades Homeowners Association. “We had pros coming here to go to school to earn their tour cards. Many of them played in our backyards, and many of them played with the original owners in the Glades.

“We had some expectations. Whether they were true expectations or false hopes, it was a beautiful course to live on.”

Those hopes turned to nightmares in recent months as Glades residents discovered plans for a potential project they believe could shake the fabric of their neighborhood if approved.

According to Trossen, a Glades homeowner, whose name he did not reveal, learned through ways he would not release that the construction of an apartment complex is being considered on a portion of course property now owned by Fussell Real Estate Holdings.

Registered out of North Carolina, the company purchased in 2020 about 70 acres of land on the former course — about three acres of which currently are being developed into a Duplin Winery.

Trossen said that once he learned about the possible apartment complex, he began digging into how and where it could go. He then sent his “back of the envelope” calculations to Jonathan Fussell, a managing partner of Fussell Real Estate Holdings and co-owner of the winery, who he said confirmed a developer had approached his real estate group about purchasing almost 20 acres of his 70 acres to build a complex.

While Fussell said this was true, he noted nothing was set in stone, and all plans for the rest of his Hombre property — other than where the winery is going — still are fluid.

He also said the apartment complex is just one of a few developments his group is considering for its land.

“We have talked about a lot of different…