Florida golf resort changes hands again, could be on track for opening

WEST PLAM BEACH, Florida — A new day could be dawning for the Banyan Cay Resort & Golf.

A federal bankruptcy judge has approved a $102.1 million bid by Westside Property Investment Co. Inc. to buy the long-delayed hotel complex. The sale is expected to close on July 25.

The property could have sold for more money were it not for a rising interest-rate environment that scared away other bidders and their bank lenders, said Banyan Cay lawyer Joseph Pack.

Nevertheless, the pending sale to Westside means construction of the unfinished hotel and resort could wrap up within the year, Pack said.

Banyan Cay is the saga of a resort property years in the making

Banyan Cay filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in April, marking the latest twist for the still unfinished hotel, which has been under construction, on and off, for years.

The hotel is mostly built, but several finishes still need completion, such as the outdoor pool deck.

“It’s a very good thing for the community,” Pack said of the pending sale. “We understand that Westside wants to come in and immediately finish the project as envisioned. The neighbors should be excited.”

The hotel’s woes have created uncertainty for nearby residents in the Lands of the President community, which overlooks the property. In addition, the foreclosure was a setback for residents in an adjacent new single-family community, the Residences at Banyan Cay, by SobelCo. These homebuyers were supposed to be able to use the hotel’s club as part of the purchase of their homes.

Adams Weaver and his wife, Bonnie, bought in Banyan Cay in August 2019. They like the community, which has increased in value with the migration of people to Palm Beach County during the pandemic.

But the Weavers are now in their fourth year of living at the Residences at Banyan Cay with no completed resort. “We’d love to have access to the club,” Weaver said.

A Westside attorney could not be reached for comment.

Banyan Cay resort complex is on former country club property

The $100 million Banyan Cay complex is just east of Interstate 95, off Congress Avenue and north of Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard, near the Palm Beach Outlets shopping mall.

For more than a dozen years, investors have tried their hand at reworking the property into a viable redevelopment.

The 250-acre Banyan Cay property used to be the…