How Wellington is growing: Sports complex to move to Village Park if homeowners pay $2.5M
WELLINGTON — A former NFL player has agreed to build a $38 million sports complex in Village Park instead of Wellington Community Park if a group of homeowners come up with $2.5 million by next week.
Residents from Mallet Hill and Southfields neighborhoods and Wellington Lifestyle Partners, the company set to build two luxury communities in the equestrian preserve and a new horse center to replace Equestrian Village, offered to pay for the costs for Jon Bostic’s development team to relocate Wellington Sports Academy away from South Shore Boulevard.
All cited concerns that the complex would add to traffic on South Shore, a road that runs through the equestrian area west of the Mall at Wellington Green. Village Park lies about 2 miles east of Wellington Community Park.
Kaitlin Guerin, an attorney representing Bostic’s team, told the Village Council on Tuesday, April 9, that her team had negotiated with the homeowners for eight months and cut in half its $5 million asking price to $2.5 million.
Village Manager Jim Barnes told council members that the homeowners had fallen short by $250,000. Guerin, however, argued in favor of giving the group more time to commit the funds.
"I'd like to get this over the finish line,” Guerin said during the meeting.
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The village council voted to change its agreement with Bostic to relocate the athletics complex but gave the property owners until April 19 to donate the full $2.5 million.
Village Mayor Michael Napoleon said it would be a win to move the project to Village Park, next to the new aquatics center, but added that the village would allow Bostic to start building on South Shore if the homeowners miss their deadline.
“We've been waiting too long for this to happen,” Napoleone said. “And the time is up.”
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The $32 million "all-in-one" Wellington Sports Academy will be the village’s first public-private partnership. Bostic grew up in Wellington and played football at Palm Beach Central High School and the University of Florida before moving on to the NFL, where he played linebacker for several teams over 10 seasons.
On March 12, the council voted to have Wellington Community Park remain a passive park and accept the donations to offset the costs associated with relocating the academy.
The council at that time had two members who have since left office. New members Maria Antuña and Amanda Silvestri took office at start of the April 9 meeting.
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Barnes said Wellington Lifestyle Partners had committed $1 million, the property owners association from Mallet Hill also agreed to pay $1 million and Southfields had offered $250,000 of the $500,00 it had initially proposed.
Barnes added four or five individual families that own property in the equestrian preserve and Grand Champions Polo Club had also expressed interest in covering some of the costs.
Guerin asked the council to add in the agreement that the group has 30 days after signing their commitment to deliver the funds to the village.
Assistant Village Manager Ed De La Vega said the $2.5 million would be given to the village as donations. Wellington will be in charge of dispersing the funds to cover costs such as updated design for the area, materials, construction and to offset any debt costs incurred by the village.
Moving the complex to Village Park could delay its proposed opening, now set for 2025, by six months to a year, De La Vega said. A formal timetable was not available this week.
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Council frustrated over delays in moving Wellington Sports Academy
Council member John McGovern said he was frustrated that Bostic's team had significantly reduced the cost to move and the group had failed to meet the proposed commitments.
“I'm just absolutely baffled,” McGovern said. “It's only a win-win-win if promises are kept.”
Council member Tanya Siskind said the relocation was crucial and the interested parties in the group needed to meet the deadline or it was “game over.”
“It's been a very frustrating and very long process,” Siskind said. “But it's too important to just cut it off.”
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Valentina Palm covers Royal Palm Beach, Wellington, Greenacres, Palm Springs and other western communities in Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post. Email her at vpalm@pbpost.com and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @ValenPalmB. Support local journalism: Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Sports complex backed by ex-NFL player may move to new Florida park
