BUSINESS
it transitions
under the new
ownership,”
said Charlotte
Bireley, St. Lucie
County’s director
of tourism.
Port St. Lucie
Mayor Shannon
Martin
said, “We look
forward to welcoming
the new
Gov. Farris Bryant, center, cuts the ribbon at the opening
of the Port St. Lucie Country Club in the spring of
1961. Among other dignitaries in this group are the
three Mackle brothers, who founded GDC and Gardner
owners, Altitude
International
Holdings Inc.,
which has a 40-year history of developing performance academics
Cowles, to the governor’s right, who developed
the first housing in Port St. Lucie at River Park.
and operation in hospitality.”
Yet Martin also noted, “It was heartbreaking to see Club
Med moving its operations out of Port St. Lucie. Our hearts
go out to the employees.”
The company indicated its long-term vision for the property
is to incorporate the resort hotel operations and the existing
sports academy with a comprehensive real estate development
strategy. To date, company officials have yet to offer
any more information about their real estate intentions.
A LONG HISTORY
Although Club Med occupied the Sandpiper Bay complex
for almost 40 years, the site’s history began long before the
French company came to Florida. In 1958, Port St. Lucie’s first
developer, GDC, purchased 8,500 acres of land along the St.
Lucie River and dedicated a little more than 1,100 acres to
creating the Port St. Lucie Country Club, which included two
golf courses. The Country Club opened in 1961, before the
actual city of Port St. Lucie was formally incorporated.
The club boasted superior golfing facilities and club rooms,
but no overnight accommodations. Billed as a “hotel of
homes,” the new club consisted of 250 small villas built along
Morningside Boulevard and adjoining streets, the Saints and
The Port St. Lucie Country Club sits at the intersection of Morningside
Boulevard and what was to become Port St. Lucie Boulevard. The road was
paved only to the entrance and became a dirt road immediately to the west.
The 225-seat Brass Sandpiper Restaurant opened in 1975 after GDC decided
to operate the resort itself after four years under the flag of the Hilton hotel
group as the St. Lucie Hilton Inn and Country Club.
Sinners golf courses, two tennis courts, the clubhouse, a pool,
19th Hole, pro shop and the marina. The villas offered accommodation
12 Port St. Lucie Magazine
by the week, month or season at rates far less
than ordinary quarters in a good hotel or motel — which was
almost revolutionary at the time.
The “homes” were one-, two- and three-bedroom villas located
directly on the golf course. Many still remain, but most
have been extensively renovated with kitchen additions. The
original villas lacked any cooking facilities and consisted of
a bedroom, bathroom and living area. There was one tiny
closet in many of them. Food was available at the country
club or could be delivered via golf cart by employees.
HOSTED MANY TOURNAMENTS
The new resort attracted some big names. The Saints and
Sinners courses opened in February 1961 and the former
links hosted the first Perry Como Invitational Tournament
that year. The popular Jupiter Island-based crooner quickly
became a fan of the new club and invited many of his sporting
and entertainment buddies to try it out, including Jack
Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Sam Snead, Joe Di Maggio and actor
Vincent Price. Dinah Shore even taped much of one TV series
at the club. GDC clearly saw the resort as a valuable marketing
tool that could attract buyers for the hundreds of new
homes it was constructing all over the city. By 1967, there was
a hotel and conference center consisting of 168 rooms. Soon
after the hotel opened, the 250 golf villas were sold off to
private buyers.
By 1972, GDC decided to bring in the Hilton franchise and
renamed the property the St. Lucie Hilton Inn and Country
Club. But by 1975, the Hilton franchise was dropped and the
>>
PORT ST. LUCIE HISTORICAL SOCIETY PHOTOS
The complex boasted an Olympic-sized swimming pool in 1961.