Where golf meets glamour
Palm Beach Post

01/26/08

Quirky Florida visionary John D. MacArthur, who once owned the land, would be impressed with BallenIsles today.

While other gated neighborhoods lurch forward, bickering about replacing carpeting in the clubhouse or upgrading the pool, the residents of BallenIsles think big, running their neighborhood like a resort.

After the homeowners association assumed control from the developer of the 32-subdivision neighborhood in 2005, officials surveyed residents about the state of the community's amenities.

Residents wanted more room at the fitness center and clubhouse, and plans were made for a $48.7 million renovation of the heart and soul of this 1,577-home golf and tennis club in Palm Beach Gardens.

The HOA created a full-color, 39-page booklet to sell the plan to residents. It pointed out that golf communities were springing up nearby, and it detailed improvement plans.

"We are in a competitive business and located in a competitive area," residents were told, "and as such we have to keep our club well positioned to attract future members."

Residents voted to assess themselves up to $100 a month to get the project done. That fee is on top of the quarterly HOA dues, which run $1,100 to $2,400 and include 24-hour security with monitored alarms in homes, grounds maintenance and basic cable.

Construction starts in April on a sports complex with dining facilities, spa, pool and fitness center, a total clubhouse makeover and upgrades to the East golf course.

While the project, expected to be completed next year, should bring BallenIsles up to date with newer communities, the neighborhood has long held a historical advantage over most rival country clubs.

BallenIsles is situated on 1,300 acres in Palm Beach Gardens that was once owned by Chicago insurance mogul MacArthur.

In 1963, MacArthur partnered with the Professional Golfers' Association to create the PGA National Golf Club on the site. For the next 10 years, the golf haven hosted legends such as Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, as well as championships for the PGA, World Cup and Senior Tour players.

When the PGA/MacArthur partnership ended in 1973, the club was renamed JDM Country Club and settled back for the next 15 years as a local course with a storied history. Meanwhile, construction began on BallenIsles' neighboring but unrelated development, PGA National.

In 1990, BallenIsles' first homes were built. Home prices today range from $385,000 for a condo to $3.7 million for a single-family home.

While many Realtors make commissions at BallenIsles, not many have the passion of resident Laura Cole and her business partner, Tana Gaskill, at Illustrated Properties.

"As country clubs go, each one has their own flavor and appeals to different people for different reasons," Cole says. "I think the appeal here starts with its location right in the middle of everything in Palm Beach Gardens."

Cole has lived at BallenIsles for 13 years. She says about two-thirds of residents are retired or semi-retired, and half of those are snowbirds.

Cole thinks one of BallenIsles' main attractions is its mix of people, which, she points out, will become younger with the club improvements.

"We have people from all over the Northeast," she says. "Not just New York and Boston, but Maryland and all over the East Coast."

One thing they have in common is cash.

Club memberships are mandatory for new residents, who must purchase at least a social membership for $35,000 ($30,000 is returned when the membership ends). A full golf membership is $100,000 plus $15,000 non-refunded initiation. From the $100,000, 80 percent of current equity value is returned when membership ends.

BallenIsles has three 18-hole golf courses — East, North and South. The East Course will be redesigned by noted golf architect Keith Foster.

Along with 23 tennis courts, BallenIsles can boast residents Venus and Serena Williams.

In the development, roads wind around man-made lakes, past color-coordinated, HOA-approved landscaping that connects the 32 subdivisions. A candy wrapper or soda can anywhere along any road would be a scandal.

The social calendar includes a fashion show, trivia barbecue, Everglades lecture, a visit by author Lisa See, Broadway star Liz Callaway's show and the Valentine's Day dinner dance.

Team BallenIsles recently raced and raised $12,000 for Race for the Cure, and there are many clubs, golf and tennis tournaments and more.

"People here are very intellectually active," says Cole. "We have a lot of professionals living here. Retired doctors, lawyers, dentists, business owners. The style here I like to call casually elegant. Our parties aren't dripping with jewelry, and it's not competitive here."

What residents say . . .

JORGEN and LISE WEDEL

THEIR HOME: 4 bedrooms, 4 baths, 3,200 square feet with pool, patio guest house, lakefront and golf view

WHEN THEY MOVED IN: March 2003

WHAT THEY PAID: $585,000

CURRENT VALUE (from Zillow.com): $719,0000

WHY THEY LOVE IT: Jorgen and Lise came to the U.S. from Denmark in 1991 to live near Boston. That was a career move: Jorgen was an executive with Gillette.

" I was always complaining about hotels when we were traveling," Jorgen says. "There was always something wrong when we were on vacations."

The couple decided to buy a second home in Florida, and "as soon as we walked in, I said, 'I love this house,' " Jorgen says.

Lise laughs, then echoes him. "As soon as I walked in I said, 'I love this house!' "

While Lise and Jorgen still call Boston their permanent home, they love their time at BallenIsles so much that they're selling their home to up-size into a 6,000-square-foot house in the same neighborhood.

" We like the three golf courses," says Lise. "We also thought when we first came that the landscaping was beautiful."

" Plus, this is close to the airport, close to the beach where we take the dog (Billy, a black Lab) and we can go 15 minutes to Palm Beach and be on Worth Avenue," Jorgen adds.

The couple have two adult daughters - Cece lives in Washington, D.C., and Emilie attends Boston University - and they have friends who visit from Copenhagen, where Jorgen and Lise also own a condo.

" We have friends from Denmark who come over and think this is paradise," Jorgen says.

" More than paradise," says Lise.

" They come visit," adds Jorgen, "and they won't leave the pool."

DR. EDWARD and VICKI SLOTNICK

THEIR HOME: 4 bedrooms, 41/2 baths, 4,000 square feet, with pool, patio, lake and golf views

WHEN THEY MOVED IN: May 1995

WHAT THEY PAID: $650,000

CURRENT VALUE (from Zillow.com): $1.2 million

WHY THEY LOVE IT: The doctor and his wife are living in their second BallenIsles home.

Before Edward retired from his career as a Philadelphia infertility specialist, he and Vicki searched South Florida for a getaway home.

And they looked hard before buying a 2,500-square-foot home at BallenIsles in 1992.

" We didn't see anything we liked," says Edward. "We were looking in Fort Lauderdale, Weston, all the way to Boca. A lot of homes in Boca. It was very congested there. It was just too flashy, to be honest.

" Then we came to BallenIsles and we loved it immediately."

The amenities weighed heavily in their choice.

Edward played tennis in high school and college and also plays golf. The couple's son-in-law is a pro golfer.

Visitors include their three adult children - who live in France, Santa Barbara, Calif., and New York City - and three grandchildren.

The golfing couple say that BallenIsles' appeal goes beyond the places to play.

" You don't have pretentiousness here," Edward says.

" I play with some guys who are very, very wealthy, but no one comes around with fancy golf carts, that kind of thing."

BOBBIE and DON RIBATT

THEIR HOME: 4 bedrooms, 41/2 baths, 4,000 square feet, with pool, patio, lake and golf views

WHEN THEY MOVED IN: October 2001

WHAT THEY PAID: $865,000

CURRENT VALUE (from Zillow.com): $1.2 million

WHY THEY LOVE IT: Don loves tennis. Bobbie loves golf.

And Don and Bobbie both love BallenIsles.

Tennis brought them to Palm Beach County from Newton, Mass., and Long Island, where Don was an executive with a company that made women's shoes.

" We chose BallenIsles before we moved to Florida," Bobbie says.

" When we'd visit friends ... we'd go see the Polo Club, Ibis, Glen Eagles," Don says. "We were uncomfortable with the country club living, but when we came here, we had lunch at the club and I wore a polo shirt and shorts. Everyone was casual. That made me feel better about living at a club."

This is their second BallenIsles home. They moved to the neighborhood in 1999 but it took only a couple of years to decide they wanted more room for visits from their son, Gregg, his wife, Polly, and three grandchildren.

" They love it here," Don says. "The kids are in the pool at 6:30 in the morning. Gregg and Polly play tennis and love to run along the ocean at Palm Beach."

" We love a lot of company," says Bobbie, "and we throw a lot of parties."

They could have found a big house in any number of other places, but there were a couple locks that kept the Ribatts at BallenIsles.

" Twenty-three tennis courts," says Don, "and the people. There's diversity here and it's casual. Some communities are very Christian and some are very Jewish, and this has a nice mix. You have people from the Midwest, Canada, Europe and the Northeast and not only Boston and New York."

" And you can't forget the location," Bobbie adds.

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