The Palm Beach Gardens City Council participates in the groundbreaking for a new, $35 million BallenIsles Country Club. 

BallenIsles residents and community members celebrated the groundbreaking on their new, expanded, $35 million clubhouse in an outdoor ceremony Tuesday afternoon.

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Board of Directors President Jack Cook said the project has been long in planning and is needed for the current membership’s enjoyment and future growth. The standalone sports club BallenIsles built in 2009 with a tennis lounge, bistro and spa made it the envy of country club communities, he said. This is the next step.

BallenIsles Country Club directors participate in a groundbreaking for an expanded, $35 million clubhouse on Tuesday, May 16, 2017. (Sarah Peters/The Palm Beach Post)

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The membership approved the project by a 72 percent majority, Cook said. The club plans to pay for it with $10 million cash and a $25 million loan paid back through home sales and upgraded memberships.

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There are still some homes for which membership is not mandatory, and as those homes sell, the club will need to accommodate more people, directors said.

The new club will have about 35,000 more square feet, a 19th hole with outdoor seating, a la carte dining and a new lobby lounge. There will be a fireplace in the grill room and new floors.

BallenIsles plans to put up a large tent in October – similar to the one Mirasol used while its new, $40 million clubhouse was being built – for activities while its club is a work zone. The new BallenIsles club should be finished by next summer.

The Palm Beach Gardens City Council, architects from Chapman Coyle Chapman & Associates and executives from management company Troon Golf attended the groundbreaking. By Sarah Peters/The Palm Beach Post.

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