Villagers were feeling cheated as they watched as rubble was dumped into the swimming pool at Hacienda Hills Country Club.
“Since they are tearing down everything, why could they not save the pool for our area?” asked Pat Knaus, who purchased her home 25 years ago in the Village of Hacienda South.
The Developer obtained a Sumter County demolition permit on Monday and abruptly brought in heavy equipment to tear down the country club once known for upscale dining that inspired men to don sport coats.
Knaus is among the many Villagers who breathed a sigh of relief when the Amenity Authority Committee, under heavy pressure from residents, declined the Developer’s offer to sell the country club to the AAC at full-market value.
“I believe we did right by refusing to buy the Hacienda building. It was useless for any club activity and the pool would not be included,” Knaus said.
So by dumping debris into the swimming pool – in plain sight of residents – Knaus said she believes the Developer is twisting a knife in the wound.
“I feel that we are being punished for not buying an expensive building that we had no use for,” she said.
Knaus, who purchased her home in 1994, pointed to the history of the Developer dumping the Chula Vista and Silver Lake buildings on the residents, sticking them with the costs of converting them to recreation centers. The AAC in 2013 agreed to purchase the El Santiago Club from the Developer for $350,000. The building was in such poor shape, residents paid for its demolition. Another $1.7 million was spent to build the El Santiago Recreation Center that stands at the that site today.
“Little by little, the Developer is ruining this community,” said Marion Sparaco of the Village of Polo Ridge.