Around 200 residents filed into the UF/IFAS Extension in Newberry on Tuesday to give ideas about the future use of West End Golf Course.  

Alachua County bought the property less than two months ago, ending a years-long struggle to decide what would happen on the 75-acre site. However, the county may still have its work cut out to figure out the best use for the property.  

From an outdoor swimming pool to a professional pétanque facility, a 9-hole golf course, a 9-hole disc golf course and a FootGolf course, residents threw out ideas—some contradictory.  

Jason Maurer, county parks director, said the county wants to get a sense of the community’s priorities and then figure a way to incorporate them into the park.  

“I just want to clarify so that everybody understands that we’re very far from coming up with any final plan yet,” Maurer said. “That’s why we’re here today. Every option is on the table.”   

Homeowners from the surrounding neighborhoods, some with houses just feet from the golf course, also had concerns about safety, lighting, parking and traffic. Solutions ranged from installing a red light at the entrance to reducing the speed on Newberry Road to a pedestrian bridge from the Town of Tioga.  

Ed Williams, Alachua County’s capital projects coordinator, said the county will gauge the community priorities, analyze the costs and look for synergies between activities. The county will then hire a design firm to fit the activities within the park.  

Williams said the design process can take 10 to 12 months. Then, Alachua County will release the design plans for further community feedback.  

Ultimately, the Alachua County Board of County Commissioners will give final approval for the design plans and price tag.  

In the meantime, construction will happen at the park to prepare for the World Masters Athletics Indoor Championships—a track and field event coming in March 2025. 

Alachua County made a bid to host the championship, and it will mark the first time the event has been in the United States.  

Because of the need for a javelin, discus and hammer throw along with a cross-country track, Alachua County and Viking Companies purchased the West End Golf Course. The purchase provides the space for the championships and lets the county turn the course into a park.  

Wiliams said the only permanent structures from the event would be a 16-foot by 100-foot javelin runway made of concrete and two concrete 8-foot diameter circles for the other throwing events.  

He said two multipurpose fields could go on either side of the javelin runaway or a driving range right over the concrete bases. All the bleachers, tents, restrooms and cages will be taken down afterward.  

The project is using Wild Spaces Public Places funding, and Alachua County’s parks department is estimated to receive $37 million over the surtax’s 10-year span. Williams said that money must cover all projects at over 30 different county parks—not just West End.  

Paul Hornby, president of the West End Community Alliance for Recreation and Education (WECARE), created a draft design of a possible layout that includes a 9-hole golf course around the park perimeter with a driving range, aquatics facility and playgrounds at the center.  

WECARE protested residential development options for the site, including turning the land into more than 450 units of housing. In 2022, the BOCC voted to prevent a change in the land use and forced the property to remain recreational. 

“[Alachua County] had our back throughout this whole process, and when the people speak, they listen,” Hornby said. “This is how things should work, so this is a great outcome. If it just stays a passive park, it’s a win.”