After eight months, more than 60 hours of public deliberations and much community angst, the Wellington Village Council voted just before midnight Wednesday to take 96-plus acres out of its Equestrian Preserve for a golf community, in order to insure its cramped and tired major showgrounds can expand.
The deal means that Wellington Lifestyle Partners will be able to construct its development on the Equestrian Village land used by the Global Dressage Festival at Wellington North. But there’s a quid pro quo, as was often discussed during the hearings. First, WLP and developer NEXUS need to build the expanded showgrounds on their property at Wellington South, a short distance away, where the Winter Equestrian Festival is held.
The deadline for making the showgrounds operational is 2028; until then, dressage can stay at its current home in the Preserve. Discussion about arrangements for the 2025 dressage show there already has started.
The quid pro quo, however, did not sit well with many in the equestrian community. They mounted opposition to taking 96-plus acres from the Preserve for the development, with more than 10,000 people signing a petition against that action. The fear is that the Wellington North project would set a precedent for future incursions into the Preserve, which includes 9,000 acres across the municipality.
Frustrated residents reacted Thursday morning on social media to the council’s action.
“Why isn’t the Village Council protecting our lands and ensuring us that our votes matter?” wrote Mark Offerman.
“Everything in this proposal smells dodgy.”
Other residents, however, many of whom have big investments in their local farms, urged the council to make the deal so the showgrounds can be improved and Wellington could remain “The Winter Equestrian Capital of the World.”
“I feel like it’s the first step in the right direction,” said Wellington farm owner Romain Marteau, who spoke at council meetings several times to emphasize the need for a better showgrounds.
While he acknowledged there was disappointment in some quarters over the vote, Marteau advised, “People should get together now and be part of the solution and try to advise NEXUS and WLP on how to build a horse show, because they are seeking input from the equestrian people. The only thing that matters going forward is to make sure that the horse show is successful. Without a successful horse show, Wellington isn’t going to be successful.”
The Wellington South showgrounds, formerly Palm Beach International Equestrian Center and now Wellington International, was bought two years ago by Global Equestrian Group, which is part of Waterland Private Equity.
But GEG had financial issues and the showgrounds are up for sale. William Blair, who manages major sales and acquisitions, is requiring anyone who is interested in purchasing the property to sign on Feb. 13 that they are serious, so further discussions can proceed toward getting a new owner for the internationally known venue.
A number of prominent equestrians have indicated there will be great financial support for purchase of the showgrounds, which they want to see run as a non-profit, with its revenue plowed back into the facility for improvements. They have been concerned that the lavish World Equestrian Center in Ocala is a strong rival to the Wellington shows, once unquestionably the USA’s creme de la creme circuit.
Marteau pointed out that “the next big challenge is making sure the (Wellington) show lands in the right hands.”
Multiple entities are trying to put offers together for the showgrounds and it is unclear who will go on to a second round in the bidding. The word is that among the groups seeking to buy the facility is HITS, whose other venues include shows in Ocala and New York.
Rendering of what Equestrian Village and White Birch (now polo fields) will look like as part of the golf development.
The council vote was 4-1 (it is required that for land to be removed from the Preserve, four of the five council members must vote in favor of it.)
Vice-mayor Michael Napoleone, who is running for mayor, voted against it. He noted he grew up in east Boca Raton (south of Wellington) and saw how development transformed that area, not necessarily for the better.
As he explained his decision, “For me,” the golf community “is too much density for Wellington.” He does, however, believe improving the showgrounds is important and voted for a zoning change on Wellington South so it can be built. There also will be housing on another parcel adjacent to the showgrounds.
“It’s a complicated issue. There’s a lot of passion on both sides, and I’ve tried to look at the bigger picture,” he said.
On Monday, in a last-minute bid to save Equestrian Village, a number of prominent equestrians said they would pony up $25 million to buy the property and insure it would be used for the dressage shows and other equestrian-related activities.
But Councilman Michael Drahos pointed out the property is worth more than $25 million “and you don’t have a willing seller.” In addition, he pointed out, they had not approached the landowner and did not have a plan for their vision if they bought the property.
Marteau, who is married to trainer Brianne Goutal-Marteau, emphasized people behind that eleventh hour bid for Equestrian Village need to have a seat at the table and make sure dressage has a voice in developing the new showgrounds.
Tuny Page, a dressage rider and farm owner who led the effort for funding to buy Equestrian Village, said the reason that was such a late starter involved “a tremendous amount of trust” that the development would not go through. She cited votes against the project by the Equestrian Preserve Committee and the Planning, Zoning and Adjustment board, but they are only advisory groups and it’s the council’s vote that counts.
The council’s decision means “Wellington is going to change significantly,” she said, pointing out that the people who buy houses in the golf development likely won’t be equestrians.
Speaking about WLP and its plans, Drahos said before the vote Wednesday, “I do believe this model is guaranteed to succeed.”
“This is a no-look-back moment for Wellington,” he commented, saying the decision was “logic-based.”
He added, “What I really hope for us as a community is that this is the moment we become unified. We will never be the equestrian capital of the world unless the entire community buys into that.”
All the property involved was collected by Mark Bellisimo, who bought WEF in 2007 when it was failing and revitalized it. He also built Equestrian Village—with the help of several of the people who contributed to the $25 million buyout deal. But he is a controversial figure in town. Many are wary of him and there were frequent comments about his unfulfilled promises on several projects.
Doug McMahon, the CEO of WLP, said Bellissimo is not involved in running the organization (his daughter, Paige Bellissimo Nunez, is its executive vice president) and has no interest in taking a larger role, a comment obviously meant to reassure those who still had misgivings about anything with which Bellissimo is involved.
Lauren Brody, an equestrian realtor who is the administrator of the Keep Wellington Green Facebook page, said, “This was a very long game. Mark Bellissimo played. Call him anything you want, but the man was shrewd and he sat back and put all his chess pieces into play. This passed because he did that.”
She suggested that Equestrian Village, with its new zoning, “is now worth $1 billion. There’s no buying it. The council handed Mark Bellissimo hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars in value. All they got in return was a ring here and a ring there and a green space that’s already green” (vacant land that WLP is giving to the Village for a park.)
“If we had to lose Equestrian Village, we should have gotten a lot more in return,” she contended.
Brody is encouraging people to be more proactive in the wake of the Council decision. She suggested residents attend a Monday candidates’ night to hear what prospective Council members have to say. Brody added she has not ruled out running for the council in 2026 (she can’t do it sooner because the next election is in March).
“I’m planning to get more involved as the days go on,” she promised.
The showgrounds project next week is set to go before the Equestrian Preserve Committee for the compatibility determination process that may add some requirements to its construction. The EPC last summer unanimously voted against taking land out of the Equestrian Preserve.