Resolution delayed on Wellington showgrounds

by Nancy Jaffer | Jan 26, 2024

A decision affecting plans for a much-needed expansion of Wellington, Florida’s, world famous showgrounds has been postponed until at least next month by the Village Council.

The land and funding for the expansion are tied to Wellington Lifestyle Partners’ Wellington North development project. It would involve removing 90-plus acres from the municipality’s Equestrian Preserve, a designation many consider sacrosanct, so a private golf community can be built there.

The showgrounds that is home to the Winter Equestrian Festival is a short distance away, where WLP’s Wellington South project on 290 acres will offer not only more room for the cramped equestrian venue, but also 107 homes. If Wellington North can go ahead, WLP will waive development rights on the acreage needed to extend the showgrounds.

Wellington North is the home of the Global Dressage Festival at Equestrian Village, which would stay at its present site until the new showgrounds is ready.

There are still many questions about the details of the arrangement, as well as exactly what features the showgrounds will include when it has a larger footprint, what that will cost and who will pay for it. There is also great concern that once development is permitted in the Equestrian Preserve, other developers will try to build in it elsewhere in the Village.

Meanwhile, the threat of a well-funded lawsuit and the prospect that some entity might buy the showgrounds (now owned by financially troubled Global Equestrian Group) could add additional wrinkles to the already complicated mix that has included a recall petition against four council members and a petition with more than 8,000 names opposing taking land out of the Equestrian Preserve.

The Council worked past 11 p.m. Thursday, the third day of hearings this week, but could not come up with a date until Feb. 7 for members to move once more toward a final vote on the projects because of their other commitments. (Click here and on this link to read the previous stories about Tuesday and Wednesday’s hearings.)

It takes a vote of four of the five council members to remove land from the Preserve so the development can be built. Meanwhile, two new council members will be elected in March to replace two who are term-limited, so that raises the possibility a final decision could stretch out even longer.

The projects are under the auspices of Wellington Lifestyle Partners, which includes developer NEXUS, former eBay president Jeff Skoll and Wellington Partners Holdings, associated with Mark Bellissimo, who manages Wellington Equestrian Partners.

WEP accumulated the land involved in both projects since Bellissimo took over the Winter Equestrian Festival in 2007. Some have expressed suspicion of Bellissimo, citing promises he has made over the years that weren’t fulfilled on various projects.

{For your convenience in reading this story, here is an acronym glossary: WEP (Wellington Equestrian Partners); GEG (Global Equestrian Group); WEF (Winter Equestrian Festival); WLP (Wellington Lifestyle Partners}

During Thursday’s meeting, which added more than five hours to the 50 hours of hearings and discussion that have been spent on the matter since June, critics and proponents of the plans had what is likely their final say.

“The show is very tired,”  Olympic, world championships and World Cup show jumping medalist Rodrigo Pessoa told the council.

Rodrigo Pessoa competing at the Winter Equestrian Festival before the showgrounds became Wellington International. (Photo © by Nancy Jaffer)

“Hopefully, the new group that will come in will do the necessary work to put it back to where it should be. I’m not interested in Mr. Bellissimo’s management or anything else. I have nothing against him if he’s an investor, but the management is really not his forte. Wellington and Tryon (N.C.) have been examples of that.

“Wellington is now on the map for equestrian sports. But we need to keep it improving and up to date, because only three hours north of here, they have done something quite spectacular,” he noted, referring to the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, where estimates are that close to $1 billion has been spent on a vast showgrounds, two hotels and restaurants, with more improvements to come.

“We don’t want to move to Ocala,” Pessoa continued.

“We want to continue and support Wellington. We love coming here, but we want to come to a better facility.”

On the other side, the Wellington Chamber of Commerce sent a note asking the Council to deny the application, saying, “While we continue to support the horse show, taking land from the Equestrian Preserve sets a dangerous precedent, opening the floodgates for anyone with land in the Preserve who may want to increase density in the future.”

Rep. Katherine Waldron, the state representative for District 93, which includes Wellington, sent a letter saying she has heard from many constituents about the issue that has caused “a lot of frustration, anger and angst.”

She added, “I do not think it is in the best interests of our community to push a vote forward at this time and suggest a final vote be delayed to insure our community can come together and have full knowledge of the project and how it will impact our very important internationally renowned equestrian community.”

Part of the delay in reaching a final vote seems to be the Council’s lack of familiarity with equestrian matters.

Jane Cleveland, chair of the Village’s Equestrian Preserve Committee, proposed adding two seats to the Village Council for equestrian representatives. She suggested two district Council seats from the Equestrian Preserve that stretches across 9,000 acres, representing 41 percent of the Village’s developed land and 25 percent of its tax base.

Wellington’s Equestrian Preserve. (The initials SFWMD at the bottom of the diagram stand for South Florida Water Management District.)

Do council members  even follow the sport that is Wellington’s claim to fame as the “Winter Equestrian Capital of the World?” It was interesting to hear when they read comment cards submitted by the public to express opposition or support for the project that some prominent names with equestrian connections obviously were not familiar to them.

Interestingly, among those who submitted comment cards supporting the project were Katherine Kaneb, Bellissimo’s ex-wife; their son, Michael; their daughter, Nicole Jayne and Tristan Nunez, the husband of another Bellissimo daughter, Paige, who is executive vice president of WLP. .

What’s going to happen with the Wellington showgrounds?

by Nancy Jaffer | Jan 25, 2024

With the possibility that the Wellington, Florida, Village Council is on the brink of deciding whether to remove land from the Equestrian Preserve, paving the way for a golf-oriented development, both sides on the question Wednesday were keen to make what could be their final points about the controversial matter.

After more than 50 hours of hearings, in addition to the usual comments for and against the project, several people had a new suggestion. Why not postpone a Council vote on “second reading” of the ordinance at the last of this week’s three hearings on the matter? That would facilitate getting more information about issues raised during the meetings.

But it also could push any resolution of the situation down the road to a Council with two new members, who will be added after a March election. A 4-1 super majority of the Council has to vote to take land out of the Preserve, following a 2016 referendum on that issue. At “first reading” of the ordinance in November, four council members voted to remove the land from the Preserve. Subsequently, a recall petition was  launched to remove them. But “second reading” was scheduled this week for a final vote.

The issue is more far-reaching than rezoning 96-plus acres in the Preserve for Wellington Lifestyle Partners’ Wellington North project on the site of the Global Dressage Festival. If WLP is permitted to build homes and sports facilities there, acreage it owns nearby at the Wellington South property would be used to expand the cramped Wellington International Showgrounds, with WLP paying for the initial stages of that work. Dressage eventually would move to the expanded showgrounds from its current Equestrian Village facility at Wellington North.

Questions about WLP’s finances have been raised, a concern that was addressed Wednesday when Lisa Lourie of Wellington Equestrian Partners brought out a letter of commitment pledging $40 million toward improvements necessary for completion of the expansion at the home of the Winter Equestrian Festival.

Lourie, the owner of Spy Coast Farm in Florida and Kentucky, is an associate of WEP’s managing partner Mark Bellissimo, who accumulated the land involved in both projects over the years since he took over WEF in 2007.

Lisa Lourie of Spy Coast Farm.

An already difficult situation has been complicated by the fact that Wellington International’s owner, the Global Equestrian Group, has had a financial setback and is in the midst of what one commenter Wednesday night called an “implosion.”

It has put the showgrounds up for sale. Lourie, who with her two children is the second-largest partner in WEP, said GEG had done “little to improve the showgrounds.” She called dressage “an integral part of our Wellington community and now we want to give it a new improved, safer home.”

Having hunters, jumpers and dressage in one location on the South property, as opposed to two venues separated by busy roads, is a much safer option for horses and riders, as traffic also has been an issue in this debate, along with concern about how wetlands and drainage will be affected by the construction.

{For your convenience in reading this story, here is an acronym glossary: WEP (Wellington Equestrian Partners); GEG (Global Equestrian Group); WEF (Winter Equestrian Festival); WLP (Wellington Lifestyle Partners)}

Among the prominent equestrians who spoke Wednesday was Robin Parsky, known as the owner of top show jumpers for Kent Farrington and McLain Ward. She praised the footing on the derby field at Equestrian Village, which she called “a wonderful venue appreciated by riders who come here,” and sought assurances that there will be a comparable grass field at the expanded showgrounds.

While the field is being used at Equestrian Village until expansion of Wellington International is completed, she wanted to make sure that not only would there be no construction of housing until the new showgrounds is finished, but also that no other work involving construction of amenities or use of heavy equipment would be going on in the interim.

“It terrifies everyone we’re going to be surrounded by construction,” she explained.

Robin Parsky.

“Is there a reason that we’re rushing this? This is creating huge anxiety and fear.”

She said people are concerned, but “there is also an under element saying, `Let’s come up with a better solution’.”
Several speakers dug deep to do research on a situation that is “super confusing,” according to resident Pam Wildman. She is concerned that market conditions will have changed by 2028 when the Wellington International showgrounds expansion is scheduled to be finished and WLP can start building houses. That time frame could lead to a request for changes in what the builder is planning, similar to what happened with Wellington’s Lotis development near the medical center.

Jill Townsend, who built her Wellington home in 1985, moved to the Village from North Palm Beach after it became landlocked and there was nowhere to ride.

She found Wellington to be an “exceptional area.”

“I knew that even when everything was developed eventually, I could get on my horse and go ride, that was something I thought had so much value that we didn’t have anywhere else in Florida.”

Townsend, who, interestingly, had worked for Nexus in the Bahamas with her daughter, praised the work there of that developer (which is a partner in WLP).

Jill Townsend.

But she contended that in Wellington, “a solution isn’t going to be found by pushing through this project right now.”

She believes part of the thought process might be that it is time for the owner of the Preserve property to get something.

But she pointed out, “He has something. He bought land that has development rights. He owns that land where he can build houses that fall within the outline and zoning for the community as designed Another beautiful Mallet Hill or Paddock Park.”

(Six houses total are allowed on Equestrian Village and neighboring White Birch. A number of businesses, from a nightclub to riding school and nail salon also can be located on the Preserve property, just not more housing. Since the land is private, the owner is under no compulsion to stage equestrian competition there.)

What’s most important, she said, is that “the ownership of the horse show has to be figured out first and foremost. If it continues to be held by a private individual for profit or hedge funds, we in Wellington will always be held hostage. You can help this community navigate with the interested parties who are willing to buy the horse show.”

She suggested the Village could help with perhaps a land conservatorship or a non-profit, “so revenue from the horse show could go back to horse show. Let’s put our focus on reviving the horse show.”

Richard Sirota, a real estate developer who was chairman for six years of the Battery Park City Authority in New York, suggested consideration of the horse show expansion (which is not being voted on as such at this time) should be part of a separate process when deliberating what to do about the Preserve.

“Let the person who buys it (Wellington International) make the deal. We all want the horse show to survive, prosper and get better. The point is how you’re running the process, and it’s sort of a little backwards from my point of view,” Sirota observed.

“Because the person who buys it, give him the opportunity to deal with Wellington Lifestyle Partners, to determine if he may need more land, want to modify it, then go to you for the final decisions. That’s the way it should go. Not now–…you’re making it complicated.”

Well-known equestrians, such as dressage Olympian Ashley Holzer, show jumpers Andrew Welles and Andrew Bourns and retired jockey/trainer Tommy Skiffington, all emphasized the need for a bigger and improved showgrounds if Wellington is to stay on top of the equestrian scene.

Also speaking was Michael Bellissimo, son of Mark Bellisimo. He was succinct in his appraisal.

“Wellington is not geographically a special place,” he commented.

“The thing that makes Wellington special, that we can all agree on, is the world class horse show. So it’s in their (the developers’) best interests to keep that at the highest level it can possibly be.”

The clock is ticking on a Wellington showgrounds decision

by Nancy Jaffer | Jan 24, 2024

Will the Wellington, Florida, Village Council vote this week on whether land should be taken out of the Equestrian Preserve for the first time, as part of a trade-off around expanding the cramped Wellington International showgrounds?

The answer was still unclear following Tuesday night’s “second reading” of an ordinance that would remove 96-plus acres from the protection of the Preserve designation, so housing and various non-equestrian sports amenities could be built by Wellington Lifestyle Partners at their Wellington North project. The community adjacent to a golf course would be constructed on what is now the site of the Adequan Global Dressage Festival and nearby property.

In turn, acreage contiguous to the showgrounds a short distance away at WLP’s Wellington South project would be rezoned from residential to equestrian commercial for expansion of the facility that would accommodate dressage competition, as well as hunters and jumpers. WLP would pay for new facilities that would include a 3,000 seat international ring, a covered arena, a new derby field, 220 permanent stalls and 272 temporary stalls.

Beginning in June, there have been 45 hours of public debate and discussion on the development issues by the Village’s Equestrian Preserve Committee, the Planning Zoning and Adjustment Board and the five-member council, with more meetings scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday evenings.

To remove land from the Preserve, a super-majority of four of the five council members would have to vote in favor. They did that on “first reading” of the ordinance in November, but since then, a group opposed to removing the land started a recall petition against all the council members except Vice Mayor Michael Napoleone, the only one who voted against the move.

The Adequan Global Dressage Festival grounds.
(Photo by Nancy Jaffer)

The recall group also is highlighting contributions council members received from entities related to the development, asking why those who got such money did not recuse themselves from the vote.

Feelings run high about the land deal. Equestrians who feel betrayed at the prospect of losing property from the Preserve, which includes 9,000 acres Village-wide, showed up at the meeting wearing their signature “Vote No” and “Horses Not Houses” red T-shirts. More than 8,000 people have signed a petition against taking land from the Preserve.

Others who spoke during the packed meeting contended removing land from the Preserve is worth it if that affords more space for the show in the “Winter Equestrian Capital of the World” to expand and compete with new venues in Ocala to the north and the Sarasota area to the west.

Global Equestrian Group, the owner of the Wellington International showgrounds, is part of Waterland Private Equity, which has put the showgrounds up for sale. Wellington International holds all the licenses for the hunter/jumper shows at the home of the Winter Equestrian Festival, while Mark Bellisimo holds all but one of the dressage licenses for the Global Dressage Festival.

John Ingram, a businessman and Wellington farm owner who spoke Tuesday night, said “the horse show needs to grow and expand.  What I see has been proposed here is a practical solution that would be good for the equestrian community and the overall Village. If we mess around and don’t take advantage of this unique opportunity, I think we stand a very strong chance of waking up in five to 10 years and finding Ocala, Thermal (Calif.) or somewhere else has taken over the top destination spot.”

The best horses and riders from the U.S., Europe and Latin America are “what gives Wellington the aura it has.” He said if they don’t come because the facilities are lacking, property values will fall, leading to a lower quality of life for residents.

In 2017, Ingram led a successful effort to bring major league soccer to Nashville, Tenn., an initiative that has been “wildly successful.”

Along those lines, he pointed out that “opportunities come when they come…I see this current moment as a really important one and if we don’t take advantage, we will dramatically affect the future of the whole Village.”

He warned that if the opportunity is missed, the Wellington South land that could be used for showgrounds expansion will be developed with houses.

The whole development situation has become ever-more complicated, with its parameters, costs and numbers changing many times, making it difficult to follow or understand for many observers, who also are concerned about traffic and environmental issues.

There are a variety of conditions attached to the process of Wellington North and South approval. The most important measure is Condition 7, which keeps dressage at its current location until the expanded showgrounds is finished and dressage can move there, with a deadline of Dec. 31, 2028. Until that happens, no houses would be built at Wellington North.

A late starter was Condition 12, which calls for WLP to give the Village 55 acres of a former golf course (land WLP doesn’t own, but which is under contract) for use as a public park a few miles from Wellington North. The developer also would pay $2 million for improvements, while having the right to remove up to 30 percent of the land area for fill.

Andrew Carduner, a homeowner in the Village’s venerable Palm Beach Polo community, called the park an “obfuscation,” while emphasizing that the “equestrian community is the lifeblood of Wellington.”

Doug McMahon, the CEO of WLP and co-founder of luxury developer Nexus, said plans for development in Wellington have been modified to make them better, a process that “has been hard and been passionate” resulting in a request for 201 residences at Wellington North. (The neighboring Coach House property, which is not in the Preserve, already has been approved for 50 residences.)

Doug McMahon of WLP.

If Wellington North is not approved, six homes can still be built on the Equestrian Preserve and White Birch properties, along with a number of businesses, such as a riding school or offices. There is no requirement for the landowner to present dressage shows.

The developer has cut back on the number of housing units it seeks at both North and South, while McMahon said the project has improved as a result of the input received from residents by WLP.

He reminded those in attendance that “none of these lands are public lands” unlike national parks such as Yellowstone.

But Maureen Brennan, a leader of the recall movement, said of the Preserve “this is our Yellowstone.”

Although she suggested that the homes on Wellington North might become timeshares, renting to people who are not part of the community, similar to a Nexus project in the Bahamas, McMahon said in Wellington “we’re not doing residence clubs.”

Maureen Brennan at the podium.

He maintained the “vast majority” of the homes would be primary residences.  A club model, he said, is based on real estate sales initially, a joining fee and annual dues that would allow the club community to be maintained. He noted WLP would have nothing to do with running the horse show.

The development saga has been running since the summer of 2022, when Bellissimo proposed “The Estates at Equestrian Village” project on the dressage showgrounds as part of his “Wellington 3.0 project.” Bellissimo, who took over the Winter Equestrian Festival in 2007, built the dressage showgrounds in 2012, but has lost the trust of some in Wellington with projects presented by his ownership group of Wellington Equestrian Partners over the years.

The Estates project was withdrawn and replaced last year with Wellington North and South, and WLP became the entity presenting it. Bellissimo stepped back as a principal of WLP in favor of McMahon as point man and has not been heard from at the meetings on Wellington North and South. His daughter, Paige, is WLP’s executive vice president.

The speakers Tuesday included Cynthia Gardner, who opened the first stable in Wellington in 1977 and was the first chairman of the equestrian committee. She recounted some history, saying the committee was asked to create an Equestrian Overlay District (the Preserve) “so we would never have to worry about the protection and preservation” of the Village’s equestrian properties. “The highest and best use of property in the Equestrian Preserve is not for housing development.”

She warned that encroachment could wind up with formerly equestrian properties being developed along the lines of what happened to Royal Palm Polo in Boca Raton, south of Wellington, where 10 polo fields became housing.

Land use attorney Harvey Oyer, representing the prominent Jacobs family, said that while his clients originally had a “cautiously neutral view” of the development proposal when he spoke during a meeting last year, “the family remembers well the history of past failed promises by other developers over the years.”

The Jacobs, whose Deeridge Farms is on Pierson Road, are among a group of landowners within 500 feet of Wellington North who should have the right to enforce the covenant of what can be done by the developers, Oyer said, and “not just hope that some future Village Council will do so, because we are the ones adversely affected.”

Part of the arrangement sought by the Jacobs would involve the Village manager making an annual inspection of the progress of work on the expanded showgrounds and reporting it on the Village website “so we all know what is going on there.”