GL Homes Wins Approval for 524-Home Calusa Development

Miami-Dade County commissioners have approved GL Homes' long-contested residential development on the former Calusa golf course, authorizing 524 single-family homes on the 168-acre site at 9400 Southwest 130th Avenue near Kendall.

The commission, acting as the comprehensive development master plan and zoning board, delivered the green light Thursday with an 8-5 vote. The decision caps more than five years of community opposition and legal battles that began when the Sunrise-based homebuilder first proposed the project.

GL Homes, led by Misha Ezratti, reduced the original proposal from 550 homes to 524 units following extensive negotiations. The developer paid $32 million for the shuttered golf course property in 2021.

The project faced significant resistance from local residents organized under Save Calusa, a nonprofit group led by Amanda Prieto. Residents expressed concerns about increased traffic congestion and strain on already overcrowded schools in the area.

Environmental groups, particularly the Tropical Audubon Society, raised objections about potential impacts on tricolored herons that established nesting areas on the vacant golf course over recent years. The birds created a rookery that became a central focus of opposition efforts.

To address environmental concerns, GL Homes reached an agreement with the Tropical Audubon Society that includes several protective measures. The company will expand an existing lake from 3.5 acres to 4.1 acres and create larger buffer zones between the heron nesting area and new residential construction.

Additional environmental commitments include eliminating homes that would directly back up to the rookery, granting the Tropical Audubon Society access for bird surveys, and installing enhanced landscape buffers with double-hedged trees. The developer also agreed to delay construction of some homes for two years to minimize disruption during critical nesting periods.

Despite these concessions, GL Homes could not reach a settlement with Save Calusa. Prieto told commissioners that community members remained concerned about traffic impacts and overall development density. She noted that residents consistently opposed the project even after reviewing GL Homes' modifications.

The approval comes after a complex legal history. GL Homes initially received approval for 550 homes in 2021, but Save Calusa successfully challenged the decision in court. The Florida Supreme Court declined to review an appeals court ruling that favored the community group in 2024, forcing GL Homes to restart the approval process.

The development controversy stems partly from a restrictive covenant that originally protected the golf course from development until 2067. County commissioners removed this covenant in 2020 after surrounding property owners voted to lift the restriction in 2019.

Dick Norwalk, representing GL Homes, defended the latest proposal as exceeding regulatory requirements and described it as the result of extensive collaboration with government agencies and supportive neighbors. He characterized Save Calusa's negotiating positions as shifting throughout discussions, including requests to reduce the project to approximately 300 homes.