WESTON, Fla. – There's an uproar in one Weston community over the potential transformation of its country club after it was sold.
The developer wants to add an apartment building, but many residents are rejecting that idea.
The renderings show it as a beautiful new addition to a well-established Weston community, but some neighbors said they don't want it.
"We're skeptical about the project. There's a big concern," Tony Bernardini said.
"Apartments are just not consistent with the vision of Weston," another Weston resident, Gerry Katz, said.
Some people in the area expressed concerns about the proposed $70 million, five-story, 270-unit apartment building slated for the grounds of the Weston Hill Country Club, which currently features tennis courts.
Residents like Bernardini in the nearby Islands at Weston community are worried about overcrowding on the streets and in the schools, among other things.
"We're concerned about the crime that could increase with that kind of development or redevelopment," Bernardini said.
The developer said residents shouldn’t be worried.
"We're only building one and two bedrooms, with virtually little to no impact to the schools. All the studies show that," Lon Tabatchnik said.
Tabatchnik insisted that the project will have minimum impact on the area and will work to resolve any concerns.
"The type of product we are building is a high-end luxury building. We're going after the empty-nesters that are living in the country club community now -- those are our customers," he said.
Weston's mayor, who spoke to Local 10 News over the phone, said he's keeping an open mind and knows that the area is known for higher-end single-family homes.
"We care what the residents think. We want their input. We are listening to what everyone is saying," Mayor Daniel Stermer said.
No plans have officially been approved, and the mayor said the first time the commission will likely discuss the project is in October.