Massive Structure Fire Destroys Clubhouse of Former Wedgewood Golf Course in North Lakeland

A massive structure fire destroyed the clubhouse of the former Wedgewood Golf & Country Club on Saturday. The golf course closed in May 2021 and was sold to developers in December 2021.

The fire was reported around 5:45 p.m. Dramatic photos and videos show the interior of the building at 401 Carpenters Way fully engulfed in flames. At least seven Lakeland Fire Department units responded to the scene, along with Polk County Fire Rescue and Lakeland Police Department.

The 6,929-square-foot clubhouse was built in 1984. Bystanders reported that the middle of the roof collapsed at 6:03 p.m.

“Upon arrival, the crews found the building, an abandoned clubhouse, heavily involved in smoke and fire,” LFD spokeswoman Stephanie Lewis said. “As the scene is active, no cause or investigation has been initiated yet. An inspector from the Lakeland Fire Department is on scene.”

LkldNow readers Ashley and Richie Shannon shared drone footage of the fire.

Michael Maguire, of The Maguires of Lakeland, said smoke was visible from Lake Morton. Brittany Corinne Currier, who lives nearby, said she could see the blaze from her backyard.

Photos courtesy of Lakeland Fire Department

The 18-hole course was the city’s second-oldest, after the Cleveland Heights Golf Course. It was built in January 1931 as the William L. Hutcheson Golf Course and redesigned in 1983. However, in documents filed with the city, applicants said the golf course was “no longer profitable” and was losing money. It closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mulberry-based SJD Development LLC purchased the golf course in December 2021 for $4.5 million from Kanes Golf of Florida LLC, according to Polk County Property Appraisers Office records. The group has been working to develop housing on the 117-acre property along Carpenters Way, north of Interstate 4 and south of Lake Gibson.

The Wedgewood Golf Course site lies between Interstate 4 and Lake Gibson.

The course interweaves among seven established neighborhoods that include single-family homes, townhomes and multi-family developments that were built from the early 1980s through the early 2000s.

The proposed Gibson Trails project is a “residential infill development” that includes 11 parcels. Developers had originally wanted to build 1,028 apartments, 16 single-family homes and 204 townhomes, along with 150 assisted living units.

A map of the planned development of the former Wedgewood golf course. Buildings 10D and 10E in the center of this map, which would have had 20 units each, were eliminated from the plan during a Lakeland City Commission meeting in December 2022.

Area residents fought the project, which will eliminate much of the green space with trees and wildlife. They also expressed concerns about traffic. In response, the City Commission pared back the original plan from nearly 1,400 units to 954.

In December 2022, the commission approved a large-scale amendment to the future land-use map and a major modification to PUD zoning allowing for 834 apartments, 60 townhomes and 60 single-family homes – all on nearly 130 acres.

A construction trade journal reported last summer that construction was expected to start in June 2024.