The Clubhouse at Copperleaf Golf Club in Estero, Florida is enjoying a dramatic, bold, and beautiful $20 million facelift. The private golf community is replacing its 23-year-old clubhouse with a 28,000-square-foot dining and entertainment venue, along with a vastly remodeled outdoor dining facility surrounding its swimming pool.
David Dore-Smith, General Manager of Copperleaf at The Brooks, has announced that the renovation is nearing completion with the results of a first-class facility for club and associate members and significant expansion of the poolside deck and dining venue. The revitalized clubhouse will offer a reconfiguration of the Main Dining Room with spectacular vaulted ceilings that tower to 25′ at their peak, plus larger and more functional kitchens, along with expanded menu and bar offerings. Unique to other clubhouses in the area, the spaces in the clubhouse can be adjusted with operable partitioning features to suit all types and sizes of events. Building exteriors include hurricane-rated glazing and the added protection of operable hurricane shutters.
“In recent surveys, over 80% of our members indicated a desire for additional covered and protected outdoor seating areas,” said Dore-Smith. “We expect that Ospreys, our new poolside cafe – featuring a 22-seat oval-shaped bar with multiple TVs overlooking the golf course and lakes – will become the star of the renovation and a favorite dining venue when it opens in March, followed by the entire clubhouse in August.”
Shared Gordon Knapp, Owner’s Project Manager and President of Knapp Construction Management, LLC , “The new Copperleaf Clubhouse and Pool Café will set this club apart as an upscale design with best-in-class features to serve its members and guests for decades to come. When this state-of-the-art design is revealed, members, guests, and valued employees will experience indoor and outdoor dining, served by a massively expanded food service facility. Meeting spaces have been doubled, the pro shop is much larger, and the employee work areas will create a great place for current and future employees to work. The gem of Copperleaf has always been its admired golf course, but now there are three gems at Copperleaf: the course, clubhouse, and poolside café – Ospreys.”
Envisioning their members’ needs, in 2019 Copperleaf created an “Experience the Future” strategic plan for the construction project. The design was completed in November 2022 and ground broken in June 2023. During the construction process, each day brought new challenges, mainly overcoming material delivery delays and the struggles with an over-extended labor force in SWFL, compounded by the impact on labor and materials caused by Hurricane Ian in September 2022.
Contractors ranged from 20 to 80 workers on any day, requiring much coordination. “Everyone on the team pulled together as they battled the challenges, and the project stayed on track,” said Knapp. “Sincere congratulations are extended to Chris Curran and his team at Curran Young Construction for weathering many storms and delivering a fantastic, finished product.”
Other area professionals leading the building team include Dave Humphrey of Humphrey Rosal Architects; Loren Wegman of Wegman Design Group; Marisa Mangani of Mise En Place Design, Food Service designer; Johnson-Lancaster, food service contractor; InterLink Consulting, IT contractor; and Beyond Audio Video, AV | Security contractor.
“If you’ve heard the challenges and delays regarding other significant club renovations and additions, you might wonder why Copperleaf has been so successful,” concluded Dore-Smith. “When you have best-in-class teamwork with unparalleled pride, as is the case for our project, that’s how you achieve success.” The entire Copperleaf team agrees. Built by Bonita Bay Group and Pulte Homes in 2000, Copperleaf Golf Club is a gated 460-acre master-planned development featuring 570 single-family and carriage homes. Neighborhoods overlook emerald fairways, picturesque greens, and vibrant lakes. Copperleaf is a Blue Zone-certified community and one of only 100 Audubon-certified country clubs in Florida.
The 18-hole golf course was designed by Gordon Lewis and redesigned in 2015 by course architect Kipp Schulties. Bundled golf provides homeowners with membership in the Golf Club with no initiation fees, plus some of the lowest playing density of area courses. The Club offers 55 Associate Annual Memberships for those who live off-property. Resort-styled amenities include tennis and bocce courts, a geothermally heated swimming pool and spa, a fitness center, and a 1.7-mile walking and biking loop.
For additional information, contact General Manager David Dore-Smith at davidds@copperleafgc.com or visit www.CopperleafGC.com.
