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BallenIsles, with 1,347 equity and non-equityh members, was the only club in northern Palm Beach County to make the top five on South FloridaBusiness Journal'xs list of largest private country The club is switching its membership to equitt only on Nov. 1. Last year, BallenIslees made the exclusive Platinukm Clubs ofAmerica list, includingh being ranked No. 5 on the list of the nation's top 10 residentiak clubs and No. 17 on the list of top 40 countryy clubs. However, there was a time when felloqw country club presidents andmanagere didn't see BallenIsles as a Platinum-status club, accordingb to John R.
Sibbald, publisher of the Club Leaderse Forum, which conducts surveys for PlatinunClubs lists. Now, he said, the Palm Beach Gardens complex garners nationwide respect and its membershipp has been extraordinarilywell served. "I know of no other private club in America that has demonstrates a more consistent rise in perceived No other club in the nation exceeds BallenIslees in its club advancesin excellence." In BallenIsles underwent a multimillion-dollad clubhouse construction project, said Cheryll Plotkin, director of membership services. The 72,000-square-foot facility includes two public dining two private dining rooms andtwo lounges.
"If established the club," Plotkin said. "Having that building reallgy made theclub prestigious." Having an active social progra also has helped. BallenIsles hosts several eventsx for residents andtheir guests, in addition to having a substantialk children's program. But the road back to excellenc etook awhile. In the 1960s, BallenIsles was called PGA National Golf Club and viewed as the premieer golf club in PalmBeach County. The formee home of the (PGA) and its Seniorw and World Golf PGA National's three 18-hole golf courses were originallyg commissioned by Palm Beach Gardens businessman and philanthropisft John D. MacArthur.
When opened in 1973 less than a mile the PGA headquarters was moved there and many ofits big-name tournamentz moved along with it, Plotkin said. MacArthur then renamee the club JDM, after and operated it as a local golf andcountryg club, while still hosting celebrity and professionao golfers. JDM became BallenIsles in after Hansen Properties of Philadelphia purchasede the 54 holes and surrounding realestate property, Plotkin said. The companyh began a 12-year, multimillion-dollar plan to refurbish the improve the property and develop a private upscale development around thegolf course. Hansen gave controo of the propertyto , whic h completed the community in 2006, Plotkin said.
Now, BallenIsleds offers a luxury, golf-oriented lifestylw - more private than at PGA, she added. Becausd it's a private, gated BallenIsles appeals to buyer seeking a moresecludefd environment. The community comprises 1,300p acres with15,077 single-family homes and carriagre residences pricedfrom $499,000 to $4 million. Residents must minimally purchase a social fitnessmembership (an equityt charge of $35,000 and a $5,000 initiationn fee).
The community's amenities make it competitive with otherr club developments in northern PalmBeach County, according to Jeff a realtor with Waterfront Properties and Club Those amenities were a draw for Harold a BallenIsles resident and a member of the countr club's board of directors, who moved there in 1995. Originallh living in a similar residential golf developmen t in southern Palm Beach Danenberg and his wife wanted a community that offered activities for all agegroupsw - not just the typical ones geareed toward older residents.
"It's one of the area's best-kept secrets," said a proud grandparent and retired president and COOof "It'sz not an elitist type of and families are definitely welcomed."
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