A Palm Bay golf course that hasn't been used since the 2004 hurricane season may finally be getting new life in Brevard County.
Weeds and shrubs clog the fairway at the former Port Malabar Golf Course, 1300 Country Club Drive Northeast.
Hurricanes and the recession forced the land’s owner to wait to redevelop it.
Now more than a decade later, Palm Bay Greens LLC is ready to develop 101 lots for upscale homes on 52 acres of this former golf course.
However, neighboring residents said there's a problem -- high levels of arsenic in the ground.
"It's a poison in simple words,” said Country Club Vista Homeowners Association President Juergen Luebker. “I'm not a chemist. Arsenic can cause a lot of health problems."
While the land doesn't pose an immediate risk, Luebker said residents are concerned any new construction will stir up and release the cancer-causing arsenic into the air.
Scientists said arsenic is found naturally, but elevated levels have been detected at several golf courses that use herbicides to treat the grass, including Port Malabar.
"Before we do any development on the property, before we turn any dirt at all, we will have that arsenic re-mediated, taken out of the ground," said Palm Bay Greens LLC attorney Jack Spira.
The city council has given preliminary approval for the new residential subdivision.
The developer still has to come up with an arsenic removal plan before construction can begin.
The company hopes to work with the homeowners association to ensure that there are no concerns about drainage or arsenic.
They may expand and develop more land on the golf course, but that depends on the economy and the environment.
Palm Bay Greens LLC hopes to get final city approval later this year and begin construction before the end of the year.