Copperhead Gatehouse at the end of Beth Stacey Blvd.

One of the largest forced land sales will take place on June 25 of the Copperhead neighborhood development at the end of Beth Stacey Blvd. in Lehigh Acres. A Sheriff’s Sale will be held in downtown Fort Myers at 11 a.m. on that date at 2072 Victoria Ave when Sheriff Mike Scott’s Office will offer for sale, and sell to the highest bidder for cash in hand, the right, title and interest of the real property known as Copperhead LLC.

According to a Notice of the Sheriff’s Sale, Seacoast National Bank is the plaintiff and it is taking action against the defendants named Copperhead LLC, Michael F. Aranda, Aranda Ventures LTD, EH Building Group II Southwest Division, LLC and EH Building Group II, LLC.

However, according to General Manager Ray Grady of the Copperhead Golf Club and Golf Course, the sale of the adjoining property has nothing to do with them.

“We are under separate ownership than Copperhead, the development,” Grady told The Citizen.

“We have a beautiful 18-hole golf course that is being played on every day of the week. We have a lot of people who come here to play golf.

“We’re hoping that when the sale is over, our golf club and course will be an added attraction to the community of homesites. It certain should add value because of the successful golf course here,” he said.

The Copperhead community consists of several building or home sites and plans were to build all types of homes and townhouses. There are only a fraction of homes occupied at Cooperhead. And only Phase 1 had begun to develop before the downturn in the economy. In the beginning, it waspromoted that there would be some 900 homesites at Copperhead.

One of the homeowners last week said he didn’t think more than a dozen or sofamilies were actually living in the already built homes that were sold.

The sale of the Cooperhead home sites includes around 79 lots, according to the legal notice that list addresses on both Leahterwood Loop and Copperhead Drive and other parcels of land in the development.

The sales center closed about a year ago, according to residents who live in the community. Weeds have grown up around its entrance.

The sale may be one of the largest entities of a housing development ever sold by the Sheriff’s Office in Lehigh Acres.

Although the properties owned by Cooperhead are listed each by numbered postal addresses, they are listed as lots with certain numbers all in Phase 1 of the planned development.

When the community was begun in 2001, it advertised “an alluring (planned) 20,000 square foot clubhouse featuring a spectacular recreational-sized pool, sports bar, croquet and Boche, a playground and a host of other amenities.” None of these amenities have been built in the community, which is entered by driving down Beth Stacey Blvd., which enters in to the community. Motorists traveling 23rd St. come to a stop sign and can proceed to Homestead Rd. by turning left. Before the development, motorists were not required to stop.

When the community was first built, tall gate houses were erected at the entrance giving Cooperhead a distinguished and attractive appearance, but the community did not grow as fast as many believe it would at the beginning.

However, the separate golf club was carved out of the land off of 23rd Street with berms along the roadway. Inside the community, there is a golf clubhouse housing a pro shop, including rentals of carts.

This past weekend, the golf course was filled with golfers but the sale planned for June was not apparently known by those working in the club house.

Its general manager stressed that the golf pro shop and course is under different ownership and the people in the community who want to play golf at Copperhead are encourage to continue to play there.

“We’re very proud of our golf course,” said General Manager Ray Grady. “And we’re looking forward to whoever buys the Copperhead land, that the golf course will enhance its attractiveness and be an asset for new owners.”

The Sheriff’s Sale does not affect those owners of homes already built in the development. They are not owned by Copperhead, but by the homeowners themselves.