The City of Tallahassee has agreed to sell the Capitol City Country Club golf course to the club for $1.255 million. The almost 180-acre property is currently leased to the club for a dollar a year. That’s due to a 99-year agreement approved by the city commission in 1956. At the time, the city was losing $15,000 a year operating the golf course ($175,000 in 2025 currency). There were also reports the lease was related to segregation. The proceeds from the sale will be used for the installation of a commemorative burials site (estimated at $98,000), with the remainder to be deposited into the deficiencies reserve fund per city policy. Recent reports indicate that the site is a former plantation and includes unmarked graves of people who were enslaved. According to city staff, the agreement contains provisions and terms to make the use of the golf course more permanent. The documents provide terms and conditions ensuring permanent use as a golf course and public access to the commemorative area and cemetery. Also, a deal was also struck with Florida AM University and the club to allow FAMU access to the course. The agreement stated that the “Country Club” will host collegiate golf competitions for FAMU, make the course available to the FAMU golf team for practice opportunities, to host events and fundraisers that will benefit the larger FAMU student body, and to host events with FAMU for “the betterment of the City of Tallahassee and local community.” Public comments on the issue took several hours. Most of the speakers opposed the sale, including Delaitre Hollinger. “Knowing that black people were shut out of this club by a racist leasing agreement enacted to illegally deny them access to public lands. I do not, under any circumstances, agree to the sale of this property to this club,” he said. The sale was approved in the commission’s common 3-2 split. Commissioner Curtis Richardson supported the sale and criticized some of the sentiments of those who spoke against it. “I have worked hard to improve the life of African Americans in this community from the time they gave me the opportunity to serve them as a member of the Leon County School Board, almost 30 years ago, I have served almost half of my adult life,” he said. Commissioner Jeremy Matlow disagreed with the sale. “If we want to keep golf in perpetuity, we need to be talking about how we make sure people who live here, who vote here, who own this property, now have the ability to play golf on that golf course in the future. Selling this golf course for $1.2 million takes that all away from us,” he said. ...read more read less