ST. LEO, Fla. — Residents surrounding the small Town of St. Leo are pushing back against a proposed housing development that would transform the longtime Abbey Golf Course property into hundreds of homes.
For 66 years, the Abbey Golf Course property has served as a golf destination and green space in eastern Pasco County. Now, residents and local leaders say they are worried about losing another piece of old Florida to rapid development.
“All around Florida, you are seeing counties and cities lose their Florida heritage,” said Blaze Drinkwine, a San Antonio city commissioner.
WATCH: St. Leo residents fight proposed 628-home development on Abbey Golf Course
Drinkwine said residents have worked for years to preserve the area's rural character.
“We did a really good job here when they developed the new 52 road of getting them to move it so we didn’t have all that traffic on that road, and our small community to keep us the gem of the highlands,” Drinkwine said. “To keep us a little hidden community.”
Catholic Benedictine monks first came to the area in 1889 and founded Saint Leo University across County Road 52. The monastery remains nearby.
Now, plans are moving forward for a proposed development known as Mohr’s Crossing. Ryan Homes wants to build 440 single-family homes and 188 townhomes on approximately 289 acres currently occupied by the Abbey Golf Course, driving range, and vacant land south of County Road 52.
The applicant is seeking rezoning approval for a Planned Unit Development, or PUD. Plans state the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes and its surrounding buffer area would not be included in the rezoning. Developers also propose placing wetlands, forested areas and uplands into a perpetual conservation easement.
Elijah Penn, a Saint Leo University student, said he worries about increased traffic and the loss of wildlife habitat.
“It’s not a great feeling,” Penn said. “I’ve seen so many places around where I live becoming subdivisions and subdivisions. And this is such a great rural area.”
For the project to move forward, the St. Leo Town Commission must approve the rezoning request.
Despite St. Leo having fewer than 50 households and a population of roughly 2,000 residents, most of them university students, opposition to the project has been intense.
Saint Leo University provided a statement saying the school “strongly opposes the rezoning of the Abbey Golf Course. As a core part of our Benedictine and University heritage, the land was intended to remain permanently open space.”
Representatives for the church did not respond to requests for comment about the proposed development.
The St. Leo Town Commission is scheduled to vote on the rezoning on Wednesday.
Saint Leo University strongly opposes the rezoning of the Abbey Golf Course. As a core part of our Benedictine and University heritage, the land was intended to remain permanent open space. While we support responsible and thoughtful development, this rezoning proposal would significantly increase density, strain infrastructure, and permanently alter the area’s rural character.
For generations, the Abbey Golf Course has provided peace, beauty, and balance to the community while serving as a critical environmental and spiritual buffer between the Monastery, the Abbey, the University, and surrounding areas. That buffer is becoming increasingly important as regional development and population growth continue.
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