Seminole County breaks ground on Rolling Hills park conversion project

Seminole County broke ground on the Rolling Hills Community Park project at the former clubhouse parking lot on Art Hagan Place, turning a long-closed golf course into a public park with trail and roadway improvements. Commissioners, county staff and residents gathered at 1749 Art Hagan Place in Longwood for the Phase I ceremony, which was scheduled for April 11 at 11 a.m.

The site has been in county hands since 2018, when Seminole County bought the former Rolling Hills Golf Course for redevelopment. County planning materials say the course closed in June 2014, and the property spans about 110 acres. A conceptual master plan followed in early 2019, setting the framework for a project that county officials have described as both a neighborhood park and an environmental asset.

Phase I is the first visible step. Project materials describe more than 4 miles of paved multi-use trail, with trailheads connecting 11 distinct areas. The current program also calls for playgrounds, restroom buildings, pavilions, a boardwalk or pier overlook, secondary pathways, site furnishings, parking renovations, landscaping, tree canopy work, gateways and signage. Earlier update materials also listed bridges, terraces and ADA features among the planned improvements.

Roadway changes are part of the pitch to nearby families and commuters, not just park visitors. Seminole County says the project includes traffic and access improvements meant to help pedestrians, bicyclists, drivers and transit users move more safely through the area. County materials have tied the park plan to neighborhood connections and to the county trail system, a sign that the old golf course is being redesigned as a link between daily travel and recreation.

The project took years to reach the dirt-moving stage. A January 2026 report from Parks and Recreation Director Rick Durr said construction contracts were expected to be signed soon and mobilization would begin in March, after delays tied to groundwater and soil remediation and state review. County materials show that public input also shaped the design, including a January 24, 2024 update meeting at Lyman High School and a September community meeting that drew more than 100 residents.

Cleanup has been a major part of the story because state and project records identified contamination concerns involving arsenic and dieldrin. To help pay for state-required remediation, the county created the Rolling Hills Environmental Remediation Municipal Services Benefit Unit. County leaders have said the long-term goal is a sustainable public recreation site that finally puts the former golf course to use after more than a decade of waiting.