City authorizes appraisal of Capital City Golf Course amid concerns about unmarked slave graves and memorialization

The Tallahassee City Commission on Sept. 17 authorized city staff to obtain an independent appraisal of the Capital City Golf Course parcel and to prepare a package for potential future consideration after the Capital City Country Club submitted an unsolicited offer for $1,150,000. City officials emphasized that the vote authorized only preliminary work — an appraisal and staff analysis — and would not finalize any sale without additional review and approvals.

Why it matters: The 170‑plus‑acre course has been leased to the private country club since the 1950s on a long‑term $1‑per‑year lease; the ground is owned by the city. The site also contains an area long identified by advocacy groups and federal investigators as a gravesite with the remains of enslaved and formerly enslaved people tied to an antebellum plantation. Residents and descendants have been seeking a formal memorial and long‑term protections for the burial site.

What the commission approved and what it did not: The commission voted 3‑2 to authorize staff to obtain an appraisal, prepare public notices and run the real‑estate policy process (including review by the real estate committee) and return with a full package and recommendations. Commissioner Williams‑Cox, Mayor Pro Tem and Commissioner Richardson voted in favor; Commissioners Matlow and Porter opposed. City staff and the manager stressed that any sale would be subject to deed restrictions and other contractual protections to preserve the burial site and to prevent future residential development on the course; staff said those protections would be part of any package returned to the commission.

Community concerns: Dozens of residents and local organizations urged the commission not to sell the parcel — or at minimum to exclude the gravesite — and to move more quickly on the memorial plan. Speakers said the National Park Service and local investigators had identified dozens of probable graves, and they repeatedly told commissioners that they had seen no interpretive signage or permanent marker. Delatry Hollinger, a lead advocate on the memorial committee, said the city had accepted a committee’s memorial design five years earlier but had not implemented it; he and other speakers called selling the property ‘‘selling them in death’’ and asked that any memorial be city‑owned and maintained. Residents also questioned the appraisal, asked whether alternatives (city purchase of the clubhouse acreage, bonds, or other partnerships) had been explored, and urged a transparent process with competitive bids.

Staff response and next steps: Assistant City Manager Christian Doolin and staff said the appraisal the club provided used a highest‑and‑best‑use assumption for the property as a golf course and that the city’s appraisal would be independent. Staff confirmed they would seek deed restrictions to preserve both the memorial area and the golf use “in perpetuity” if a sale were considered; the city attorney said deed restrictions and other mechanisms could achieve perpetual protections. Staff also said the real‑estate process requires internal and public notices, review by the real estate committee, and a future commission vote. The commission’s authorization tonight covered only the appraisal and preparation of a package for future consideration.

Ending: Commissioners said they wanted answers on valuation, the club’s financing needs, and the city’s progress on memorializing the burial site before proceeding further; staff will return with the appraisal and a full procurement and protection package for commission review.