Ormond Beach residents frustrated over River Bend Golf Course's future after 6-year closure

Six years of closed signs and chain-link fences have left residents living near a shuttered golf course fed up with the wait.River Bend Golf Course closed in 2020 after its last operator filed for bankruptcy. Since then, neighbors have pushed the city to reopen it — and now, three separate groups have submitted letters of intent to purchase the 172-acre property. But significant hurdles remain.“Now. It looks like a jungle. I was in Vietnam for two years and I think that’s worse,” said Arthur Armstrong, a nearby resident.Sheila Andrews-Lind, another resident, echoed that frustration.“It’s not only frustrating, but just look at it. It’s an eyesore. It’s an embarrassment to our community to drive by and see this fence that’s been up for six years and the land not maintained when there’s still Riverbend Golf on the signs, on both corners, at both intersections,” Andrews-Lind said.Two of the three interested groups want to either reopen or revamp the course. A third has proposed expanding t