A Once Future Golden Lion Restaurant Site Will Become a Palm Coast Park

October 21, 2025 – PALM COAST, Fla. – The Golden Lion restaurateur, the Marlow family, has sold to Flagler County a 5.15-acre parcel nestled between the Intracoastal Waterway and Harbor Club Timeshares, branded as Legacy Vacation Club. It will now become a Palm Coast City Park. The site is in the shadows of the Hammock Dunes toll bridge.

The Flagler County Board of Commissioners approved the purchase at a June 2024 meeting, using Environmentally Sensitive Land Funds. The negotiations were prolonged by numerous issues involving entitlements, easements, and a joint property agreement with the adjacent owner.

History

Marlow’s bought the property in 2017 for $325,000. They planned to build a second restaurant on the Intracoastal property. The purchase triggered a series of events that illustrate the often-complex nature of real estate transactions; complexities created by both legal issues and current events.

Read: Golden Lion to Open Second Restaurant in Palm Coast

Marlow successfully managed to overcome several hurdles, including negotiations with adjacent property owners, Legacy Resorts, and the Dunes Community Development District, to secure access to the property. A proposed plan for a restaurant was approved.

During the protracted negotiations, an opportunity emerged to operate the restaurant at the city-owned Palm Harbor Golf Course. Marlow’s suspended plans for the ICW venture to open the Green Lion Restaurant at the course. The Green Lion was a success.

After a bitter lease extension dispute with the City of Palm Coast, the Green Lion closed, and Marlow’s redirected their efforts toward their roots in Flagler Beach with the opening of the popular Next Door Beach Bistro.

Meanwhile, efforts to sell the ICW parcel were repeatedly unsuccessful. It was under contract at least twice, but limitations on development options and easement issues tanked both deals.

The sale to the County finally closed on October 14, 2025, for $1,886,000. The deal includes an amendment to the Joint Property Agreement previously negotiated between the timeshare company and the Marlows, eliminating all previously allowed uses and limiting future use to Public Parks and Recreation Facilities only. Details of the conveyance from the county to the city have not been finalized.

The City of Palm Coast will ultimately gain another ICW frontage park. Unfortunately, Flagler County residents will miss an opportunity to have a second restaurant on the waterway.

Check out the new Palm Coast/Flagler Residential Developments Map, featuring more than 160 Flagler County developments; established, under development, entitled, and proposed. Save the link. It will always bring you to the latest map updates.