Deer Ridge was built as a golf course community, and the golf course is gone. It closed permanently on September 8, 2019 and has not reopened. If you are shopping Deer Ridge, that single fact shapes the view from the back of the house, the future of the land next door, and the questions worth asking before you write an offer.
Here is what happened, who owns the land now, and what it means for a buyer today.
What happened to the Deer Ridge golf course?
The course was owned by SunCoast Golf, which also owned Shadow Lakes across town, with Paradigm Golf Group managing both under a contract that began in 2014.
In 2019 SunCoast proposed consolidating the two courses into a single 18-hole facility and building homes on the holes that would close. An earlier version of the idea had involved roughly 560 housing units. Neighbors opposed it, city staff recommended against it, and SunCoast withdrew the proposal before the Planning Commission voted.
Management had said publicly that keeping both courses open required a real estate development component. When the plan failed, a closure notice went up and the course played its last round five days later, on September 8, 2019.
Who owns the land now?
In 2021 the property was donated to the World Business Academy, a nonprofit, which has proposed converting the former course into what it calls an agrihood, a neighborhood organized around working agriculture.
The published concept includes organic farming, vineyards and olive groves, a farm-to-table restaurant or market in the converted clubhouse, bicycle and jogging trails, fitness stations, and a solar-supported microgrid intended to give the surrounding area energy resilience.
Two Brentwood councilmembers supported exploring the concept when it was first presented, and the city gathered community feedback through surveys and meetings. Neighbors have raised both enthusiasm and concerns, including how solar installations would look from adjacent homes.
This remains a proposal rather than a finished project. Anything on this land requires city entitlements, and the process has been running for years. Before you rely on any version of it, confirm the current status directly with the City of Brentwood planning department. Do not rely on a listing description, and do not rely on this article a year from now.
What does this mean if you are buying in Deer Ridge?
Not that you should avoid it. Deer Ridge is a well-built neighborhood with wide streets and homes that were designed around open space. But the questions are different from those in a conventional subdivision.
The view behind the house is not a permanent entitlement. A home that once fronted a fairway now fronts privately owned land with an active redevelopment proposal on it. Open space today is not a guarantee of open space later. The homeowners association does not control that land.
Find out what is proposed nearest to the specific address. A large parcel is not uniform. What is contemplated behind one street may be different from what is contemplated behind another. Ask the city, in writing, about the parcel adjoining the property you are considering.
Read the listing language carefully. Marketing copy in this neighborhood still occasionally refers to golf course frontage or golf course views. The course has not operated since 2019. If a listing implies otherwise, that is worth a direct question.
Price it against what is there now, not what was there. Buyers who paid a premium for course frontage a decade ago were buying something that no longer exists in that form. That does not make the homes bad value. It does mean comparing against sales that reflect current conditions.
If golf is what you actually want, look at what is open. Shadow Lakes is operating as a public nine-hole course with a driving range and an event center, and our guide to buying a home in Shadow Lakes covers that neighborhood. On the other side of town, Brentwood Golf Club at 100 Summerset Drive is a public 27-hole facility laid out as three nines, and it borders Summerset.
What is Deer Ridge like to live in?
Set aside the golf question and it is a quiet, established Brentwood neighborhood on the Foothill Drive side of the city, with larger lots than the newer tracts and a street layout that came from a course routing, which is why so many homes back onto open land rather than each other.
The lights on La Costa Drive
Every December, La Costa Drive inside Deer Ridge puts on Tunnels of Joy, a display neighbors have staged since 2016. Residents build arbors from PVC pipe, wrap them in lights and form lit tunnels down the street. It began in memory of a neighbor who died of cancer, and it collects donations for people fighting cancer. There are food trucks and hot chocolate. It runs nightly through most of December.
It has become genuinely popular, and that cuts both ways for a buyer. It is a real piece of neighborhood character that residents are proud of. It also means traffic and difficult parking on and around La Costa Drive for several weeks a year, enough that organizers encourage visitors to come on weeknights to spread out the crowds. Some buyers love that. Some would not.
If you are considering a home on or near La Costa, it is worth knowing before December rather than after. Ask me and I will tell you honestly how close is too close.
If you're buying or selling in Deer Ridge
If you're buying: ask the City of Brentwood in writing what is currently proposed for the parcel adjoining the specific address, because a large site is not uniform and what sits behind one street may differ from the next. Read listing language carefully, since marketing copy here still references golf course frontage on a course that has not operated since 2019. Price the home against what is there now rather than what was there a decade ago.
If you're selling: do not describe the property as golf course frontage. Buyers who discover the closure after seeing that language lose trust in everything else in the listing, and it is the fastest way to turn an easy sale into a renegotiation. Open space behind the home is still a genuine feature; describe it accurately and it holds up.
Frequently asked questions about Deer Ridge in Brentwood
Is the Deer Ridge golf course still open?
No. It closed permanently on September 8, 2019 and has not reopened. Listings that reference golf course frontage or golf views in Deer Ridge are describing a course that no longer operates.
Why did the Deer Ridge golf course close?
Its owner proposed consolidating Deer Ridge and Shadow Lakes into one course and building homes on the holes that would close, an earlier version of which involved roughly 560 housing units. After community opposition and a negative city staff recommendation the proposal was withdrawn, and the course played its last round five days later.
What is being built on the old Deer Ridge course?
The land was donated to the World Business Academy in 2021, which has proposed an agrihood combining organic farming, vineyards and olive groves, a farm-to-table restaurant in the former clubhouse, trails, and a solar microgrid. It remains a proposal. Confirm the current status with the City of Brentwood before relying on it.
Is there still golf in Brentwood?
Yes. Shadow Lakes operates as a public course with a driving range and event center, and Brentwood Golf Club at 100 Summerset Drive is a public facility laid out as three nines. Deer Ridge is the one that closed.
What are the Tunnels of Joy?
A holiday light display neighbors have staged on La Costa Drive in Deer Ridge since 2016, built from lit arbors that form tunnels along the street. It began in memory of a neighbor who died of cancer and raises money for people fighting cancer. It runs nightly through most of December and draws significant traffic to the street.
The Bottom Line on Deer Ridge
Deer Ridge is a well-built Brentwood neighborhood whose defining feature no longer exists. The golf course closed permanently in September 2019 and the land is privately owned with an active redevelopment proposal on it.
That is not a reason to avoid the neighborhood. It is a reason to ask a different set of questions: what is proposed behind this specific address, what does the listing actually claim, and what is the home worth given what is there today rather than what was there in 2015.
See what is for sale in Deer Ridge
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View current Deer Ridge homes for sale in Brentwood
Across 460+ East Bay closings over twenty years, I still see Deer Ridge listings marketed on golf frontage that has not existed since 2019.
Selling in Deer Ridge and unsure how to position it? Start with a valuation, or call or text 925-250-9611 and I will tell you what is actually behind the house.
Sources
The Press for the closure date and the withdrawn consolidation proposal. The Deer Ridge Sustainability Project for the 2021 ownership transfer and the proposed concept. The Press and Heritage Ledger for the Tunnels of Joy display, its origin and its December run.
Land use proposals change. Confirm the current status of anything affecting a specific property directly with the City of Brentwood.
Jaz Chand, Broker Associate | Homes With Accent
The Jaz Team at Merrill Signature Properties | DRE #01751823
Phone/Text: 925-250-9611 | Jaz@HomesWithAccent.com
General information only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Land use proposals and entitlements change. Confirm the current status of any development affecting a specific property with the City of Brentwood, and review all disclosures during your contingency period.