New Hotel Proposed for Springfield (Pa.) CC Property

Agreement would give ownership of the 94-room hotel to the local township, which owns the club, at the end of a new 30-year lease.

A prospective 30-year lease agreement, if finalized, will see Springfield (Pa.) Country Club add a 94-room hotel to its name. The township-owned club currently has a golf course, restaurant, swimming pool and ice rink, the Springfield (Pa.) Patch reported.

In the proposed agreement, the township would own the hotel at the end of the lease, which could include two extension options of 10 years.

Township commissioners announced the agreement, approved by a 6-1 vote, on May 8. The current operator of the country club facility, Patrick J. Burns, would construct the upscale hotel on a one-acre piece of land.

Benefits of the lease and hotel project, proponents said, would include increased residual revenue from out-of-town guests through the club’s facilities; rental, business and mercantile tax income; and temporary and permanent job creation.

The township’s Solicitor, James Byrne, Jr., insisted on confirmation of multiple conditions at the meeting. First, that the hotel would be of no cost to the township and that it would belong to the township at the end of the lease. Second, that the hotel would not affect anything on the property. Third, that additional parking will be available. Fourth, that surrounding properties would not be affected. And fifth, that the hotel would be upscale and that the architecture would match the club’s style.

“This endeavor makes economic sense for the township,” real estate consultant Marshall J. Soss, President and CEO of KarMar Realty Group, Inc., stated in a May 8 letter to Township Manager Lee Fulton. “The building of the hotel, along with the jobs that come from this project, produces more income to be spent among local businesses. It would also generate more business for banquets and meetings, along with drawing more attention to the golf course as well. This in turn brings more overall economic growth to the township.”

The project would create up to 120 construction jobs and 60 to 90 permanent jobs.

“The whole facility screams for something like this,” Fulton said after the May 8 meeting. “With all of the DUI issues today, people come to functions and they want a nice place to stay.”

Tags: DUI issues hotels at country clubs James Byrne Jr. KarMar Realty Group Lee Fulton Marshall J. Soss Patrick J. Burns Springfield (Pa.) Township Springfield Country Club Springfield Pa.