A recently launched website for the Cherry Hill, N.J., property, which was auctioned off May 20 to First Montgomery Group for $10.1 million, indicates the new owners plan to reopen the property as a public golf course under the name The Village at Woodcrest. It was speculated that the group would attempt to develop the land, but township officials expressed strong opposition to zoning changes.
A news item that was posted online and included in C&RB‘s Daily News for May 21 incorrectly identified the location of Belmont Country Club as Ashburn, Va. The club referred to in The Boston Globe article is located in Belmont, Mass. C&RB apologizes for the error.
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After the Mooresville Board of Commissioners requested the golf course study, Spence Golf Design Inc. offered a plan to restore the last course designed by Donald Ross before he died in 1948. Though the commission has made no commitment to refurbish the course, the plan proposes reconstructing greens, bunkers, tees, and fairways; rerouting thoroughfares; building a practice facility; and adding concrete cart paths.
A county executive argued that transferring property tax breaks for the Akron, N.Y., club to the new owners is not an appropriate use of the incentives, since the club is now public and competes with county-run golf courses. The breaks are estimated to be worth $200,000 through the next seven years, and Jack R. Willert, one of the original developers of the course who prevented its foreclosure last year, said the change “will jeopardize the continued operation of the project.”
Two years ago, the club began an $18 million reconstruction of its clubhouse, but internal disputes and working with three different builders have caused the cost to rise to $28.8 million, even as the size of the clubhouse has been scaled back by 10,000 sq. ft. Many members are upset by the latest $2.6 million increase in budget, with the Board of Governors noting that it is “very upsetting news.”
Cherry Hill Land Associates, a Marlton, N.J.-based real estate group that is a subsidiary of First Montgomery Group, offered the highest bid for the Cherry Hill, N.J., property at auction on May 20. The group has not yet revealed its plans for the property, though the township has advocated maintaining the property as either a golf course or open space, and refuses to support any zoning changes.
The private, member-owned Key Largo, Fla., club won a Florida Worksite Wellness Award, which honors companies that demonstrate commitment to employee wellness. Initiatives recognized at the club include free fitness classes for employees, regular lectures on health issues, a bi-weekly wellness newsletter and an onsite café with healthful offerings.
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