The proposal could add 120 custom townhouses to 30 acres at the edges of the Hellertown, Pa., club, though the property is currently zoned as rural, which does not allow cluster development.
A Bethlehem Township developer unveiled plans January 5 to create a townhouse community within the boundaries of Silver Creek Country Club in Hellertown, Pa., the Allentown (Pa.)-based Morning Call reported.
The proposal calls for 120 custom townhouses built on three parcels totaling 30 acres at the northern, central and southern edges of the 280-acre golf course, the Morning Call reported.
Developer David Spirk of Spirk Brothers Inc. said the homes would be built according to the buyers’ specifications, range in price from $300,000 to $500,000 and have facades that complement the existing stone structures. Owners would be required to belong to the country club, the Morning Call reported.
Silver Creek President Jerry Blakeslee said club membership has plateaued and to keep it the club viable, new members are needed, the Morning Call reported.
“A successful club has to bring new members…this would add new members, maybe 100 new members, and hopefully the majority will be golfers,” Blakeslee said.
Another advantage to the club would be the revenue generated from the sale of the land, Blakeslee said. “Golf courses are not in a heyday and what everybody is trying to do is to keep the course they have.”
Few new golf courses are being built, but the concept of living on the grounds of a country club is popular in Florida and California, Spirk said. “This concept [of living at a country club] does not exist in the Lehigh Valley.”
One of the obstacles the developer faces is zoning, because the area is in a rural zone that does not provide for cluster development. Council President Ron Horiszny and Councilwoman Priscilla deLeon said it is uncertain what could be done about zoning, but one path could be to amend the zoning ordinance to outline what could be permitted within a golf course, the Morning Call reported.
Another issue raised was water and sewer service, because those services are not provided to that part of the township. Spirk said sewer and water service would come from Hellertown because two-thirds of the property is surrounded by the borough, the Morning Call reported.
Horiszny and Councilman Tom Maxfield suggested that a deed restriction be placed on the club and the homes to ensure that no more homes, other than those being proposed, would be built in the future. Maxfield suggested a deed restriction be placed on the entire property so in the event the club ever closes, the area would remain open space, the Morning Call reported.
“It’s worth looking at since it would be a huge advantage to the township to be assured it would remain open space,” Horiszny said.
The club was founded in 1948 by Bethlehem Steel Corp. and was known then as the Bethlehem Steel Club. It was designed by golf course architect Donald Ross and originally intended only for company managers. Later, it was opened to all employees. It consists of 18-hole and a 9-hole golf courses, the Morning Call reported.
By the late 1980s, the steel company could no longer afford the club and in 1986, it became a private, nonprofit corporation managed by members, and the name was changed to the Silver Creek Country Club, the Morning Call reported.
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