The Joliet (Ill.) Park District Board has sold 7.6 acres that will now be home to a new car dealership, and the $4.5 million from the sale will be put towards improvements for Wedgewood GC. In South Bend, Ind., $1 million has been allocated for improvements at Erskine Park Golf Course, and the Director of Golf Operations has been given three years to try to get back to break-even operation.
The Joliet (ill.) Park District Board has approved the sale of 7.6 acres of park-owned land for $4.5 million, radio station WJOL 1340 of Crest Hill, Ill. reported, that will now be home to a new Subaru dealership. The revenue from the sale will be put towards improvements for Wedgewood Golf Course in Plainfield, Ill., which is located adjacent to the land that was sold.
Tom Carstens, the Park Board’s Executive Director, told WJOL that all of the proceeds from the sale will be used to update Wedgewood with improvements that will include a new irrigation system and a clubhouse upgrade.
Several holes on the Wedgewood course will be reconfigured, WJOL reported, with hole #7 going from a par 4 to par 3, and hole 6 changing from a par 5 to par 4. The goal is to bring the course’s distance back to par 72 while keeping Wedgewood as Joliet’s championship golf course.
The park district hopes to start the improvements this fall, WJOL reported.
Television station WNDU NBC 16 of South Bend, Ind. reported that the City of South Bend is poised to spend $1 million on the city-owned Erskine Park Golf Course. This is a departure from the city’s reluctance to spend on courses that it has expressed in the past several years, WNDU noted; in fact, the city sold Blackthorn Golf Course to a private entity two years ago, and also had Elbel Golf Course appraised for a possible sale.
But now Tony Stearns, Director of South Bend Golf Operations, has been given three years to get the city’s golf operations back to a financial breakeven point, WNDU noted, through a plan that includes $1 million in Tax Incremental Financing funds that have been provided by the South Bend Redevelopment Commision for improvements at Erskine Park GC.
“When I was 16 years old and got in the golf business, I left [South Bend] for a while,” Stearns told WNDU. “And with all the news of [city courses] being sold, that really struck a chord in my heart. That’s why I really want to come back and make sure that doesn’t happen.”
Built in the 1800s, a barn lives on today by serving as Erskine Park GC’s clubhouse, WNDU reported.
“Yeah, the foundation…you can see the old wooden beam there, they’re going to be looking at this, is this structurally sound,” said Stearns. If the building isn’t found to be in danger of falling down, it will likely be fixed up in a way that will allow it to serve guests year-round for wedding receptions and parties, WNDU reported.
“During the winter a lot of golfers still live in the area, but they don’t have anything to do,” Stearns said. “So we’d like to bring them back and [have them] congregate here— potentially have some breakfast opportunities, put in maybe a golf simulator, and maybe have leagues.”
“I just think you’re seeing the culmination of a lot of catch-up,” Dr. David Varner, a South Bend Common Councilman, told WNDU. “There’s nothing extravagant within this $1 million for the golf course.”
Tell Us What You Think!
You must be logged in to post a comment.