Three bids have been submitted to purchase the Attleboro, Mass., club, which filed for bankruptcy in January with debts of at least $1.7 million, and is zoned for residential use. The city has said it would also consider matching the winning bid, as it has the right of first refusal.
Competition to buy bankrupt Highland Country Club in Attleboro, Mass., is heating up, as two more bids for what was once the city’s premier nine-hole golf course have been submitted to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Boston, bringing the total to three. The city itself may also jump into the fray, the Attleboro-based Sun Chronicle reported.
Mayor Paul Heroux said on April 23 that the city would “consider” matching the winning bid if, as city officials claim, it has a “right of first refusal.” Under a “right of first refusal” the city would have 120 days to match the winning bid. The city’s board of assessors submitted paperwork to the court last week asking a judge to affirm that right, the Sun Chronicle reported.
Chief Assessor Stan Nacewicz said the city has first refusal rights under state law because the property has been classified as “recreational land” and has gotten tax breaks as a result, the Sun Chronicle reported.
Assessors also asked the judge to order that bidders disclose how they intend to use the property. “We are making it clear to what we believe our rights are,” Nacewicz said.
The deadline to submit bids is April 25, the Sun Chronicle reported.
Meanwhile, Joseph S. Ruggiero Sr., the owner of car dealerships in North Attleboro and Fall River along with Ledgemont Country Club in Seekonk and Wampanoag Golf Course in Swansea, put in a bid of $1.8 million on April 19. He also recently bought the mortgage on Highland, the Sun Chronicle reported.
On April 20, David Doran, owner of Doranco, Inc., put in a bid of $1.825 million. Last month NARG, LLC., a real estate investment company out of Hyannis, submitted a bid of $1.7 million, the Sun Chronicle reported.
The 93-acre Highland property is zoned for residential use and could accommodate as many as 131 homes, according to the planning department, the Sun Chronicle reported.
Highland declared bankruptcy in January with debts of at least $1.7 million. The 117-year-old business fell victim to declining membership and flagging interest in the sport, the Sun Chronicle reported.
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