The acquisition of 107 acres is seen by its purchasers as a major step towards creating the new course as part of a partnership to help preserve and strengthen Buffalo’s system of Frederick Law Olmsted-designed parks. But the Conservancy that oversees the system has expressed initial hesitation, because the purchased land is outside the boundaries of the parkland that Olmstead designed.
A plan to create a new golf course in South Buffalo, N.Y. that would be designed by Jack Nicklaustook a major leap forward with a purchase agreement for 107 acres that are minutes from the existing South Park Golf Course, Buffalo Business First reported.
The property, owned by Steelfields LLC since 2002, went under contract for $650,000 on May 25 to Nicklaus Olmsted Buffalo Inc., a nonprofit corporation controlled by attorney Kevin Gaughan, Buffalo Business First reported.
Richard Palumbo, a Steelfields managing partner, told Buffalo Business First that he expects the deal could close within weeks.
C&RB has reported previously (http://clubandresortbusiness.com/?s=Kevin+Gaughan) on the plans by Gaughan and his partners to develop the property by working together with the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy, which oversees the Frederick Law Olmsted-designed system of parks in the city, toward a shared purpose of strengthening the Olmsted system.
In a memo to the conservancy, Buffalo Business First reported, Gaughan asked to make a full presentation to the Conservancy board, and to meet with attorney David Colligan, who chairs its South Park Arboretum Restoration Program committee and who, Gaughan said, had told him previously that gaining control of the land would provide a reason to work together.
“Now that ‘everything’ is changed,” Gaughan wrote, “I shall again ask David to collaborate and, employing the remarkable research and knowledge he’s accumulated, that he lead the way in arboretum restoration.”
Whether the conservancy will agree is still iffy, though, Buffalo Business First reported. Despite some initial agreement, Gaughan has run into roadblocks at the Conservancy, which has a development plan of its own at South Park. While it manages three public golf courses under contract with the city, it has no responsibility, nor the fundraising resources, to support a private golf course project outside the South Park footprint, officials said.
“The opportunity posed by Mr. Gaughan and his partners is commendable, as the reclamation of a brownfield site with a new signature facility reflects a gold star for South Buffalo,” said Stephanie Crockatt, the Conservancy’s Executive Director. “A venture that falls outside that scope—as is the case of a proposed Nicklaus golf course on non-Olmsted parkland—is not something our organization can partner on with Mr. Gaughan.”
Steelfields’ Palumbo acknowleged that the idea of converting the property into a golf course pre-dates his ownership, Buffalo Business First reported. It was first considered publicly by the Buffalo Urban Development Corp. back in 2014.
Gaughan, whose late brother once worked for Nicklaus abroad, approached the golf course design company shortly thereafter about partnering on the project. His $42 million plan also went a few steps further, calling for development of a vocational training center for city youth, as well as for a Nicklaus redesign of the golf course at Delaware Park.
During his negotiations with the Nicklaus Olmsted Buffalo group, Nicklaus himself spoke—via telephone – to Palumbo to help endorse their proposed plan, Buffalo Business First reported. A Rochester, N.Y.-area attorney, Palumbo said he has dealt with a lot of development groups and has come away impressed with the proposed plan.
“It was just one, 20- or 30-minute conversation,” Palumbo said. “But Jack Nicklaus sounded very serious about this project. And his call was completely unexpected.”
In his letter to the Conservancy, Gaughan said his plan for a new public golf course makes removal of the existing South Park course and rehabilitation of the arboretum plausible.
“Securing ownership of this site now places full revival of Olmsted’s jewel within our grasp,” he wrote.
The Conservancy’s Crockatt said the organization remains mission-focused and supportive of its own master plan-based projects, which she said demonstrate assured feasibility, proper financing, cooperative communication and public participation. She pointed to the recent launch of the South Park Arboretum restoration project and a feasibility study last month.
The feasibility study includes an initial six phases pegged at $6 million to restore the arboretum, Buffalo Business First reported, while five later phases—including opportunities for removal of the golf course—would cost $8 million more.
Raising those funds won’t be easy, and opportunities for fundraising could be diluted by Gaughan’s efforts to raise money for the Nicklaus-backed project, Dennis Horrigan, the Conservancy’s board chairman, acknowledged to Buffalo Business First. But there is still hope the two can come together, he added.
“We’ve always been interested in developing the arboretum, whether it’s going to be with or without the golf course,” Horrigan said. “We can do it either way, and if we can find some common ground and not subordinate ourselves to his [Gaughan’s] plan and maintain our own mission, I think there could be some daylight here. If we can find common ground that would benefit all parties, that’s what we’d like to do.”
Gaughan told Buffalo Business First that he and his partners have already had success on the fundraising side, with “significant” commitments from local and national individuals and private foundations toward the $42 million, and more specific announcements planned for the coming weeks. The plan won’t cost the Conservancy or the city a dime, he said, and in fact it calls for donating $12 million back to the conservancy to create a perpetual trust.
“Every dollar we raise is going to achieve stated Conservancy goals,” he said.
Now that the land is under contract, the next step calls for scheduling three public forums across the city to outline the plan and give citizens the chance to weigh in and comment, Buffalo Business First reported. Gaughan said he had already begun hearing from the community via a steering committee of 30 informal advisors and has begun to interview candidates to serve as a project manager specializing in recreation spaces.
Gaughan told Buffalo Business First that he’s hopeful the Conservancy will ultimately see the benefits to working together on the larger plan, including both the arboretum restoration and to redesign the Delaware Park golf course.
“I think, in the end, the majority of the Conservancy’s trustees will look with favor on my plan,” he said. “It’s now been more than four years since I first conceived of my plan, and I hope I’ve demonstrated my determination.”
Gaughan hesitated to respond, though, about what he’ll do if the Conservancy opts out of partnering with him and adopting his plan.
“If they decide they don’t want Jack Nicklaus to redesign Delaware Park and they don’t want to fully restore the arboretum, would I still do something on the parcel our company owns?” he said. “I just can’t permit myself to think about anything but success for my plan, because I think it’s in the best interests of my city. I hope to encourage the Conservancy to reach the same conclusion.”
In its report on the sale of the Steelfields land to the Gaughan group, The Buffalo News quoted a statement issued by Jack Nicklaus from his North Palm Beach, Fla. office in which Nicklaus said, “I’m happy to learn that Kevin has purchased the land that we hope one day to be home to a new Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course for the good people of Buffalo.”
The News also reported that Lucy Lawliss, who chairs the National Association for Olmsted Parks, applauded Gaughan’s acquisition.
“We hope [Gaughan]’s purchase will advance the long-sought goal to relocate the South Park golf course and bolster the Buffalo Conservancy’s efforts to rehabilitate Olmsted’s jewel, the South Park arboretum,” Lawliss said.
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