The club located outside the city limits closed last October and was put on the market for $1.8 million. Before it closed, it was the only place to play golf in Vermilion Parish, which includes Abbeville. City officials, finding it “somewhat troubling” that no sale has transpired, now want to explore the feasibility of taking over its operation “as a win-win for the city and the parish.”
The Abbeville (La.) City Council is showing interest in an abandoned golf course, KATC-TV of Lafayette, La. reported
At its meeting on September 4th, the council discussed a resolution authorizing the Mayor to negotiate with the owners of the old Vermilion Oaks Country Club, with the intent of annexing the property into the city limits and taking over its operation, KATC reported.
Vermilion Oaks has sat vacant for nearly a year after the owners closed the business last October, citing a down economy (http://clubandresortbusiness.com/2017/10/vermilion-oaks-cc-suspend-operations-october-29/). The 88-year-old property with an 18-hole golf course was put on the market at that time for a reported $1.8 million.
Before it closed, Vermilion Oaks CC was the only place to play golf in Vermilion Parish, KATC reported.
“It’s somewhat troubling that no one has taken this on [and] that’s why I’m bringing this to our Mayor and our City Council,” Abbeville City Councilman Francis Touchet told KATC.
The council planned to look closely at the financial possibilities of the golf course before deciding whether to move forward, Touchet added.
“We’re not trying to make money off of this,” he said. “We’re trying to make sure we can self-sustain this through its own revenue.”
If the city council does move forward and completes a deal that involved annexation, the city of Abbeville would take over the operation of the golf course and 100-plus-acre property, KATC reported.
“We talk about getting this ready to play [and] there is going to be a cost involved with that,” said Touchet. “We need to look at what the operations are and what revenues would be produced from that operation, and see if it would be a feasible thing for the City of Abbeville.”
So far, the council has not discussed how much the city would be willing to pay for the country club, KATC reported.
“We have local high schools who would utilize [the golf course] for playing tournaments and we have people who would come and play for leisure,”Touchet said, “It’s a win-win for our city and our parish.”
When KATC reached out to the owners of Vermilion Oaks, the station was told it was premature to comment on the city’s interest in the property.
Video of KATC’s report, filmed on site at the Vermilion Oaks property and showing its current condition, can be viewed at https://katc.com/news/around-acadiana/vermilion-parish/2018/09/04/abbeville-city-council-interested-in-annexing-old-golf-course/
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