A “packed house” is expected to turn out for an informational meeting about the project at the property in the Village of Lakewood, Ill., which would add about 240 condominiums, 60 guest rooms, walking trails, an outdoor pool and a health club and spa, and possibly turn the current 30,000-sq. ft. clubhouse into a four-story structure. Many nearby residents are already voicing concerns about increased traffic and obstructed views that would result from the work at the club, which is managed by KemperSports and has been recently listed for sale.
A proposed $50 million renovation and expansion of Turnberry Country Club in the Village of Lakewood, Ill. would add about 240 condominiums, 60 guest rooms, walking trails, an outdoor pool and a health club and spa, the Northwest Herald of Crystal Lake, Ill. reports
The preliminary plans were recently submitted to the village and still would need to go through the village’s planning and zoning process before being voted on by the Village Board, the Herald reports. An informational meeting was scheduled to being hosted on the evening of December 16 by the Turnberry Property Owners Association, and Trustee Paul Serwatka told the Herald that he expected a “packed house” for the meeting, after receiving multiple calls and e-mails about the proposal even before the village put out a news release on its website on December 15 that laid out some of the details.
The developer, J.P. Asset Management Co., has expressed interest in buying and renovating the country club, the Herald reports, thereby “rejuvenat[ing] the property so that it once again serves as the centerpiece and gathering point for the prestigious Turnberry subdivision in the village of Lakewood,” according to a press release issued by the developer.
Turnberry CC was built in 1972, the Herald reports, and features a 30,000-sq.-ft. French Normandy-style clubhouse with a renovated 3,900-sq.-ft. banquet room, four tennis courts and a par-72 golf course, according to its website. The entire site is 166 acres.
The preliminary plans suggest a building centered on a four-story clubhouse, hotel and spa, with three-story wings on either side, the Herald reports.
The club has been bank-owned and managed by KemperSports for about five years (http://clubandresortbusiness.com/2010/05/10/kempersports-selected-to-manage-turnberry-cc/). The owner, Wintrust Financial Corp., sought a buyer for about $2.5 million in 2011, the Herald reports, and the property was most recently listed in a joint sale with the Lake Barrington Shores Country Club, in Lake Barrington, Ill., this past September for $3.25 million.
The proposed additions would complement the current style, the village’s release said, adding that J.P. Asset Management Co. was behind the recently completed renovation of Lake Barrington Shores CC.
“The new resort population will financially support the golf course and clubhouse and allow for the renovation of the existing facilities, as well as the addition of new amenities,” the company’s President, Kyunhee Park, said in the release.
Erin Smith, President of the Village of Lakewood, said in the release that she appreciated that Park understood the value of the property and was interested in making the investment to keep it as a private country club, the Herald reports.
Serwatka, who told the Herald that he didn’t know much about the project beyond a “60-second update” that he had received the previous week, said he could see the resort benefiting the village. But he also could see the addition of 240 condos really changing the neighborhood, he added.
He has heard from residents who are “angry and scared and [worried] about the potential traffic implications, light pollution and how the development will impact their views,” Serwatka added.
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