The Pomona, N.Y., property, which features an 18-hole, 60-acre golf course, will no longer operate as a golf club, but no official plans have been announced, and the new owner and financial terms were not disclosed. The golf course opened in 1994.
A developer has sold the Minisceongo Golf Club in Pomona, N.Y., prompting questions about the property’s future, the Lower Hudson Valley, N.Y.-based Journal News reported.
In a letter to members last week, Eric Bergstol said the 18-hole, 60-acre course would no longer operate as a golf club. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, and the new owner has not been named. A spokesperson for Bergstol did not respond to the Journal News’ requests for comment.
Minisceongo opened in 1994 and its greens and fairways span a swath of land in unincorporated Ramapo, bordering Mount Ivy County Park. Rumors of a sale had been circulating for months. As of a few weeks ago, a spokesperson for the club was still denying a deal was in the works, the Journal News reported.
“I know that many of you may be questioning why a statement has not been made previously,” Bergstol said. “Unfortunately, due to the nature of such a transaction, it was not possible to communicate this information until finalized.”
Ramapo Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence said he didn’t know who bought the property and called any speculation as to its future “premature.” Pomona Mayor Brett Yagel expressed fear that a high-density housing development could come in and change the area’s semi-rural character, the Journal News reported.
“It’s a shame to lose that open space,” he said. “The roads around here were once cow paths. If it’s going to be housing it should be done responsibly. That’s all we ask.”
The Minisceongo property’s history dates to the 1700s, when the Conklin family established a settlement there. The clubhouse is a former boarding school for inner-city children. The course was opened in 1994 after some much-needed renovations. Since 2008, the course had been suffering amid an economic downturn and shifting demographics, the Journal News reported.
Bergstol, 59, of Tappan and his family have a long history as developers in Rockland, first residential and later golf courses. He is the principal behind Empire Golf Management, which sold Donald Trump the property that became Trump National Golf Club Hudson Valley in Dutchess County. Bergstol also developed Hollow Brook Golf Club in Cortlandt as well as numerous upscale clubs in New Jersey, the Journal News reported.
He was the original developer behind the proposed Minisceongo Park shopping center along the Ramapo-Haverstraw border outside Mount Ivy. That proposal, which was to include a Walmart, has received municipal approvals but has been challenged in court by area merchants and the village of Pomona, the Journal News reported.
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