The new ownership of the Mamaroneck, N.Y. club wants to build a condo complex on two acres of the 116-acre property, but community opposition has led to a lawsuit. Adding the residential component is vital to the long-term viability of the club in the highly competitive New York metro market, advocates of the plan contend.

 

Westfair Online, the website of Westfair Communications, which publishes business journals for the New York metropolitan area, reported on a recent tour conducted by Thomas Nappi, identified as the Senior Project Manager for Hampshire Country Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y., as part of the club’s efforts to show the value of, and need for, a controversial condominium project that it wants to execute within the club’s grounds.

Hampshire CC’s entire property is about 116 acres, and a condominium complex that the club’s owner wants to build would only take up about two acres of the property, Westfair Online reported. Still, that plan has drawn community opposition and led Hampshire to sue the village, accusing it of trying to drive down the value of the property, so the Mamaroneck village government can buy it at a low price.

C&RB reported on the lawsuit earlier this month (http://clubandresortbusiness.com/2014/08/14/hampshire-cc-sues-village-55m/)

The club twice proposed a rezoning of the property that would have allowed for condominium construction, but the village board of trustees rejected both proposals at their outset, Westfair Online reported. As part of the agreement, Hampshire would have agreed to preserve most of its property as open space and would have continued to operate the 18-hole golf course there.

Hampshire CC filed papers in state Supreme Court on August 11, seeking $55 million in damages and saying a condo development would have generated new property tax income for the village. The current zoning for the club would allow for a subdivision for the construction of single-family homes on what is now the golf course, but Hampshire CC has said it favors the condominium plan.

“It’s an option, not a goal,” Nappi said when conducting the tour of the property.

The club’s new ownership paid $12.1 million for the club in June 2010, after the village and town of Mamaroneck combined to put a $10.1 million bid on the property, Westfair Online reported. In January, the club unveiled its plan to build 121 luxury condominiums on a 290,000-sq.-ft. cluster that would have included a 200-space underground parking garage. The village knocked down that proposal in February, Westfair Online reported, amid opposition from community members who said the plan would increase traffic in the surrounding coastal neighborhoods. Development would be an environmental concern in an area prone to flooding, critics said.

The club did not meet with Village Board members, with the only contact being through attorneys, but then came back with a scaled-down proposal they hoped appeased neighbors and the village government, Westfair Online reported. It did not, and elected officials promptly turned down the second rezoning request.

In conducting a tour of the property, Westfair Online reported, Nappi walked down the hill from Hampshire CC’s clubhouse and onto the golf course path. It was a Monday and the golf course was closed, so he wasn’t preventing any club members from playing through as he looked back toward the clubhouse, which was not visible due to the hills and trees.

If there were condos there, they likely wouldn’t be visible except to several homes immediately neighboring the club, Nappi said.

As part of the tour, Nappi showed some of the recent work the club’s new owner, Hampshire Recreation LLC, had undertaken. Near the clubhouse, where the condos would be constructed, there is a seating area that overlooks the Long Island Sound, with a unique view of the Throgs Neck Bridge, Westfair Online reported. That area, built upon what was formerly the club’s second putting green, has become popular with club members, it was noted.

Adding a residential component has become vital to the long-term viability of Hampshire CC, according to Nappi, with an abundance of country clubs in Westchester County and an overall trend of clubs facing increasing costs and dwindling membership.

“The geography is not working,” Nappi said. “It’s a tough business as it is, but it’s especially tough in this area.”

The Mamaroneck Coastal Environment Coalition, a civic group, has opposed Hampshire CC proposals and accused the club of illegally holding nonmember events, Westfair Online reported. In a news release, the group said it supports the village in its legal defense against the lawsuit. The group said the club had used bullying tactics to try to get the rezone accomplished.

“The board declined to consider the requested change in law,” said Celia Felsher, the coalition’s President. “It is clearly within its rights to do so.”