The semi-private Solon, Ohio property has been losing money since its current operators bought it in 2000. In an effort to boost member numbers to 300, the property started a membership drive in 2015, but the effort fell short, with only 162 committing.
Hawthorne Valley Country Club in Solon, Ohio has closed. The 90-year-old club was purchased by Fred and Peter Rzepka, who operate TransCon Builders, in 2000. The semi-private club had been losing money since the brothers purchased it, Crain’s Cleveland Business reported.
After the 2015 golf season, Hawthorne Valley started a membership drive. For $2,500, its customers would get unlimited golf with a cart, a private locker, and use of the club’s shower and workout facilities. The deadline to sign up was January 31, Crain’s reported.
The effort, however, fell way short. As of mid-January, Hawthorne Valley had 162 members committed, General Manager Bob Zeman told Crain’s at the time, but Fred Rzepka said on February 23 that the number didn’t really get beyond that. He told the Cleveland Jewish News earlier this month that none of the 160-plus had paid “any money.”
“You can’t binge by yourself,” Rzepka told Crain’s. “You gotta have a partner. The partners weren’t there, and that was it. It didn’t do me any good by closing it, but at the same time, that’s how it is. It’s a business.”
It’s a venture that wasn’t profitable for the brothers, whose 44-year-old TransCon Builders develops nursing homes, assisted living facilities, residential apartments and other commercial properties, Crain’s reported.
“It was an emotional thing when I first started it,” said Fred Rzepka, a longtime Hawthorne Valley member. “It was a good thing—I enjoyed what I did for 16 years. But everything comes to an end.”
Richard Kaplan was a Hawthorne Valley member as a kid, then rejoined the club five years ago. The former owner of Aluminum Coatings Manufacturers in Cleveland was surprised that more golfers didn’t take Hawthorne up on what he said is a heck of a deal—$2,500 for unlimited golf, with perks, Crain’s reported.
“It’s just a shame that it wasn’t able to make it,” Kaplan said. “I think he needed 300 members, and even then he would have lost money (Fred Rzepka told Crain’s that was the case in December). It’s really kind of sad.
“I would have thought that maybe some people who belong to other clubs and spend between $10,000 and $20,000 a year would’ve taken the opportunity to play at Hawthorne for $2,500, but obviously that’s not the case. It’s kind of indicative of what’s happening in golf in our part of the country,” Kaplan said.
Kaplan, who has been retired for six years and spends his winters in Florida, believes there are too many golf courses in Northeast Ohio, “and more importantly, not enough golfers.”
Asked if he planned to sell the property, which at 204 acres, is the largest piece of privately owned land in Solon, Fred Rzepka said, “If you send me a buyer, I’ll sell it. If I don’t, what am I gonna do?” In December, Rzepka said turning the property over to his grandkids is an option, since he has no desire to develop it. There were plans to build a senior housing development on the grounds, but Solon residents in Ward 5 voted against the measure in 2008, Crain’s reported.
Solon Mayor Susan A. Drucker said in an email that the city “has been meeting periodically” with Peter Rzepka for the past couple of years “to discuss possible redevelopment and preservation of the property.” The city, the mayor said, “remains open to any and all discussions regarding the future of the property. We are willing to provide assistance to the property owner in preserving the land where feasible.”
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