The auction of the Middletown, Md., property will have a starting bid of $1 million, with the sale including an 18-hole golf course, 16,000-sq. ft. clubhouse, 11,500-sq. ft. maintenance building and practice area.
Hollow Creek Golf Club in Middletown, Md., will be auctioned at noon March 13 at the property, the Frederick (Md.) News-Post reported.
“It will be a turnkey auction, and as I understand, the new owner would continue everything,” said General Manager Brad Klein, adding that operations at the golf course and clubhouse would continue through the auction date, the News-Post reported.
“If it is available at a fair price, we might be interested,” said Damon Devito, managing partner at Musket Ridge Golf Club in nearby Myersville.
Klein Golf Associates LLC, of Clarksville, owns the club. It had an assessed value of $3.3 million in July 2014, which will decline to $2.9 million in July of this year, according to the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation, the News-Post reported.
The Klein family also owns the Links at Gettysburg (Pennsylvania), and they want to divest some of their real estate holdings to concentrate on their mechanical contracting business, said Andy Billig, auctioneer with A.J. Billig & Co. in Baltimore. Billig said he has had several inquiries from potential bidders, even though the official announcement wasn’t made until Wednesday, the News-Post reported.
Hollow Creek must balance three different parts of its business, Devito said. “You have the golf course, the banquet part and a sports bar,” Devito said. “A caterer might be interested in the banquet hall but would be stuck with a golf course they have to maintain properly, or it could be bad for them. Someone who operates a golf course may not want to maintain a banquet hall. We have experience in all of that at Musket Ridge.”
The sports bar at Hollow Creek did face some concerns in 2011 for what neighborhood residents said was excessive noise from musical groups. Middletown gave the owners a permit, but they had to keep the decibel level at 65 from 7 to 9 p.m. and 55 decibels after that time, the News-Post reported.
“Golf in general is declining, which doesn’t help matters,” Devito said. “But Hollow Creek has been maintained well, and there are really good people there.”
Considering the fixed-cost overhead of operating a golf club, whether there are only a few or many golfers, the deciding factor could be obtaining the club at a fair price, Devito said. “I hope to see it end up in hands that will continue to serve the community,” Devito said.
The auction will have a starting bid of $1 million, going to the highest bidder. The club and the course, which surround the Glenbrook subdivision, cost $12 million to build. The site includes an 18-hole Rick Jacobson-designed course on the 174 acres and the 16,000-sq. ft. clubhouse with a restaurant, bar and banquet room, as well as a golf shop and an 11,500-sq. ft. maintenance building and practice area, the News-Post reported.
Andrew Bowen, Middletown town administrator, said the golf club is an important part of the community. “We hope someone will keep it running. We don’t want to see any business close,” Bowen said.
Many nonprofits use the Hollow Creek clubhouse for fundraisers, including the fire company and the Middletown Valley Athletic Association, the News-Post reported.
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