Shareholders of the Massapequa, N.Y. club voted earlier in 2021 to sell it for $4.4 million to Florida-based Great American Properties. But local officials threatened to seize the property through eminent domain because of longtime covenants that protect it from outside development. Richard Schaub, Jr., owner of Great American Properties, says he wants to provide assurance that the public club will not only be retained but improved, but that he has not been able to get any response to his plans. “That property should remain green, and we are purchasing it as a golf course only,” Schaub said.
The Florida-based buyer who has offered more than $4 million to purchase Peninsula Golf Club in Massapequa, N.Y. said that he plans to keep the property a golf course and make improvements to the grounds and facilities upon acquisition of the site, Golf on Long Island reported.
Holding up the sale, however, is Oyster Bay Town’s own rumored plans to seize the golf course through eminent domain (https://clubandresortbusiness.com/possible-sale-of-long-islands-peninsula-gc-raises-issue-of-towns-purchase-or-seizure/), a move that town representatives claim would maintain the longtime covenants that protect the property from outside development, Golf on Long Island reported.
Richard Schaub, Jr., owner of Great American Properties, told Newsday in a recent interview that he is willing to work with Oyster Bay to ensure that the property remains a public golf course, but town officials are unwilling to discuss it, Golf on Long Island reported.
Schaub’s vision for the public nine-hole course focuses on improved conditions, including “perfectly sculpted” sand traps, and a larger, modernized clubhouse that’s attractive to the surrounding Nassau Shores community, Golf on Long Island reported. Two holes would be adjusted to protect nearby homes.
Schaub said he also wants to invest a yet-to-be determined amount in expanding the clubhouse, to be “a place where neighbors could come in for a hamburger and a beer” and watch a game on television, Golf on Long Island reported.
In an August 10th letter to the Oyster Bay Town Board, Schaub wrote he had been unable to comment on his plans previously due to a confidentiality agreement with the current owner, P.G.C. Holding Corp., but sought to reassure the Board of his intentions, Golf on Long Island reported.
“We are purchasing it as a golf course, and as a golf course only,” Schaub wrote.
“That property is not going to be a housing subdivision,” Schaub then told Newsday. “That property should remain green.”
He added in the Newsday interview, however, that he had yet to receive a response from the town, Golf on Long Island reported.
Peninsula Golf Club was founded in 1946 on the site of the defunct Nassau Shores Country Club, and the deed between Nassau County and the club’s ownership group included covenants that prohibit residential development, farming and any other uses other than a public golf course, Golf on Long Island reported. Earlier this year, Peninsula’s shareholders voted to sell the course to Schaub’s firm for $4.4 million.
Oyster Bay then floated the possibility of eminent domain, saying an outside developer could theoretically get around the covenants and leave the property vulnerable to private development, Golf on Long Island reported. Nassau County Executive Laura Curran has said that the covenants will be enforced upon the sale of the property.
Tell Us What You Think!
You must be logged in to post a comment.