At least five other bidders were interested in the tract of land, which is located across from the Saratoga Springs, N.Y., club’s main entrance and is wooded with wetlands. “The primary reason I bought the property was to protect the view corridor,” said owner Tom Newkirk, who paid $99,000 at auction for the land.
The owner of Saratoga National Golf Club has purchased 14 acres of vacant land to help preserve the views at the 18-hole course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., the Albany (N.Y.) Business Review reported.
Tom Newkirk, who built Saratoga National into one of the top public golf courses in the country, was the high bidder during a two-day auction held in late January. The outcome of the auction was not made public until now, a week after the deal closed, the Business Review reported.
Saratoga National bought the property for $99,000 from Tim Niedzwiecki, founder and president of Environmental Remediation Services Inc. in Rotterdam. The property was auctioned off by Auction Advisors in a New York City, the Business Review reported.
“The primary reason I bought the property was to protect the view corridor,” Newkirk said.
The land, which is wooded and includes wetlands, is located across from the main entrance to the Union Avenue golf course. Newkirk said he was concerned that another buyer might develop the property and impact the views from the clubhouse and the 13th green, the Business Review reported.
Joshua Olshin, managing partner at the auction company, said in January that the land attracted offers from at least five bidders. One of those bidders was the city government in Saratoga Springs, which had been searching for a site to build a new fire station to serve the east side of the city. A third bidder from outside the region was interested in the property as a potential location for constructing a single-family home, the Business Review reported.
Newkirk has spent the past two years seeking city approval to transform Saratoga National Golf Club into a year-round golf resort and spa. He wants to invest $30 million to build a five-star 100-room hotel with a fitness center and a training center that will allow the golf club to compete with resorts in Massachusetts, Cooperstown, and central New York. Opposition from neighbors and a lack of support from city leaders have prevented Newkirk from moving forward with those plans, the Business Review reported.
Saratoga National Golf Club now owns more than 480 acres on the city’s east side, the Business Review reported.
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