The semi-private club in Canal Winchester, Ohio, with a golf course designed by Michael Hurdzan, has a listed price of $1.975 million. Owner Charlie Ruma is selling because “I don’t need to be operating a golf course at 76” and a new 3 percent entertainment tax served as the “nail in the coffin” to seal his decision. Zoning restrictions that are in place will necessitate selling the property as a golf course or for some other open space-type use and likely prohibit its development for housing.
Developer Charlie Ruma is selling the Westchester Golf Course in Canal Winchester, Ohio, Columbus Business First reported.
The semi-private course, with a clubhouse and patios, has a listed price of $1.975 million. It’s a part of a larger 800-acre planned unit development that Ruma built over several decades that has included upwards of 1,300 housing units, Columbus Business First reported.
Ruma told Columbus Business First that he’s had a good ride as the club’s owner, but “It’s just time to close it up to me. I don’t need to be operating a golf course at 76.”
Ruma also orchestrated the redevelopment of the Riviera Golf Club property in Dublin, Ohio, Columbus Business First reported, converting it into a housing development after selling the 168-acre course to M/I Homes for $7.2 million. He was also involved in the redevelopment of the 102-acre Minerva Park golf course in Blendon Township, Ohio which has also since become housing.
The Westchester property, however, isn’t likely to turn into housing, Ruma told Columbus Business First, owing to the planned unit development agreements signed when it was built.
“I suspect it would be pretty near impossible to change the zoning, so it’s going to have to be sold as a golf course or some other open space-type use,” he said.
Canal Winchester’s passage of a 3 percent entertainment tax this year was a “nail in the coffin” that gave him the idea to sell, he added.
The course opened for play in 1997, and sees about 26,000 to 28,000 rounds a year, Columbus Business First reported. Designed by Michael Hurdzan, it has a course rating of 73.6 and a slope rating of 128 from championship tees, making it the 10th most difficult course in Central Ohio.
The 18-hole, par-72 course has six lakes, 60 bunkers, and a 10,000-sq. ft. putting green and practice range.
“It’s a task to play, but it’s also a fun course depending on how you play,” Ruma said. “I think we did a pretty good job integrating it into the housing around there, and we’re really proud of it.”
The course was among the most valuable golf courses in the region, with a 2016 property value of $1,938,900, according to Columbus Business First research.
Kathy Bissell of Coldwell Banker Commercial Benchmark in Jacksonville, Fla., is the listing agent for the property, which covers about 138 acres, according to information from the Franklin County Auditor’s office, Columbus Business First reported.
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