Transactions, september 2, 2016

     Tacoma, Washington. The Puyallup Tribe of Washington has agreed to purchase the golf course that’s operated on its reservation for more than a half-century. Later this month, the tribe’s economic-development arm will pay an undisclosed amount for North Shore Golf Course, an 18-hole track in need of upgrades. “We’ve just been trying to improve the place and get better, but we kind of feel like we’ve been doing it with one hand tied behind our back,” the course’s general manager told the Tacoma News Tribune. “The money hasn’t been there in [the] last 10 to 15 years, so it’s been kind of tough.” The tribe, which has committed to make capital improvements, bought the property from North Shore Golf Associates, the group that reportedly built the course’s original nine in 1961.

     Glen Allen, Virginia. Arcis Golf has lightened its golf portfolio. The Dallas, Texas-based company, part of an investment group led by Blake Walker, has accepted $1.75 million for Crossings Golf Club, a venue that features an 18-hole, Joe Lee-designed golf course. The company reportedly says that the sale is “part of a tailoring and fine-tuning of its portfolio.” The Crossings’ new owner is Matthew Hall, who owns a turf company that does business with several golf properties in the Richmond area. Hall is the club’s fourth owner in 14 years. Richmond Biz Sense reports that the club, which has been around in one form or another since the early 1960s, fetched $5.2 million in 2002 (the buyer was Traditional Golf), $10 million in 2008 (CNL Lifestyle Properties), and $2.4 million in 2014 (Arcis). The most recent transaction closed last month. Arcis Golf reportedly still owns more than five dozen golf properties, but its tailoring and fine tuning will presumably continue.

     Rancho Santa Fe and San Jose, California. A San Francisco-based “lifestyle corporation” has added a pair of golf properties to its collection of “spaces where the whole family can come to relax, socialize, and play.” Bay Club Company has acquired one venue in Southern California, Fairbanks Ranch Country Club, and one in Northern California, Golf Club at Boulder Ridge. The clubs are the first golf properties in Bay Club Company’s portfolio. “Our plan,” the company’s president said in a press release, “is to evolve the traditional country club membership into a more modern and flexible offering that suits the needs of today’s dynamic families.” Fairbanks Ranch, a 33-year-old venue once coveted by Phil “the Gambler” Mickelson, features a 27-hole, Ted Robinson-designed golf complex, while Boulder Ridge is anchored by an 18-hole, Brad Benz-designed track that opened in 2007. In addition to its golf properties, Bay Club Company operates something like 20 swim and tennis clubs, athletic clubs, and fitness centers in California.

     Garner, North Carolina. Though it’s found a new owner, a historic golf venue in the Research Triangle will likely soon go out of business. Elected officials in Garner have agreed to pay $2.9 million for Meadowbrook Country Club, one of the few private clubs in our nation that were founded by African Americans. A final decision hasn’t been made, but the city will almost certainly operate the club’s 121 acres as a park and recreation area. The club, which was established in 1959, features a nine-hole, Gene Hamm-designed golf course. St. Augustine University has owned it since 2007.

     Brutus, Michigan. Hidden River Golf & Casting Club is back in the hands of its original owners, Tom and Lisa Foster. The club, which opened in the late 1990s, features an 18-hole, Bruce Matthews-designed golf course.

     Miami, Florida. A purchaser described as “an anonymous Venezuelan” has purchased Killian Greens Golf Club, a 113-acre spread that opened in the late 1960s. A price hasn’t been announced, but the sellers, a group known as Greens to You, Inc., had reportedly put the 18-hole layout on the market for $5.7 million. A real estate agent involved in the sale told the Real Deal that the new owner “likes to land bank and own land for the future of his family.” The sellers are said to have purchased Killian Greens for $900,000 in 1996.

     Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Harbor Oaks Golf Course has been sold by its longtime owner. Phyllis Thomas has turned over the Leon Howard-designed course, which has been in her family since it opened in the mid 1990s, to Mike Wilson, a golf course superintendent. “This is a great course and we’ve got a great restaurant, and I want to make sure to keep it going and to make it even stronger,” Wilson told the Pine Bluff Commercial. With the purchase, Wilson has reportedly fulfilled a life-long dream.

     Campbell Hall, New York. A local restaurateur has purchased Otterkill Golf & Country Club, in the hope of doing “a lot of things to get the whole family experience here.” Otterkill’s golf course, a William F. Mitchell design, isn’t Betro’s top priority. He reportedly believes that the club can become a go-to banquet and events center, and he intends to add a swimming pool, a bocce court, horseshoe pits, and other attractions to ensure that it does.