Bluffton neighbors agree to purchase golf course for $1.45 million to stop development
After a lengthy fight to stop their golf course from being paved over and developed into apartment buildings, shops and a hotel, homeowners in the Island West neighborhood have overwhelmingly agreed to purchase the course, HOA President Richard Myers confirmed Thursday.
But the decision to save the course comes at a high cost. The HOA, representing 258 homes, has agreed to pay the owner $1.45 million, Myers said.
Though the 18-hole golf course — closed since April — sits within the gated Island West community in the Bluffton area, the residents did not own it. When a proposal was floated earlier this year to rezone parts of the 145-acre course to allow for 61 acres of residential, hotel and commercial development, the neighbors sprung into action.
They worried that impervious surfaces would increase the frequent flooding they’ve already witnessed in nearby developments. They said the values of their homes would plummet if the golf course were replaced by commercial development.
In their fight against the rezoning, the neighbors contacted Beaufort County Council members; met with The Reed Group, the proposed developer; and retained S.C. Rep. Weston Newton, R-Bluffton, as their attorney.
Last week, the plan to save the golf course came up for a vote. With 82.6% of property owners voting, the community agreed 203-10 to purchase the golf course, Myers said.
“It’s been a long journey, but it was great to have the full support of the community, and the vote shows that,” he said.
The community’s next step is to obtain the proper financing, likely a loan from the bank, to purchase the course. The HOA will also have to revise its covenants to allow for the course to officially become part of the community, he said.
The goal? “Get [the course] operating so we don’t have to worry about this in the future,” Myers said.
Failing courses?
Todd Brown, executive vice president of Brown Golf, the company that previously operated the golf course at Island West and others, such as Pinecrest in Bluffton and Palmetto Hall and Dolphin Head on Hilton Head Island — did not return a call for comment Thursday.
In May, he told The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette that the golf course has been closed since April.
“It was costing a lot of money, and it was not sustaining itself,” he said. And the coronavirus pandemic added to the pain.
Brown said the company laid off employees but wouldn’t say how many.
Across the country, golf courses are struggling to stay profitable. Courses in Beaufort County are no exception. This past year, two golf courses in Bluffton were put up for auction due to financial problems.
However, Jim Cuff, Island West homeowner and chair of the community’s Committee to Stop Rezoning, said he thinks that could be changing.
In defense of keeping the course open, Cuff cited reports from multiple golf magazines that said the sport could be seeing a resurgence during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Golf Datatech, an independent market research firm, golf equipment sales had a record-breaking month in July in the United States, recording the highest sales since the company started tracking data in 1997.
Myers said he did not have “any worries” about the golf course struggling to remain profitable.
“We feel confident in the decision to go this route,” he said. “We feel confident that the operation of the course will help our property values and protect us against any unwanted development.”
The future of the course
Myers said purchasing the golf course was the the “best outcome” for the Island West community.
“I think our property values would have been drastically impacted because of” the rezoning, he said.
Cuff and Myers said the community hopes to close on the purchase by Dec. 15.
Myers said Island West homeowners will have five years to pay the assessed value of the purchase, but would not say how much each homeowner will have to pay.
“The HOA board is just really glad that the community supported our recommendation and voted in favor of the purchase,” he said. “We put the message out, and we’re glad the community believed in our judgment.”
According to county tax records, the owner of the golf course is listed as 40 Island West Drive LLC. The registered agent for the golf course is listed as Capitol Corporate Services Inc., according to business filings.
Several Beaufort County documents involving the Island West Golf Club refer to a company called “Topper Golf World LLC” and are signed by Joseph V. Topper Jr.
Brown previously refused to comment on who is behind the LLC “to keep his name out of it.”
Myers said that, as part of the closure of the course, the owner agreed to maintain and mow it to “keep it playable” with two weeks notice in case someone opted to reopen it.
