In the rough: Golf courses now developers' targets

The phone calls started pouring in to the Whitpain Township offices in the fall.

Developers were on the line, wondering how many homes they could build at the site of the Meadowlands Country Club.

Inquiries from developers are typical, said Township Manager Roman Pronczak. But these calls were disconcerting. The 128-acre property in the heart of Blue Bell is a golf course and a valuable piece of open space.

"Golf courses are starting to be called the last frontier of open-space preservation in suburban communities," said Fred Conner, chairman of the Whitpain Board of Supervisors.

"There are so many examples of golf courses in our immediate area that have been developed or are now in the throes of being developed."

With golf's popularity declining nationwide and developers searching for attractive building opportunities, some of the region's most pastoral settings have turned into battlegrounds.

A large-scale retail and residential development is underway on a former golf course in King of Prussia - but it took decades of litigation. And in New Jersey, officials fought to save a Cherry Hill golf course that was sold in 2013; a settlement announced last month will protect the course from developers.

Pronczak said Whitpain is keeping an eye on the course of development proposals for Center Square Golf Club in Worcester Township and Westover Country Club in West Norriton.

Upper Dublin Township purchased a conservation easement for the LuLu Golf Club in 2009. The township owns the land of the former Twining Valley Golf Club.

In Whitpain, officials feared Meadowbrook could become the next battleground, and they asked to meet with the club's leadership. Both sides agreed to work toward a plan that would keep developers away for good: a conservation easement.

The end result could protect the land from future development and allow Whitpain to avoid the lengthy fights over development of golf courses that hound the region.

The township and the golf club are still negotiating. But under one plan proposed this spring, the township would purchase the easement from the club for $6 million. The country club would remain open and pay back the township over 20 years. If it failed to make payments, the township could purchase the land for $1.

The sides are now also "looking at other options that may be beneficial to both parties and may not cost as much," said Gilbert Benjamin, president of the club's board of governors.

Benjamin said the club's leadership fully supports the easement plan.

"A good business person always listens to offers . . . but our membership has been around for 65 years, and we weren't really interested in selling the club and walking away," he said.

The vulnerability of golf courses is tied to the sport's sagging popularity.

The number of Americans who reported playing golf at least one time in a year dropped from more than 27 million in 2009 to 24.7 million in 2014, according to research from the Sports and Fitness Industry Association. Sales of golf clubs and other merchandise is also declining; the association found that sales in 2014 were 13 percent less than in 2013.

As the industry has found itself in the rough, other golf clubs around the region have given into developers' offers.

The old Valley Forge Golf Course is sprouting a hospital, apartments, and retail space on 135 acres near the King of Prussia Mall. Construction began after Upper Merion Township in 2011 settled a three-decade legal battle over zoning for the parcel, the last remaining undeveloped space in King of Prussia. A Wegmans has already opened at the site.

The trends have raised flags in Whitpain.

Benjamin said Meadowlands is financially stable and has about 325 members.

"We did cash and financial projections out 20 years," he said, to determine whether the club could enter a deal and make payments to the township.

Meadowlands, near Skippack Pike and Penllyn Blue Bell Pike, is in an already congested area.

Its location also makes it prime real estate.

"Developers have a tendency to go after open space wherever they can, and certainly we have 128 acres of prime space," Benjamin said.

The courses that do give way to development reap large tax benefits for municipalities and school districts. The Upper Merion development will bring in millions in new tax dollars; the 13-acre lot that is now a Wegmans had a property assessment of $411,000 in 2011 and now is assessed at more than $10 million.

Meadowlands now has an assessed value of $2.9 million, has a farmland tax break, and pays $72,000 in property taxes.

But residents have asked the township to be more proactive in protecting and connecting its remaining open space, said Conner, the president of the township supervisors.

"They're at the very top of everyone's priority list in our community," he said. "Right up there with . . . alleviating traffic."