Buyer of Bankrupt Woodcrest Country Club Reveals Plans
By Ian Bush
CHERRY HILL, N.J. (CBS) -- The development company that won an auction yesterday for the bankrupt Woodcrest Country Club in Cherry Hill (see related story) has revealed its plans for the property.
Cherry Hill Land Associates says within a few weeks, it'll re-open Woodcrest as a semi-private golf course -- which typically means memberships are offered but also public tee times.
The developer promises swimming, tennis, and banquet facilities at the 150+ acre location.
Its parent company, First Montgomery Group, is based in Cherry Hill and develops and manages apartment complexes. That, combined with its $10.1 million bid -- which landed several million dollars more than the property's appraised value -- led local officials to believe the winner wanted to build. (Its 'institutional' zoning would support a hospital, for example, or other medical facility.)
Cherry Hill's mayor was among those who wanted to see Woodcrest kept as a golf course or as open space (see related stories). In a statement, Chuck Cahn says he hopes the developer will forever "protect the integrity" of the land and that he "will not support any effort to rezone it."
