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The
Winchester Country Club may end up in a foreclosure sale if the company is
unable to reach an agreement to salvage the unsold lots, clubhouse and golf
course. Photo by John McCreadie.
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If a deal is not reached, the bank will hold a foreclosure sale on more than a third (137 unsold lots) of the 409 lots in the Winchester development, it’s massive 35,000-square-foot country club, and its pristine 18-hole private-member golf course.
In preparation for a possible sale, Winchester Country Club employees confirmed bottles of wine and other items in its gift shop have been discounted in an effort to move the merchandise before the scheduled foreclosure sale. Still, they hope Myers will “pull a rabbit out of his hat” and avoid the foreclosure process altogether.
Working against Myers, however, is an extremely tight credit market. Many banks, recently stung by record home foreclosures as sales and prices across the nation have fallen sharply, are taking a hard-line stance on loan defaults.
For Winchester Country Club members, the possibility of a foreclosure sale has created lots of uncertainty. Late last year, they elected a seven-member advisory committee to help protect their interests. The committee reported during an April 15 community meeting that while management discussions to avert foreclosure continue, a foreclosure sale is likely. For club members and some residents, however, Winchester’s financial problems may only be a short-term issue.
“We’re very bullish on where we are going to end up as a community long term,” said Mark Evans, an advisory committee member, club member and resident. “Despite the near-term uncertainties, I believe we’re going to come out of this just fine.”
While the soft housing market in Placer County and throughout the nation is at the root of Myers’ financial woes at Winchester, there is speculation he failed to lower lot prices and club membership fees, which run up to $80,000 a year for non-residents, as the market softened.
“He’s put his heart into the thing,” said Winchester Country Club member Dan Foreman of Meadow Vista. “But he failed to adjust the prices of lots and club memberships as the economy slowed.”
Myers is known best for making the seemingly impossible possible. In 1994, his Rancho Cordova-based highway and bridge construction company – C.C. Myers Inc. – repaired critical portions of the earthquake damaged Southern California freeway system in half the time expected. Last year, the company repaired a critical portion of the MacArthur freeway maze in record time after it was destroyed in a fire.
And he recently announced his company plans to dramatically speed up scheduled repairs on a Sacramento I-5 project scheduled for this summer. Myers’ construction company is separate from his Winchester Country Club investments.
Both Myers’ passion and vision for the Winchester community appear unchallenged. He personally cleans streets in the development using a water truck and, reportedly, contributed personal money to ensure clubhouse workers got paid during recent payroll shortfalls. He also has poured millions of his own dollars into the development since purchasing the property in 1989.
While unavailable to comment for this story, he has publicly stated his determination to resolve Winchester’s financial problems.
He’s also building his own dream home in the development. Despite financial uncertainties, work on the 8,700-square-foot home continued until this week, where contractors reportedly will cease work while they wait to see if Myers can once again work his magic.
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