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Winchester: A Field of Dreams Goes for $25 million |
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Written by John McCreadie
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Private clubhouse operations being reviewed; public play a possibility
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Now that Wachovia Bank owns the Winchester Country Club, club members and residents are nervous the private club will go public in an effort to generate more income to sustain operations.
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It was a rare moment, but time ran out on super contractor C.C. Myers’ bid to avert bank foreclosure on his passion project, Winchester Country Club – a scenic enclave of luxury custom homes built around an award-winning golf course in the quaint foothills town of Meadow Vista.
On May 21, the elegant Winchester clubhouse and 18-hole golf course, along with 137 unsold properties, were put on a trustee auction block in an effort to recoup a portion of a loan default totaling $65 million. No public bids were made so the bank’s market-value offer of $25 million transferred ownership to Wachovia Bank – the new owner of the assets.
The foreclosure brings an end to Myers’ six-month struggle to retain ownership of the financially troubled upscale community. “This outcome is very difficult for me personally,” said Myers in a press statement. Myers invested millions of dollars in the development after purchasing the 1,100 acres in 1989.
The bank will seek to resell the assets – possibly as a package deal – as soon as possible, said a bank representative. Given the depressed state of the real estate and credit markets, it’s likely the country club, golf course and remaining lots will be sold at fire-sale prices, legal and real estate experts report.
Residents hope it gets picked up by a developer willing to invest in bringing the remaining 35 percent of the project to completion.
For golf club members and some residents, the change in ownership
brings mixed feelings. While it moves the process forward with a bank
eager to find a new owner, it also raises concerns about possible
changes in operation of the castle-size clubhouse and high-maintenance
golf course, which many see as the “gems” of the development.
“Nobody likes where we are right now,” said resident Mark Evans, a
committee member for a group that represents the interests of clubhouse
members. “But we need to get through this until (the assets) are
resold.”
The clubhouse committee has met with representatives of Douglas Wilson
Companies, the company now managing the clubhouse and golf course
operations on behalf of the bank.
One alternative being considered by Douglas Wilson, said Evans, is to
open the private golf course to public play – at least on a part time
basis – to help meet the operation’s monthly revenue shortfall,
reportedly at about $100,000. Evans estimates the club is about 100
members short of hitting its critical break-even point. Selling the
remaining homes in the development is the best chance for reaching its
membership goals, he said.
But residents and club members, many of whom bought homes in the
community for private access to the coveted golf course, do not favor
taking the course public.
“I think everybody believes our property values will take a hit without
a private or semi-private golf course,” said Evans, who has spoken to
many members regarding the issue. Residents currently pay a membership
fee of $70,000 to join the club and monthly dues of $625. It’s possible
those fees could be restructured, including going to a pay-as-you-play
model where each round of golf is paid for separately.
It’s expected Douglas Wilson representatives will present its plan for
ongoing clubhouse and golf course operations this week. Clubhouse
members hope to one day work out a deal that will put operations of the
clubhouse into members’ hands, a proposition that organizers believe
makes sense once it reaches its membership goals. “No one would take
better care of the course,” Evans said.
For Lyon real estate agent Laurie Whitton of Auburn, who owns a home
that is for sale in the Winchester development and attended the May 21
foreclosure auction, it’s good that things are moving forward.
“While it’s a very sad thing for C.C. Myers and everybody who lives in
Winchester, I’m glad it’s come to this point.” she said. “It helps
bring some closure.”
Winchester foreclosure: What happened?
It’s ironic that C.C. Myers’ Winchester Country Club began much the
same way that it ended for the millionaire contractor – with an auction.
It was the dawn of the new millennium when Winchester properties first
began being marketed, including using a property auction to help kick
off the new development in 2000. For Myers, his dream of completing the
luxury home development ended eight years later on May 21 when the
lender – Wachovia Bank – put the remaining assets of the development on
the auction block, including the 35,000-square-foot clubhouse, golf
course and 137 unsold and undeveloped properties.
“I did everything possible to prevent this outcome, but the tremendous
downward slide of the economy in California and the rest of the country
created factors that could not be overcome,” said Myers in a press
statement.
Slow home sales and a drop in real estate activity combined to put the
409-lot project into financial difficulties during the last two years.
It went into default six months ago.
“Winchester, in general, was a development before its time,” said
longtime Meadow Vista Realtor Jan Webster, who owns Placer Hills
Realty. “Their starting home prices were a record high for the area.”
Webster said the development had an uphill battle from its onset
because of its high price tags in a mostly rural community and because
Meadow Vista is relatively unknown outside the area compared to other
luxury-home communities, such as those in Carmel or Monterey.
Resident Mark Evans and his wife, who moved to Winchester from the Bay
Area, believe not enough was done to market the development to Bay Area
residents, a key market for home sales in the area. “C.C. Myers didn’t
do the things he had to do to get people up here,” said Evans. “ The
development will sell itself, but you need to get people up here.”
Others note that Myers failed to respond to declining market conditions by reducing home and property prices in a timely manner.
Webster said the extensive costs of getting the project approved, which
took many years and met with resistance from county planners and
environmental groups, took its toll. Additionally, cost overruns in
infrastructure development for the rocky hillside terrain and Myers’
strict adherence to using quality materials throughout the development,
limited his ability to reduce prices later on, he said.
Auburn Realtor Laurie Whitton agrees the development “took time to get off the ground.”
“It just took too long to sell the homes,” she said.
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