The Village at Woodcrest Will be Public Golf Course, Developer Says

A day after dropping $10.1 million to win the auction for the bankrupt Woodcrest Country Club, a development group posted a statement on a new club website indicating it intends to turn Woodcrest into a public course.

The three-paragraph statement on thevillageatwoodcrest.com from Cherry Hill Land Associates dubbed the new club The Village at Woodcrest, as an homage to the historically Jewish country club, which originally opened in 1929.

“The Village at Woodcrest...will be maintained to high standards and offer golf, swimming, tennis and banquet facilities rivaling the area’s private clubs,” the statement said, and also made a vague reference to a village or community the club would serve.

It's the only public statement the group, part of Marlton-based First Montgomery Group, has made thus far; calls to the group have gone unreturned. Though the statement was posted either later Monday or early Tuesday, the domain name for the new public course was registered Friday, ahead of the auction, by First Montgomery Group's marketing director.

While township and county officials said they were glad to hear of the decision to turn the club public, but continued to beat the drum against any development at the property at any point in the future.

“Council and I have said from the beginning that we want to see the country club property remain green, and we certainly welcome the Haydingers’ commitment today to running Woodcrest as a public golf course,” Cherry Hill Mayor Chuck Cahn said. “At the same time, I want to reiterate my hope and expectation that First Montgomery will honor the wishes of the entire Cherry Hill community and protect the integrity of this vast historically and environmentally valuable land in perpetuity. My position has not and will not waver: I do not want to see any piece of this property developed and I will not support any effort to rezone it.”

Similarly, Camden County freeholder Jeffrey Nash said his concerns are for the long-term status of the golf course, and the residents of the neighborhoods surrounding it.

“I will not back away from the statements I made yesterday about the significant investment and the intentions for a developer to build on it,” Nash said. “The reason the county entered the bidding on this parcel was to save it for perpetuity and make sure it stays green for generations of residents to come. Any effort to develop this property beyond open space will be met with substantial opposition given sensitive environmental and capacity issues.”

First Montgomery Group representatives didn't release a timeline for when the club might reopen, but noted the course's former superintendent, Patrick Lucas, had been contracted to keep the club in playing condition while the bankruptcy was resolved, meaning there shouldn't be a delay in getting the course to club-shape.

The auction's results still need to get final approval in U.S. Bankruptcy Court later this week, and the deal for the property could close by the end of May, according to bankruptcy trustee Bonnie Fatell.

For more on this story, read:

• End Comes for Woodcrest Country Club
• Possible Bidders File in Woodcrest Country Club Auction: Report
• Cherry Hill Calls for Tax Sale in Woodcrest Country Club Bankruptcy
• Woodcrest Country Club Could Go to Auction in May
• Woodcrest Country Club Goes to Auction May 20
• Woodcrest Country Club Closed-Door Auction Draws Members' Ire
• Woodcrest Bankruptcy Auction Turns Political
• Woodcrest Auction Bid Approved by Camden County Freeholders
• Norcross Announces Bid for Woodcrest Country Club
• Woodcrest Country Club Sold to Developer

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