The Royal York Golf Course.
Image Credit: FACEBOOK/Royal York Golf Course
July 15, 2020 - 5:30 PM
The Armstrong golf course is slated for up to 200 new homes and a revamped shorter course, once its sale to a local realtor is finalized.
The Royal York Golf Course, which has been on the market for around a decade, has been conditionally sold to Armstrong realtor Patrick Place, who is planning to build housing on a little less than half of the 65-acre site.
"For the community, it's a change, there's no doubt about it," Place said.
He is quick to point out a golf course will still exist on the site, and says a nine-hole, par-three pitch-and-putt course will remain, along with a driving range, and the clubhouse.
An Armstrong resident for 28 years, Place said the long term 10-year plan is to build up to 200 homes, consisting largely of single-family residential, as well as a multi-family strata development. Some kind of affordable housing is also on the list. Along with the housing, a two-kilometre walking trail is also including as well as an off-leash dog park, daycare and playground. Prior to anything happening, the site will need rezoning, which Place hopes to apply for by the end of the year.
The current golf course had been eyed by developers previously and the York family who owns the course had accepted an offer in 2018 but the sale had fallen through. Place wouldn't say how much the land had cost, citing that the sale wasn't 100 per cent complete yet.
In May 2019 Todd York told iNFOnews.ca the decline of players in the golf industry meant no one was willing to buy golf courses and banks weren't willing to lend people the money to do so.
With developers eyeing the site, the Armstrong Green Space Society formed in opposition to the golf course being rezoned to allow for development.
Place, who purchased the property with two business partners, says he understands the concern but says the golf course wasn't financially viable and only used by around 200 people.
He said a nine-hole course will be more accessible.
"What we are hoping to do is create a golf course that is fun, challenging, we can keep the price affordable, and we can make it available to the community, to a wider range of people," he said.
As for the development, Place said he has gone through the Official Community Plan of Armstrong and tried to identify the things that are most important to the community.
"The things that were most important... were affordable housing, nature trails, recreation opportunities," he says. "We have really tried to take the whole community into focus."
Place said he is willing to listen to people and be accessible to answer questions by the public surrounding the proposed development.
A public meeting advertised to take place at the Royal York clubhouse Aug. 15 will not take place and will be rescheduled.
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