Woodcrest Auction Bid Approved by Camden County Freeholders

Camden County is taking the lead on bidding for the bankrupt Woodcrest Country Club, after the freeholders approved a move Tuesday night to put up 10 percent of the minimum and enter the auction for the club, ahead of a Thursday deadline for bid qualification.

Calling it a vital move to help preserve the 155-acre, 84-year-old golf club as green space, freeholder Jeffrey Nash, a Cherry Hill resident himself, said the county stands with township officials in working to keep the club either as parkland or a public golf course.

“We have heard concerns from residents of the county and community stakeholders in Cherry Hill, and we believe this is an ideal property to protect from residential and commercial development,” Nash said. “At its essence, the Camden County Open Space Fund was created to save properties just like Woodcrest, and we are going to put our best foot forward to preserve this property.”

Funding for the county's bid could go beyond just the county's open space funds, possibly involving Green Acres money or third-party funds from groups like the Trust for Public Land, county spokesman Dan Keashen said.

“We would see what other funding mechanisms would be available,” he said.

That could also mean bringing in Cherry Hill's open space funding, which stands at around $1 million that's already been set aside for moves such as the Woodcrest bid.

The county has already completed an appraisal on the property, where surveyors have been spotted frequently in recent weeks, which came back with a value of $6.5 million for the club, Keashen said—in line with the auction's minimum bid, including fees.

Cherry Hill officials have spent better than a month on determining the best course of action in what council President David Fleisher called “a quick-moving situation” Monday night, when they acknowledged the township wasn't going it alone in the bid for Woodcrest.

The freeholders' involvement in the auction is a necessary step, Mayor Chuck Cahn said.

“As the largest piece of green space left in this township, it is imperative that we do everything in our power to protect it from development that could change the entire landscape of our community,” Cahn said. “Through the county’s participation in this auction, we give the residents of Cherry Hill a seat at the table and, most importantly, a say in the future of this property.”

Though the county is now heading the bid, Cherry Hill township officials aren't divorced from the process, and will be involved with Monday's auction.

“We will be there, but at this point they're the lead,” township spokeswoman Bridget Palmer said.

The bid to turn the club into publicly owned land has met with some opposition, though, including from Cherry Hill Republicans, who voiced concerns over perceived conflicts of interest, as well as the short- and long-term costs of taking the property out of private hands.

“Buying this property could result in increased property taxes,” said John Galie, one of four Republicans running for council seats this fall. “As a resident and a taxpayer in Cherry Hill, I…am opposed to town council taking any action to acquire the bankrupt Woodcrest Country Club.”

The county's involvement was also questioned by the Republicans, who raised the specter of the Pennsauken Mart, a county-owned site which remains vacant six years after being demolished to make way for what was originally planned as an arena and conference center.

“Personally, I don't want the county involved in Cherry Hill any more than they already are,” said Phil Guerrieri.

Township officials have stuck to the line they'd prefer to have a private bidder come in and continue to operate Woodcrest as a golf course, and have repeatedly said they oppose any changes to the property's zoning to allow development there.

But barring what they called the ideal scenario, steps needed to be taken to ensure the property stays as green space, township officials said.

“I say without apology that the mayor and all of council…are very much in favor and will be undeterred in fighting to keep the Woodcrest Country Club space as open space,” Fleisher said Monday.

The Woodcrest auction, which will be behind closed doors next Monday at the law firm Blank Rome in Philadelphia, is the final step in what's been a three-month saga that began when bankruptcy trustee Bonnie Fatell declared the club no longer had any money to operate and would shut down ahead of the 2013 operating season.

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