Millcreek Township awards bid for Erie Golf Club sale. Court must approve the agreement

Millcreek Township is a step closer to selling the Erie Golf Club.

Township supervisors on Tuesday awarded a bid for the purchase of the 175-acre property at 6050 Old Zuck Road to the Charles R. Van Eekeren Revocable Trust for $1,311,000.

Five bids were received for the property. Purchase offers began at $140,000.

Township supervisors also approved a contingency agreement to award the property to the second-highest bidder if the sale agreement falls through. Because the course is publicly owned, the Erie County Orphans' Court must approve the sale.

Arturo Negrete, who bid $801,000 for the club, will be offered a 60-day due diligence period to investigate property title matters and the condition of buildings, facilities and systems, and to survey the property and conduct a wetlands assessment, township solicitor Mark Shaw said.

The township afterward would have 30 days to address any issues.

If approved by the court, the closing on the sale to the appropriate bidder likely would be finalized late this year or early next year, Shaw said.

The Erie Golf Club property includes the 18-hole course and a 5,532-square-foot clubhouse with kitchen, dining room, pro shop and outdoor patio. Also included in the sale are maintenance and golf cart buildings, a pump house, parking lot, and creek-fed irrigation system.

Previous reporting: Erie Golf Club could have new owner by end of 2024 after judge approves petition to sell course

Township acquired course in 2009

Although located in Millcreek, the golf course previously was owned by the City of Erie. City officials closed the course in 2007, saying it was too expensive to operate.

Millcreek Township acquired the property in 2009 as part of a complicated deal to enable the $83 million runway extension that was completed at Erie International Airport in 2012.

The airport acquired property needed for the longer runway from the Millcreek Golf and Learning Center, reducing it from nine holes to six. The city got almost $2.2 million in runway funding to transfer Erie Golf Club to Millcreek Township as a trade-off for the holes lost.

The city used the money to pay off its debt for golf course renovations begun in 2004. The cost included the placement of a soil cap over waste materials uncovered during the work. There had been a city dumpsite on the property before the course was built.

Contact Valerie Myers at vmyers@timesnews.com .

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Millcreek Township awards bid for Erie Golf Club sale. Court must approve the agreement