Font ResizeWEST COVINA - From tipping fees to tee times.
That's what one developer has in mind for a former dump that he says could be a lavish, 18-hole golf course.
"We want to develop the project mainly because the location will sell itself," said Jun Lee, managing director of the developing company, Palacio Capital Partners, Inc. "We want to make this a championship golf course so all the public can enjoy it."
The City Council last month approved a six-month negotiating agreement with a developer who believes he could transform the 215-acre former dump overlooking the San Gabriel Valley.
The decision came just two months after the council voted against a round of bids to develop the golf course - which has long been part of the vision for the Big League Dreams sportsplex - because of financial hardships.
But Lee said that Palacio Capital Partners will spend nearly $200,000 of its own money over the next six months to develop site plans and try to attract other interested parties.
"We have no money at risk," City Manager Andrew Pasmant said. "They are going to spend a few hundred thousand dollars to analyze the feasibility of the project."
The City Council on July 1 rejected a round of bids for an 18-hole course, with construction costs ranging from $32 million to $40 million.
Pasmant said that since then, developers have approached city officials with golf course proposals.
Palacio Capital Partners
He expects green fees to run about $65.
He also said a second phase would include a hotel, although Lee said he is not sure what the cost will be.
Some residents suggested instead of spending $40 million to build a course, that the land be kept undeveloped.
But experts said a golf course could bring revenues to City Hall.
"We consider that golf courses have the magic triad. They are economic, environmental and recreational assets to a community, and the recreation and social aspects of a golf course really change the look, the feel, and the use of this property," said Greg Lyman, environmental programs director for Kansas-based Golf Course Superintendents Association of America.
Lyman said that golf courses are increasingly becoming more "green," and are a popular way to transform landfills into recreation destination.
National data shows that 37 percent of golf courses found in Southwest, including Souther California, use reclaimed water, Lyman said.
Still, residents and officials said funding is their top concern, despite reassurances from Lee that no public money would be used.
"I'm all for a privately funded golf course project in the BKK landfill property," said Councilman Roger Hernandez, who voted against the negotiating agreement. "But my fear is that the developer will eventually come back with multimillion taxpayer subsidy."
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