Come Monday, Tempe will have one less nine-hole public golf course.
Sunday will be the last day of play at Pepperwood Public Golf Course. According to neighbors and staff, owner Mulligan Investments has put the property up for sale.
Mulligan Investments bought the 44-acre course near Baseline and Kyrene roads at auction in December for $2 million. They are the third owners in three years.
Residents, who last year worked with the city to clean up the property after the previous owner neglected it, say the current owners have vastly improved the course in recent months. They worry, though, that the landscaping will again be neglected while it sits on the market, that the course could be redeveloped into homes or apartments, that course views will be lost and that property values will be affected.
"It's just a wait-and-see thing," said Nancy Harvey, whose back yard backs up to the course. "They said they don't even know what they'll do with it, but they are ready to do battle with us."
When Harvey sent out e-mails last week notifying her neighbors of the news, several suggested the homeowners go in together and buy the course.
"It's not like it hasn't been talked about before, but it couldn't happen," Harvey said. "The homeowners wouldn't even pay a 50-cent fee to fix the swimming pool, and we could never afford to keep it (the golf course) up."
But this neighborhood has fought problem owners before, and Harvey said they will continue to fight.
According to the declaration of use, it has to stay a golf course until next year. The land is zoned agricultural, and General Plan 2030 designates it as low density residential. The golf course is a water retention basin, so any redevelopment plans would have to find retention alternatives and go through the city rezoning process.
Mulligan Investments spokesman Joe Cook did not return The Republic's call.
Harvey, who has served as president of the Pepperwood Townhomes Homeowners Association for 16 years, said Cook told her the company is "entertaining any and all offers." She was told the course was not making profitable enough.
"My question is why now and why can't they try for another season?" she said.
She said since the course has improved in recent months, so has usage. "Sunday was the first time we've seen backup on the holes for a long time," she said.
Golf course staff said there are still tee times open for Sunday. Four tournaments scheduled for September have been canceled.
Source: The Arizona Repubic