The Pike Creek Golf Club abruptly closed on July 26, leaving the future of the 174-acre property uncertain.
The Onix Group, the Kennett Square, Pa., developer that owns the property, closed the course due to membership declines caused by increased competition, the hilly terrain and vandalism, said Marisa Erdman, vice president of marketing.
The company is studying all options, Erdman said, including reviewing whether the property can be developed.
Developing the golf course is prohibited, according to New Castle County. Since the golf course was recorded as open space, it must remain open space, said Stephanie Rizzo, aide to Councilman Tim Sheldon (D-Pike Creek).
If Onix tries to develop the course, it could create a legal battle between the developer and the county, Rizzo said.
The company has submitted engineering plans for a 20-unit townhouse development near the course on Hogan Drive, Rizzo said. That development will be allowed to go forward since it was recorded in the 1980s and never expired because it was a minor plan, she said.
But the townhomes must be developed using modern standards, she said, and new cul-de-sac requirements might force Onix to build fewer than 20 homes.
This is the right time to develop that more-than-20-year-old plan since it might help Onix recoup some of its losses from the golf course, Erdman said.
Now that the course is closed, Onix will not keep maintaining the club to the standards of an operating 18-hole course, she said, but the company does not intend to abandon the property.
However, Pike Creek Valley Civic League President Jeff Peters is still worried the course could be turned into a housing development or, at the very least, left to grow uncontrolled.
“To see that eventually just go to brambles and scrub is certainly a negative for all those neighborhoods,” he said. “I can’t imagine how this is going to shake out.”
