Board to discuss plans for golf club

BARBARA LIVINGSTON NACKMAN
THE JOURNAL NEWS
Original publication: Jan. 23, 2001

Garrison - Plans to renovate the buildings at the Garrison Golf Club and restore it as a retreat for golfers and non-golfers are moving ahead with the Philipstown Town Board meeting this week to discuss the project's environmental review.

The board, which declared itself the lead agency for the project Jan. 4, will determine what factors the club's owners need to study and how the project could affect the town at its meeting tomorrow.

The board will accept any written comments on its review procedures through Feb. 2.

"It's a fairly bucolic area. We know that this will have some affect and want to take a good look," said Councilman Anthony Merante.

The project is extensive, town building inspector Tom Monroe said yesterday. The owners, he said, have indicated that they want to proceed with construction in stages once approval is granted.

The plan shows a new banquet facility for 250 guests; overnight accommodations for 40 people; a 120-seat restaurant; and a spa with an exercise room, swimming pool and treatment rooms, according to plans on file at Town Hall.

The property is on Route 9 by Snake Hill Road.

On the site is an 18-hole semi-private, championship golf course, a bar and grill, a banquet hall and a caretaker's cottage.

The renovation will be confined to about a 19-acre portion of the property within the 200 acres that make up the golf course.

The owners, Sharon and Chris Davis of Garrison and New York City, bought the property in 1999 for $6.5 million in an effort to ensure that the land, with its expansive Hudson River views, would not become a housing subdivision. The purchase also included nearly 100 acres that are not part of the golf course.

The owners granted easements to the Open Space Institute, a land protection group, to allow hikers and cross-country skiers to use the property.

The Davis' have also said that renovations would open the club for more non-golfers to enjoy. They did not return telephone calls yesterday.

"It is a significant chunk of land that could have gone another way," said Merante. "With the intensity of development elsewhere, we could be looking at a much different type of project."

In its heyday, the club was owned by New York City boxing club owner Bill Brown. He added a health spa and enticed Hollywood stars such as Jackie Gleason and Tyrone Power to visit the club, which became well-known as a country retreat.

The property was sold in the 1960s and turned into a private golf club.

A Japanese investment group bought the club 13 years ago and opened it to the public. It was marketed for a year before the Davis' made an offer.

The meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall, 238 Main St.