Libertyville puts golf center up for sale to help finances
Another hunk of the Libertyville Sports Complex is for sale.
This time, the Golf Learning Center, featuring an extensive driving range with heated tees and several target greens, isn't meeting expectations and the village wants to cut its losses.
"It hasn't generated the revenue we thought it would," Village Administrator Kevin Bowens said.
The golf center is one of three distinct pieces of the sports complex, which opened six years ago at Peterson Road and Route 45. The Family Entertainment Center, which featured an adventure minigolf course on 6 acres, did not attract the anticipated crowds and has been for sale for nearly two years.
Advertised as a prime retail spot, the site generated two offers but both fell through.
"With the way the economy is, neither developer has been able to put something together," Bowens said.
Most recently, the village agreed to sell the golf center for more than $4 million. But the contract with JSJ Libertyville Venture LLC expired Monday.
A pharmacy, chain restaurant or other small retailers were suggested as possibilities.
The village board Tuesday renewed a brokerage agreement with Inland Real Estate Sales Inc., and added the 26-acre golf center to the package, hoping to generate more interest.
That piece could fetch $11 million to $18 million, according to the price range established by the village, although the land could be divided.
The village issued $4.5 million in bonds to buy the land for the complex and $20 million to build the facilities. Officials have always maintained that parts could be sold if they weren't performing.
The cavernous indoor sports complex, with soccer fields, basketball courts, a climbing wall and fitness center, is not affected.
Village officials said the interest in golf has been flat in recent years. While the golf center has made money, it has not been enough to cover the debt payments, which are divided equally among the three parts.
The golf portion, for example, made $105,000 for the fiscal year that ended May 1, but was $511,000 in the red when its portion of the debt service was considered.
Estimates show the three components of the Sports Complex had a net loss of more than $1.3 million in the fiscal year covering 2007-08, with a projected net loss of $1.5 million for the fiscal year covering 2008-09.