Bloomingdale moving ahead with purchase of former golf course

Bloomingdale is going to borrow $14.05 million so it can purchase the former golf course at Indian Lakes Resort to protect it from development.

The village is buying the roughly 188-acre former golf course as well as 15 acres along the south side of Schick Road between Country Club and Cardinal drives. The sale will be finalized by Dec. 7, officials said.

"It is a huge honor for our village board to have been able to acquire this significant community asset and maintain it as open space for our future generations," Village President Franco Coladipietro said.

While the price of the land at Indian Lakes is $8 million, the village is borrowing $14 million to refinance other debts and save money on interest payments.

Coladipietro says the deal with First ILR LLC - which owns Indian Lakes - doesn't include the hotel. Meanwhile, a conference center included in the deal is being demolished because the building is functionally obsolete.

After the golf course closed in 2016, First ILR and K. Hovnanian Homes proposed a plan to construct 535 ranch-style houses on the property. But residents strongly opposed the idea. And the first public hearing about the proposal in spring 2019 drew more than 700 people.

Even members of Bloomingdale planning and zoning commission raised concerns about potential flooding, increased traffic, decreased property values and the removal of more than 1,000 high-quality trees.

Residents reached out to the village board to purchase the property and conserve it as open space.

"The feedback greatly assisted in the decision to move forward with the purchase," Coladipietro said.

Bloomingdale agreed to buy the property after First ILR couldn't find another commercial buyer.

Coladipietro said the COVID-19 pandemic helped illustrate how vital open space is to a community.

"The current pandemic has heightened our awareness and need for open space (and) recreational areas to utilize in our everyday lives," Coladipietro said.