Ridgemark Golf & Country Club was officially sold last week, confirmed the club’s president and general manager, Alex Kehriotis.
Ridgemark’s sale went through a week ago and it was purchased by John Wynn, who owns or owned a golf course in Hawaii, Kehriotis said.
“I wish them all the best of luck—the new buyer and the community—and I think if they all work together they are going to come out of this very successfully and it will be good for Ridgemark and San Benito County,” he said.
JMK Golf, LLC, acquired the golf course in 2009 but company’s “bread and butter” has been apartments, commercial real estate and retail real estate, Kehriotis said.
Kehriotis declined to confirm financial terms of the Ridgemark sale.
Tax records indicate the sale was for $11.5 million. The Free Lance calculated this amount using the document tax, which was $12,650, according to Javana Sammons, office manager for the San Benito County Government County assessor. The Free Lance divided the total tax amount by $1.10, which is the amount of tax due for every $1,000 of sale, and then multiplied that number by 1,000.
“I think we’re going to stay of out of the golf course industry for a while,” Kehriotis said with a laugh. “It was a wild ride.”
A four-year drought—along with a general decline for the golf industry—hit during JMK’s ownership tenure.
“The golf course industry has changed in the last five, 10, 15 years,” Kehriotis said. “And this historic drought certainly brought about new challenges.”
Holes 11 through 18 of the Gabilan Course at Ridgemark were set to close in 2014. At the time, Kehriotis told the Free Lance there wasn’t enough demand for golf to support a 36-hole facility.
A lawsuit with a Ridgemark homeowners’ association initially slowed the sale. Wynn met with the homeowners association for several months and Kehriotis believed something was being submitted to the association’s membership for a vote, he said this week.
JMK will be taking a break from the golf course industry for a while, he said.
“This was a fun experience and something I’ll never forget,” Kehriotis said with a laugh.
Look back for updates.
