A handful of real estate developers have teed up big-dollar bids to gauge members’ interest in selling the Santa Ana Country Club.
The developers envision building apartments, homes and retail space on the club’s nearly 127 acres of land, which is near the intersection of the Costa Mesa (55) Freeway and Bristol Street and straddles the Costa Mesa and Newport Beach city lines.
Offers for the property have ranged from about $200 million to $250 million, according to sources familiar with the bidding.
It’s not known whether the required percentage of the club’s membership is interested in selling the property, regardless of price.
The Santa Ana Country Club bills itself as the oldest golf club in Orange County, with a history that dates to 1901, when it began at a different location.
It has owned the site of its current home—which it bought for $71,000—since 1923, according to the club’s website.
Members of the club include numerous lawyers, accountants and real estate executives with lengthy ties to the community.
Calls to members of the club’s executive committee were not returned last week. A number of other club members declined to comment on the record about a potential sale, citing the contentious nature of the proposal within the club’s ranks.
At least three developers are believed to have made formal bids for the club so far: Shopoff Realty Investments and SunCal Cos., both based in Irvine, and Watt Cos. in Santa Monica.
Newport Beach-based Irvine Company has also been mentioned as a potential bidder, but there’s been no confirmation that OC’s dominant real estate company has interest in joining the field.
Costa Mesa Entitlements
Any sale would be contingent on the developer getting the necessary entitlements for the property.
The Santa Ana Country Club, despite its name, is technically on unincorporated county land. Its members pushed to get the city of Newport Beach to annex the land in prior years, but the city of Costa Mesa fought those efforts.
The property currently falls within the sphere of influence of Costa Mesa, so any entitlement work would largely go through that city’s planning agency.
Developer proposals for the land are said to range from building less than 1,000 residential units on the club property to “several thousand” units, with a mix of apartments and for-sale properties.
Shopoff
Bill Shopoff, chief executive of Shopoff Realty Investments, said his company’s proposal falls in in the middle of that range and would likely emphasize apartments, along with some retail uses.
Shopoff, whose largest local project under way is the 25-acre Uptown Newport mixed-use development on Jamboree Road, said he approached the club with a bid after hearing about other developer groups eyeing the site.
“I thought I’d be stupid not to take a look” at making a deal, said Shopoff, citing the land’s enviable location.
A unit of Watt Cos., the real estate company founded by late development icon Ray Watt, is also said to have an offer on the table to buy the country club.
SunCal Cos., which hasn’t been active in Orange County’s development scene since its well-documented fallout with one-time finance partner Lehman Bros. during the last recession, also is believed to have made a bid.
SunCal officials declined to comment about their potential involvement in the property, but said in a statement that “our company is always seeking new business opportunities throughout the nation.”
Shopoff said his understanding is that the club’s membership is currently exploring the potential for a sale with no firm timeline for a deal getting done.
It’s believed that 75% of the club’s members would need to approve a sale in order for the deal to move ahead. Estimates for the number of members at the club range from 400 to 600.
No Problems Wanted
Shopoff emphasized that he wasn’t looking to create problems within the membership by putting forth a bid.
“I have friends at the club,” he said. “I hope to get invited back” if the deal doesn’t go through.
But if the choice on whether to sell comes down to economics, “then it’s an easy decision” for the members, Shopoff said.
Members would appear to be in line to make back their initial investment several times over if a deal goes through.
Club memberships are said to run in the $75,000 range.
A conservative estimate for the sale—figuring the low end of estimates of the offers and the high end of the number of members—would come to about $333,000 per membership.
Member’s Perspective
The potential for a deal has garnered the attention of at least one of the club’s members who’s also a developer.
“As a real estate investor, I’m always focused on the highest and best use for a property,” said Bill Halford, chief executive of Irvine-based real estate investor Bixby Land Co.
“If converting my equity investment in a country club is potentially worth five times that as housing or apartments, I’m all ears,” Halford said.
Developer interest in the property appears to have taken root following another contentious issue for members at the club—a potential renovation of the golf course.
The proposed renovation, if it moves ahead, could cost the club about $8 million or so and would take portions of the course out of commission for some time.
That plan is said to have recently passed by a narrow margin among club members, but could now be in limbo amid the potential sale of the club property.
