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Future of The Shores Country Club Now in Hands of Feds

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The Shores - Golf & Tennis Community - North Rockwall

Just when it seemed that there was renewed hope for a revitalized Shores Country Club, came the news that the bank holding the note on it was shut down by the FDIC last Friday.

Last week, in a meeting with homeowners associations adjacent to the club, Oklahoma City attorney John W. Dunn outlined plans for a partnership with Landscapes Unlimited, a past bidder on the property, to acquire and upgrade the facility. Landscapes had submitted an offer earlier this summer after the club closed, but withdrew it after determining that going it alone would have left them financially overextended. Dunn's meeting was a first step toward gauging the market among homeowners who felt burned by the previous management, to see if they would be interested in supporting a new and improved club in their back yard.

Plans presented to the group included a larger, upgraded pool with amenities such as volleyball nets and basketball hoops, play fields and a driving range. The golf course itself would be re-seeded and prepared for re-opening in the spring. Mr. Dunn said that he wanted to see the club run more as a family-oriented recreation center to appeal to all age groups as well as avid golfers.

At the Shores Homeowners Association annual general membership meeting on Sunday, the reaction was generally positive toward the new proposal, the sentiment being "If he builds it, we will come". In light of the mismanagement of the club by the previous owners, IRI Golf, there was a certain amount of skepticism tinged with a desire to see and hear more.

In an email to the HOA on Sunday, Mr. Dunn stated, "If the bank views the deal structure favorably, our group will likely move forward", pending the outcome of a bankruptcy hearing scheduled for mid-November.

That was all before today's announcement that the bank holding the existing note, Hillcrest Bank in Overland Park, Kansas, was taken over by federal bank regulators over the weekend. It is still too early to tell how this would impact negotiations between the new buyers and the bank to structure the new deal, but even if it is allowed to go through as planned, there are bound to be significant delays at best. At worst, well, keep your bookmarks tuned to Planet Rockwall for more as events unfold.

Bob Lewis
Planet Rockwall