Palm Springs will soon have its own “central parks” or, more precisely, a “central preserve”, after Oswit Land Trust transforms the Mesquite Golf Course to a desert nature preserve.
Jane Garrison, founder and executive director of Oswit Land Trust, made the announcement of the non-profit’s purchase of the golf course Tuesday to more than 100 emotional supporters in a room at Demuth Center. Oswit Land Trust has been looking for ways to purchase Palm Springs’ failing golf courses and restore them to their natural desert habitat for years. Oswit, formerly known as the Mesquite Desert Preserve has described the project as “the largest desert restoration program in California.”
On Tuesday, the project was renamed to the Prescott Preserve in honor of Brad Prescott, a long-time Palm Springs resident who purchased the golf course from the Prescott Foundation and donated it to Oswit Land Trust.
Garrison said that the sale price of the course wasn’t disclosed Tuesday. However, the most recent assessed value was $1,517584 in 2022. The property was originally listed for $15 million in 2018.
Prescott’s purchase allowed Oswit Land Trust skip the long process of applying grants for the property. This would have allowed a developer or broker to beat Oswit Land Trust in the purchase of the course, Garrison said.
“We envision a place for everyone to walk their dogs with leashed dogs. It’s going be like our central park. We’ll have it right in the middle. Garrison stated that lush gardens are what Garrison envisions, as well as butterfly gardens, educational signage and floating docks for migratory bird species.
Oswit Land Trust plans to convert a maintenance building onto the property into an education- and nature center. It will also establish a memorial forest, where desert trees can dedicated in memory of a loved. Garrison announced Tuesday that Prescott’s husband will be the first tree to be planted on the property.
Oswit Land Trust has referred to the Mesquite Desert Preserve over the years as its most ambitious project. It purchased the Mesquite Golf Course, and the Bel Air Greens nearby. Then it converted the two courses into desert habitat.
Garrison reports that Oswit Land Trust received a $4 million grant from the city to purchase Bel Air Greens. The trust is still seeking the property. A proposal to build homes on this former course is currently being processed through the city’s planning process. The next public meeting will be held on Wednesday.
Closing golf courses and converting to another use
According to the National Golf Foundation, after a boom in golf course construction in the 1990s and 2000s, the industry spent the last 15 years contracting to address overbuilding.
There are increasing numbers of abandoned golf courses, which is causing discussions at the state and local levels about how to best use large areas of land that are often surrounded with residential development.
According to the National Golf Foundation, 130 U.S. courses will close in 2021. This is down from the peak of 250 closings in 2019. The U.S. boasts over 16,000 golf courses, with an average area of 150 acres. This size often attracts the attention of potential developers.
Mesquite joins Rancho Mirage Country Club and Santa Rosa Country Club as the third desert golf course to go under the hammer in recent years. Two former Palm Springs golf properties, the nine-hole Bel-Air Greens, and the 18-hole Palm Springs Country Club were abandoned years ago. There have been various attempts to develop them, but none of these projects succeeded. Bel-Air Greens is located to the east of Mesquite Country Club.
According to the National Golf Foundation, 40% of shuttered golf courses are being used for commercial and residential development.
Developers aren’t alone in their desire to develop golf courses for housing. California is facing a housing crisis. Experts say it’s caused by a shortage of housing supply. Cities are struggling to meet state housing goals. State legislators and local officials are looking at golf courses to solve the housing crunch.
Cristina Silva (D-Bell Gardens), a recent Assemblymember, proposed that cities be incentivized to convert municipal golf course to affordable housing. However, this bill was killed during the committee process.
The Palm Springs proposal for Bel-Air Greens to convert the golf course into an apartment community would see 71 homes built. According to a new agreement that was approved by the city last January, the Palm Springs Country Club will become 386 homes.
Mesquite Country Club was listed for sale for the first time in 2018. It was advertised as a suitable location for building between 250-350 housing units.
Plans for Prescott Preserve
Oswit Land Trust won’t remove trees during the restoration process. The nature preserve will also include a botanic garden and a nature reserve. The nonprofit will hire an environmental planning firm and hold community meetings to discuss the improvements and site plan. These will include designated wildlife-only areas and areas that are open to public use.
Oswit Land Trust will immediately apply for grants to plan and establish the reserve. This process is expected to take between one and five years. During the construction process, a designated loop trail will be available for public use.
The Mesquite Country Club was designed by Bert Stamps and opened in 1984. It is known for its narrow fairways and short par-5s. The course was closed in the summer of recent years.
Oswit Land Trust was originally called Save Oswit Canyon. It was an effort to protect the Oswit Canyon area west and south of South Palm Drive, at the San Jacinto Mountains. This area was originally planned for residential development. Four years of work around Oswit Canyon culminated with the $7.15million sale of the property. The land is now open space.
Oswit Land Trust purchased 3,500 acres of desert land, known as Palm Hills, or the Goat Trails in April. This was one of the largest conservation deals in Coachella Valley history. The Coachella Valley Mountains Conservancy funded the sale.
Desert Sun golf writer Larry Bohannan was a contributor to this report.
By: Erin Rode
Title: This California golf course with stunning mountain views is closing and will soon become a nature preserve
Sourced From: golfweek.usatoday.com/2022/07/27/golf-course-closure-california-mesquite-golf-course-palm-springs/
Published Date: Wed, 27 Jul 2022 18:12:53 +0000
Leave a Reply