Summit Club Receives Temporary Permit Extension; Hearings Set
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The operators of the Summit Club in Armonk received a six-month extension of their temporary special use permit to operate the golf course while the town continues to review plans for the site’s proposed 72 luxury condominiums.
Last week, the Town Board granted the temporary permit through June 30, so the golf course can reopen in the spring. The previous temporary special permit had expired on Dec. 31.
While issuance of the permit was routine, representatives for the applicant revealed last week that they want to be able to offer golf rounds to the general public until the project is built. They also asked for the club to possibly operate a day camp for up to 100 children. Campers would only be children of members.
Jeff Mendel, a principal of Summit Partners, said allowing the club to temporarily bring in non-members would help bring in extra revenue. While he didn’t exactly say how much a round of golf would cost for the general public, it would be a far greater expense than a round at a public course.
“It’s not really to take the guy in off the street, and it’s not going to be a low-cost situation,” Mendel said. “It’ll be more expensive than the county-owned public golf courses.”
Some concern was raised by the Town Board about whether temporary public play, and potentially at a future date, a day camp, would increase traffic on Route 22 and neighboring roads. The golf course has a capacity of no more than 144 golfers out at one time, said attorney Mark Weingarten, representing the Summit club.
Weingarten added that unlike when the course operated as the Brynwood Club and many years earlier as the Canyon Club, the golf course had the same capacity, plus there were catering facilities that could accommodate close to 400 guests, typically on the weekends. There is no longer a catering facility on the ground, and even if the club reached its capacity of 500 golf club members, the cap on the number of golfers would limit traffic impacts.
“I don’t think there’s even a remote possibility that there would be a crowd,” Mendel said. “Standing in line to play at over a hundred dollars a round? So there’s sort of a natural limitation based upon the pricing model.”
Supervisor Michael Schiliro and Councilwoman Barbara DiGiacinto agreed overcrowding would be unlikely.
“I have no problem with the temporary public use of the golf course,” DiGiacinto said. “Like the supervisor said, it’s self-regulating because who wants to be at a golf course for six or seven hours.”
Mendel said his team is prepared to release a marketing video on the Summit Club’s website in hopes of attracting interest in the residences. With the dearth of housing for empty-nesters and the active senior crowd, he expressed confidence that the units will sell. Comparable housing, such as the 93-unit St. Regis in Rye, sold quickly, Mendel said.
“The concept here is to build luxury housing for empty-nesters, for people like myself whose kids have grown up and moved away and you’re still in the big house and there are not really any acceptable alternatives in Westchester County,” he said. “There is literally no place to move to.”
The size of the two- and three-bedroom units will range from 2,535 to 3,237 square feet.
Once completed, the project will feature six structures containing the 72 units, six tennis courts, two pickleball courts, a pool and jacuzzi, an amenities building and a maintenance storage facility.
The Town Board scheduled a series of three public hearings for Wednesday Mar. 22 that will address the permanent special use permit, temporary public use of the golf course and the conservation easement. The easement would guarantee that the roughly 130-acre golf course would either continue to be used as a golf course or remain open space in perpetuity.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
