It’s a go for a round of golf in the fall of 2014.
The long-awaited golf course at Ferry Point Park is taking shape, with more than two-thirds of the 18-holes growing grass in preparation for the fall 2014 opening.
Representatives from Community Board 10 recently toured the facility, and came away with glowing reports.
The City is constructing the course, which will be operated by concessionaire Donald Trump’s Trump Organization.
The course is hopefully going to be the scene of major golf tournaments which could easily be glammed up for television cameras with scenic views of the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge and Manhattan skyline visible in the distance, according to a report published in the New York Post.
The parkland was a city landfill until the early 1960s.
“Approximately $100 million is being spent by the City to construct the course,” said Parks Department spokesman Zachary Feder. “This number includes the removal of municipal solid waste done as part of the construction.”
As the concessionaire, Feder said, “Trump is responsible for all course maintenance and grow-in expenses.”
Over the next 10 years, Trump is projected to invest $25 million for maintenance and general improvements, Feder said. Trump must also invest no less then $10 million in constructing a City-owned clubhouse that will include its own dining facilities.
CB 10 district manager Kenneth Kearns noted the the benefits to the local community.
“They committed to doing golf clinics for local youth,” said Kearns. “I image that it would also have some residual effect on businesses in the area. I think people coming to the area will grow to understand that there are some quality restaurants and stores here, and come to patronize them.”
The board will be working closely with the Parks Department to make sure that the golf course becomes a neighborhood resource, and that the perimeter remains free of debris and is well-maintained, said Kearns.
CB 10 Parks Committee chairwoman Virginia Gallagher offered a glowing review of the golf course at CB 10’s general board meeting on Thursday, June 20.
“It is the most beautiful golf course that I have seen,” said Gallagher. “It is going to be one of the greatest assets to the borough.”
She added that it should greatly enhance the view as motorists drive in from Queens on the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge.
The golf-course is a “links style” golf course that will not have any trees, said Feder.
Trump was selected to operate the course after submitting the best plan in a city Request for Proposals, he said.
The concession was originally awarded to another developer during the Giuliani Administration 16 years ago. But that developer backed out of the deal after suffering hardship.
Patrick Rocchio can be reach via e-mail at procchio@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 742-3393
