legal skirmish may be factor in proposed el paso golf course redevelopment

Speculation continues to grow regarding the future of an 18-hole El Paso golf course that was closed in the spring of 2019 for financial reasons.

Located at 2210 Trawood Drive, the Vista Hills Country Club  is situated in a neighborhood where many of the homes are listed at $300,000 and above, and is regarded as one of the most valuable properties on the east side of the city.

Opened in the mid-1970s, the country club, with 161 golfing acres, was regarded as the primary reason why the surrounding neighborhood grew, with residential construction seen in the hundreds of new homes built in subsequent decades.

But the country club and course fell on hard times when memberships decreased to the point where the owners could no longer keep up with the facility’s basic maintenance expenses, but were also unable to sell the property.

In the immediate months after the club and course closed, area residents organized what they called a Good Neighbor Program, raising funds to pay for the basic upkeep of the property.

But the larger question of what will ultimately happen to the course has remained unanswered, with proposals aired to turn all or part of the property over for the construction of up to 60 new residential units.

Now the country club’s shareholders have agreed to a contract selling the property, but that transaction may have to await the result of several legal actions centering on, among other things, a long-time investor who is trying to recoup money he earlier put into the golf course.

When the various suits will come to trial remains unknown, as goes with the fate of deed restriction that was placed on the property years ago stipulating it could only be used as a golf course.

It is thought that that restriction could be lifted, but only through yet another court proceeding.
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Selling price for the clubhouse and larger property, which includes a pro shop, several dining areas, and a junior Olympic swimming pool, has been listed at $2.3 million.

​By Garry Boulard

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