BUENA VISTA, Va. – The nearly 20-year battle over the golf course in Buena Vista is over – Vista Links has been purchased by a developer out of Richmond.
Leaders said they have been paying on the golf course for nearly 20 years, and while the golf course is green, they’ve operated in ‘red’.
“The course never made money. It would vary depending upon the year, $50,000, $100,000, $150,000 to maintain out-of-pocket expenses,” Brian Kearney, Buena Vista City Manager, said.
The city opened the Vista Links golf course in 2005, putting the police department and municipal building on the line as collateral.
The insurance company, ACA Financial, sued when the city defaulted on a loan to secure the golf course.
It’s been a legal battle since.
Last month, The Ranch Golf Club, a developer out of Richmond, finalized an agreement and bought the land for under $1,000,000.
“It’s wonderful this is something that has been hanging over the city for some period of time, and so now we can move forward the private party now owns it, all the debt is gone,” Kearney said.
“We would like to see more businesses. We’ve got room for them too,” Becky Fairchild, a business owner, said.
The developer of the Ranch Golf Club said he’s still debating what will happen to the property that has the golf course.