WINTON, Va. – The Winton Country Club, off Route 151 in Amherst County, has been a tough property for county leaders to maintain.
"Essentially, change was needed. It gave us an opportunity to say what developer can come in with a really great vision," Victoria Hanson, executive director of the Economic Development Authority of Amherst County, said.
The 286-acre property is home to a golf course, a swimming pool and a historic manor house with a rarely used banquet hall. But one developer wants to bring the historic land back to life. Waukeshaw Development Inc. wants to pay $800,000 in cash for the land.
"I think about what we can do on a property like that to really enhance it in a way so that we don't ruin its character but that we create something really special there," Dave McCormack, president of Waukeshaw Development Inc., said.
McCormack has already bought the 1930s barn and will transform it into a brewery, but he said more can be done.
"I still think there should be weddings and parties at the house, but I also wonder if we can't in some way leverage the location and do something that compliments the beer, what's happening with the beer industry out there," McCormack said.
County leaders expect several million dollars in economic activity and say this will help create new jobs too.
"So, one chapter is closing, another is opening. It's revitalizing and bringing a lot of energy back to a beautiful location that people love," Hanson said.