One of the Chicago area’s most prestigious country clubs and golf courses is seeking a new home.
The exclusive Olympia Fields Country Club has asked its namesake village to annex its property, which includes 25 homes and two 18-hole golf courses. The private club opened in 1915 and will once again host the PGA’s BMW Championship in August.
The enormous clubhouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Amos Alonzo Stagg, the famed University of Chicago football coach and namesake of a Palos Hills high school, was the club’s first president.
The club requested annexation after more than a century operating in unincorporated Cook County because of frustration dealing with the county’s bureaucracy, club President William McErlean said.
“Even though this will cost us more in real estate taxes and sales taxes, we believe it’s in the best interests of the club to finally become part of the village of Olympia Fields,” McErlean said.
More Top Picks Best Blue Light Glasses For Students
Maintaining the magnificent clubhouse requires near-constant construction, he said.
“It takes us too long to get permits. We get no responses,” McErlean told the Olympia Fields Planning & Zoning Commission Tuesday night during a public hearing. “It takes forever to get inspectors out there. It just is not a very efficient way for us to do business.”
The commission unanimously recommended the Village Board approve the club’s request that Olympia Fields annex the property and zone it for R1 residential use.
Olympia Fields covers less than 3 square miles and is home to fewer than 5,000 residents. The country club, located east of the Metra Electric line between Vollmer Road and Lincoln Highway, cuts a swath through the middle of town.
“This large patch of green here divides Olympia Fields completely in half,” building commissioner John McDonnell told commission members as he described a village zoning map.
If the Village Board approves the recommendation and both parties sign an annexation agreement, the village stands to gain additional annual revenue from property and sales taxes.
The extra income would more than offset costs of providing police and fire protection and other services, said Stanley King, village treasurer, citing a finance committee study of the proposal.
“We tore it apart,” King said of the proposed annexation agreement. “Our concerns were what do they get, what do we get. When it came down to it, it was a net positive for us.”
The village would collect a 1% tax on sales of food and beverages sold in club venues and merchandise sold in the pro shop. That will generate an estimated $150,000 per year, according to a fact sheet provided by village officials.
Additionally, major events like the BMW Championship attract up to 30,000 visitors per day and would generate up to $400,000 in sales tax revenue for the village, club and village representatives said.
The club hopes to host a major tournament like the BMW Championship every three or four years, McErlean said. The Western Golf Association presented the BMW Championship at Olympia Fields Country Club in 2020. Golf associations provide private security during major events, McErlean said.
The club paid about $475,000 in real estate taxes last year, McErlean said, and the village would collect 11% of that.
The country club property contains 25 free-standing, single-family residences, said McErlean, who lives in one of the homes. Some are used as rentals for members and guests, though permanent residents occupy seven homes year-round, he said.
“Most are seasonal, they’re just there for the summer,” McErlean said. “It’s a very lonely place when I’m there during the winter or the spring.”
The club has no immediate plans to build more residences but eventually would like to construct more units to serve members and guests, he said.
“It’s like a cottage, four bedrooms and a common area,” he said of a concept for possible future short-term rental structures. “It’s perfect for golfers out on a weekend.”
Part of the reason the club hasn’t pursued plans for construction is due to hassles dealing with the county over maintaining existing facilities, McErlean said.
“We need responsiveness,” he said.
The village could potentially capture more than $1 million in building permit fees on future capital improvements to the club, according to the village’s fact sheet.
The village extended water and sewer lines to the club more than a decade ago, so those services will be unaffected, officials said. Village police already help direct traffic during major events and assist as needed through mutual aid agreements. Sheriff’s police responded to the club four times last year for minor incidents involving intoxicated people, McErlean said.
The village contracts with Chicago Heights for fire protection, while the private club contracts with Matteson. Chicago Heights has a fire station near the club, so response times for ambulances and other emergency equipment may be reduced, officials said.
During public comment, some residents expressed concerns about real estate taxes and whether the club paid a residential rate or commercial rate. Commission members said their purview was limited to land use and that the county assessor determined whether club owners paid residential or commercial rates.
Cook County assesses property at 10% for residential properties and 25% for commercial properties. Most private golf courses and country clubs feature mixed uses and some commercial sales but are zoned residential, McDonnell said.
A commercial zoning might increase tax revenue in the short term but could also open the door for potential industrial redevelopment that would clash with neighboring homes. A developer, for example, has proposed building a trucking and logistics center on the former Calumet Country Club property that Hazel Crest recently annexed.
Club members voted 135-12 to approve the annexation request, McErlean said.
“You never get a unanimous vote at a country club,” he said. “That’s about as close as you can get.”
The annexation would not affect public works, snow removal, trash pickup or other services, representatives said.
More Top Picks Best Mens Work Boots For The Money
“They don’t want our lawn mowers on their grass,” McDonnell said.
A resident said years ago the club rejected a proposal to allow a large group of Olympia Fields residents to join the club for a discounted membership fee of $1,000 each.
“This is a bad idea,” resident Lee Langon said of the proposed annexation.
McErlean declined to say how much a membership cost.
“It’s expensive — very,” he said.
Resident Constance Means said the club could build goodwill and potential future partnerships by offering Olympia Fields children opportunities to learn how to golf.
Before the commission’s unanimous vote, chair Hilde Betts said the commission would recommend the Village Board review the proposed annexation agreement to ensure the club would bear costs related to street repairs or other unforeseen expenses due to large events at the club.
Betts, who also serves on the village’s Economic Development Commission, said annexing the club would aid the village’s efforts to attract new businesses to town.
“This is national recognition and it will benefit economic development opportunities,” she said. “It is a prestigious private club that has a cachet.”
Ted Slowik is a columnist for the Daily Southtown.