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If Waubeeka closes, the nearly 200 acres could be broken up for housing lots.

Waubeeka Golf's Future Depends on Finding Buyer

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
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The Goffs hope the reduced price will help attract a buyer who will keep the land as a golf course.

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Waubeeka Golf Links could be carved into housing lots if the business isn't sold soon.

Owner James Goff of Denver on Friday reduced the asking price for the golf course to $3.5 million — less than he paid for it — in hopes of ramping up interest.

If a buyer does not come forward, Waubeeka will be closed at the end of the season.

"It is our hope to find a buyer at this reduced price who will continue to operate Waubeeka as a golf course," Goff said in a prepared statement. "Regrettably, if that does not happen, it is anticipated that the golf operation will close down at year end, and conversion to other uses including housing will be considered."

The golf course was designed by Berkshire course legend Rowland Armacost, his only 18-hole creation, and opened in 1966; Golf Digest gives the public course a four out of five stars.

Alton & Westall Real Estate has been engaged to sell the land. Real estate agent Alan Marden said the course consists of 190 acres broken into three parcels. There are some lots on the land that could be used for housing, he said.

"We hope we can sell it as an ongoing golf course," Marden said, adding that asking price includes not only the land but the clubhouses and equipment. "There is a possibility of a housing component."



The Goffs purchased course in 2008 from the Ed Stawarz Family Trust for $4.2 million and made substantial improvements. Last year, a deal was in the offing to sell the course but it has since fallen through. The course had been on the market for $5 million.

"We had it for sale earlier but a previous deal to sell the property has fallen through, so we are putting it back on the market and at a reduced price," Goff said.

Marden says he hopes to find a buyer "as soon as possible" for all three contiguous parcels. He declined to comment on if there has been recent interest on the property.

"We were pleased to have sold Waubeeka to Jim and Jody and appreciate the opportunity to work with them to find a new buyer," said Marden in the statement announcing the reduction in price. "Our first priority will be to find someone who will keep this outstanding property operating as a golf facility, but it is a challenging environment for the golf world so we must look for all possibilities for appropriate utilization of this spectacular acreage."


Tags: golf,   golf course,   

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EPA Lays Out Draft Plan for PCB Remediation in Pittsfield

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Ward 4 Councilor James Conant requested the meeting be held at Herberg Middle School as his ward will be most affected. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — U.S. The Environmental Protection Agency and General Electric have a preliminary plan to remediate polychlorinated biphenyls from the city's Rest of River stretch by 2032.

"We're going to implement the remedy, move on, and in five years we can be done with the majority of the issues in Pittsfield," Project Manager Dean Tagliaferro said during a hearing on Wednesday.

"The goal is to restore the (Housatonic) river, make the river an asset. Right now, it's a liability."

The PCB-polluted "Rest of River" stretches nearly 125 miles from the confluence of the East and West Branches of the river in Pittsfield to the end of Reach 16 just before Long Island Sound in Connecticut.  The city's five-mile reach, 5A, goes from the confluence to the wastewater treatment plant and includes river channels, banks, backwaters, and 325 acres of floodplains.

The event was held at Herberg Middle School, as Ward 4 Councilor James Conant wanted to ensure that the residents who will be most affected by the cleanup didn't have to travel far.

Conant emphasized that "nothing is set in actual stone" and it will not be solidified for many months.

In February 2020, the Rest of River settlement agreement that outlines the continued cleanup was signed by the U.S. EPA, GE, the state, the city of Pittsfield, the towns of Lenox, Lee, Stockbridge, Great Barrington, and Sheffield, and other interested parties.

Remediation has been in progress since the 1970s, including 27 cleanups. The remedy settled in 2020 includes the removal of one million cubic yards of contaminated sediment and floodplain soils, an 89 percent reduction of downstream transport of PCBs, an upland disposal facility located near Woods Pond (which has been contested by Southern Berkshire residents) as well as offsite disposal, and the removal of two dams.

The estimated cost is about $576 million and will take about 13 years to complete once construction begins.

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