A proposed apartment complex project would mean big changes for the Yankee Hill Country Club golf course.
Chateau Development, which owns several apartment complexes in Lincoln, has plans to buy 51 acres on the southeast corner of the course near 40th Street and Yankee Hill Road.
According to a letter sent to members of the country club, the sale is scheduled to close in January.
Clubhouse manager Guy Lammle said in an email it will be business as usual at the club until then.
If the sale goes through as planned, then Yankee Hill has a plan in place to still have an 18-hole golf course but with a smaller footprint.
Plans call for a 5,400-yard course that would play to a par of 68 or 69. The current par-72 course is a little more than 7,000 yards.
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Construction of the new course layout would start early next year and ideally be done by late summer or early fall, according to the letter sent to members. It would likely open for play in early 2021.
While construction is going on, golfers would still be able to play on an interim 10-hole course.
The letter, which is signed by Lammle and his daughter, Amy Wiesele, who manages the country club, acknowledges that the golf business "has been and will continue to be a challenge nationwide."
Cutting down the size of the property from more than 150 acres to 105 will "dramatically" reduce maintenance costs and property taxes, the letter said.
"We expect this will make our YHCC private golf, dining and social club business model more cost competitive for the next two decades."
Lammle emphasized in his email that the club is in no danger of closing.
"If the sale does not close, it will be business as usual for our operations in 2020 and beyond," he said in the email.
Yankee Hill opened in 1999 and for many years operated as a semi-private club, with memberships available but not required to play golf on the course. It switched to a membership-only model in 2015.
Stefan Gaspar, managing partner of Chateau Development, said development plans for the apartment complex are "very preliminary," and he declined to provide any details.
He said he has had a couple of meetings with staff from the Lincoln-Lancaster County Planning Department and is planning to host a neighborhood meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 29 at the Roper and Sons location at 3950 Hohensee Drive.
According to a letter sent to homeowners about the neighborhood meeting, the development would include both apartments and town homes.