By Scott Nishimura snishimura@bizpress.net
Woodhaven Country Club has a new owner.
Owner Lou Scoma, who bought the private club and golf course in 2011, has sold it to a new owner, Edward Martinez, assistant general manager, confirmed Friday.
The new owner, not yet identified, has agreed with Scoma to invest $1 million in renovations to the East Side property, Joe Epps, president of the Woodhaven Community Development Inc. economic development organization, said.
Scoma was travelling Friday and could not immediately be reached for comment.
Epps, in an interview, said Scoma has told him that a Las Vegas investment group is the buyer.
“We don’t know who it is,” he said. “They have kept it secret all the way.”
The club is planning a May 21 news conference to reveal more information, Martinez said.
Scoma has invested significantly in the club in the short time he’s owned it, installing security fences and cameras and chains across cart paths that block access after hours, and making other improvements, Epps said.
Epps and other Woodhaven area leaders have high hopes that the new owner will spur membership and deepen ties within the community.
The new owner has told the community development organization and Woodhaven Neighborhood Association they can hold meetings for free at the club in the future, Epps and Bill Jackson, president of the Woodhaven association said.
Both organizations had stopped holding regular meetings at the club because of the expense.
“For many years, (the club) was kind of a central thing for the neighborhood,” Jackson said. “I think (the ownership change) will benefit the neighborhood and the club.”
Woodhaven is on the former site of the 740-acre W.J. Boaz Ranch. In 1969, investors including Gov. John Connally, Perry and Sid Bass and Mike Myers bought the land with plans to develop into a community surrounded by a private club.
The golf course opened in 1972. The clubhouse opened in 1973.