Oro Valley town leaders have an opportunity to buy a much-wanted community center at a bargain-basement price, but the deal would come with a tax hike.
The possible purchase, which has been in the works for months behind the scenes, was presented to the public for the first time at a Town Council meeting Wednesday night.
Here’s how the deal would work. The Hilton El Conquistador resort in Oro Valley is for sale. Tucson apartment and hotel company HSL Properties would buy the hotel and country club from owner MetLife. Then, the town would buy the country club from HSL.
The price tag on the property is $1 million. That’s below market value, said Town Manager Greg Caton.
The country club, 10555 N. La Cañada, includes a 31,475-square-foot building with meeting rooms and exercise rooms, which could be turned into the town’s community center. It also has golf courses, tennis courts and two swimming pools. And there's a second, 5,600-square-foot building.
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But the place is a fixer upper. The town has identified $2.5 million in renovation projects in the community center and $3 million in projects on the golf courses over 5-6 years. Those costs include a $1.55 million project to replace irrigation systems on one golf course.
And the town currently doesn’t have a way to pay for the projects.
Town leaders are proposing a dedicated half-cent sales tax to help pay for the community center project, in addition to using some bed tax income.
Lastly, the Council is expected to make a quick decision. Authorization for both the property purchase and the tax increase are on the Dec. 17 meeting agenda.
DEMAND FOR A CENTER
In a recent survey of nearly 500 town residents regarding town parks, some of the most requested facilities were a recreation center and tennis courts.
"So we really feel this project addresses the needs we've heard from the community," Caton told the Council.
Mayor Satish Hiremath and three other Council members named a recreation center as an emerging town priority during election season earlier this year.
It’s cost prohibitive to build a community center from the ground up, Hiremath told the Council Wednesday, and “I don’t think we’re ever going to get this kind of deal again.”
Caton said a community center built recently in the Town of Maricopa cost $22 million. The replacement value of the country club facilities could be $25 million to $30 million, he said.
THE GOLF GAME
Some Council members and audience members expressed concern about the town entering the golf business.
“Welcome to one of the worst businesses we could buy,” Oro Valley resident and radio talk show host Chris DeSimone told the Council.
Golf is less popular as discretionary income and free time drop, he said, and participation in golf tournaments is dropping too.
The golf courses would run on an operational deficit for a few years, according to projections, but Caton said investments in the courses would pay off in increased tourism and a more active community.
Caton said he thinks the golf industry has hit bottom and is poised to grow.
Troon Golf would manage the golf facilities. Troon also runs the Westin La Paloma and Casino del Sol Sewailo golf clubs in the Tucson area.
The golf courses are the Conquistador, with 18 holes; the Cañada, with 18 holes; and the Pusch Ridge, with 9 holes.
Council member Brendan Burns suggested the town could sell the golf components of the purchase and just keep the community center.
Oro Valley activist Don Bristow questioned where the community center and golf project would leave the town’s other major parks projects, Naranja Park and Steampump Ranch.
Earlier this year the Council approved a 60,000-square-foot recreation center concept in its plans for Naranja Park.
