Local investors acquire Oak Tree Country Club [The Oklahoman, Oklahoma City]

Jan. 27--EDMOND -- Oak Tree Country Club is 100 percent locally owned.

Commercial developers Tom Blanton and Jeff Bolding, the local partners in an investment group that acquired the property, have purchased the remaining interest from their out-of-state partners. The amount of the transaction was not disclosed.

Blanton and Bolding were brought in as investors and managing partners of Oak Tree Country Club when the property was facing operational, financial and membership challenges.

Since 2005, the group has invested more than $4 million in the property, paying for extensive renovations of the clubhouse and of the East Course.

"We have made tremendous progress in recent years in restoring the grandeur of the Oak Tree Country Club as well as re-establishing strong relationships with our members and residents," Bolding said. "With the clubhouse and golf course renovations, Oak Tree Country Club has rightfully reclaimed its position as one of the nation's premier residential golf and country club communities.

Oak Tree National, its 18-hole course -- site of the 1988 PGA Championship, the 2006 Senior PGA Championship and future site of the 2014 U.S. Senior Open -- and its clubhouse were not involved in the transaction.

Background

Oak Tree began in the 1970s. Early developer Landmark Land Co. went into bankruptcy in the early 1990s. An investor group of club members bought Oak Tree Golf Club (now Oak Tree National), and Toronto-based Signature Properties International purchased Oak Tree Country Club, from the Resolution Trust Corp. in 1994. The property continued to change hands over the next decade, but continued to grow.

Blanton and Bolding brought in new local partners to continue developing the Oak Tree Country Club and residential community, which has more than 200 undeveloped acres.

"The investors were impressed with the quality of the Oak Tree Country Club and surrounding home sites, and recognized its potential for further development," Bolding said. "They were particularly pleased with the refined quality of The Summit and The Legacy residential developments. Even in these challenging economic times, we have sold eight of 19 new home sites, introduced in 2009, ranging in price from $150,000 to $250,000 in The Summit Phase II."

Blanton said local ownership "is a big plus moving forward." The owners are working with the Oak Tree Homeowners Association to replace the chain-link fence surrounding the property with a decorative wrought-iron and stacked-stone fence.

"We share a common vision to make sure Oak Tree Country Club is developed in a thoughtful manner with the best interest of our current residents and members in mind," he said.

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