Developer mum about plans for former Churchill Valley Country Club
When Christine DeCarolis drives past the former Churchill Valley Country Club on Beulah Road, the Penn Hills resident tries not to look.
Gone for over a year now are the clubhouse, the swimming pool, tennis courts and the pristine golf course. In their place is a pile of rubble, weeds and debris from the former country club that once sprawled across Penn Hills and Churchill.
“It's a black eye on the community,” said DeCarolis, whose family belonged to Churchill Valley for years.
Since 2013, the 158-acre property has been under the control of Zokaites Properties LP. The Wexford-based development company, known for its high-end homes and commercial developments, bought the property and its debt in 2013. Dana Zokaites, representing the company that is also developing the nearby Penn Monroe retail center at 3985 William Penn Highway, declined comment when asked about site plans.
Churchill Mayor Paul Gamrat said he has not heard anything from Zokaites about its plans. Ditto for Penn Hills officials.
“The area is zoned residential,” said Damian Buccilli, a Penn Hills planner. “Nothing has formally been submitted.”
Churchill Valley was started in 1931 and at one time had more than 1,000 members and benefited from its location just minutes away by car from the massive Westinghouse Research and Development Center that sits along the outbound lane of the Parkway East. Redevelopment of that 135-acre site has been hampered by the improper removal of asbestos tiles. The Environmental Protection Agency is investigating the matter, Allegheny County officials have said.
In 2015, there had been talk of starting a fracking operation at the former golf course site. In fact, EQT Corp. had solicited nearby property owners to sign leases to allow gas drilling to take place. Opposition from both Churchill and Penn Hills residents, however, prompted officials from both communities to ban fracking, a process for extracting gas and oil from rock using high-pressure water, sand and chemicals.
DeCarolis, one of the Penn Hills residents who oppose fracking, said she remembers eating tuna salad and crunchy french fries at the swimming pool of the club while her father, Lefty, golfed.
“No matter what you ordered, they always brought a relish tray and garlic bread with cheese on it,” she said.
After her father died in 2004, DeCarolis said she kept her membership for three years. During that time, she said, the club went downhill. She said a lot of the older members, like her father, were dying off, and no one was stepping in to replace them.
“I think it fell out of favor,” she said. “Golfing fell out of favor, too. A lot of the members worked at Westinghouse. Times changed.”
For DeCarolis and her son, Louis Gambogi, who made a Facebook page called Churchill Valley Country Club Memories, the former club will hold a special place in their hearts.
“I can't even look at it now,” DeCarolis said. “When I was 19, my dad bought me a convertible. I remember at Christmas driving down the hill and seeing the lights. The club was always decorated with red and blue lights. It was so pretty.”
Suzanne Elliott is a freelance writer.
