Tomson Scrap Metal has purchased Brackenridge Heights Country Club with plans to maintain the golf course for public use and add amenities that make the facility a year-round community destination point.
The Brackenridge-based business bought the 65-acre property earlier this month from First Commonwealth Bank for $970,000 after the bank acquired it at sheriff's sale in September for $1,826.
First Commonwealth foreclosed on the property because the club, which included a nine-hole golf course and swimming pool, owed $900,000 in unpaid mortgages and fees.
Ted Tomson, who owns the scrap metal business, said he has numerous ideas in mind for what the property can offer.
"We intend to run it as a golf course like before," he said. "It was a beautiful place.
"We also want to put something in there for the wintertime. It would be a good place for sled riding for the local kids in the winter."
He said other possibilities include bringing in a restaurant or caterer and even converting part of the clubhouse into a candy factory that would produce Belgian chocolate.
"We've got a whole list of things we want to do there if we can," Tomson said, noting the township will have the final say in what can be done with the property, which is zoned for conservation but allows certain developments under "special exception" rules.
Joe Marino, the township's zoning and ordinance officer, said he hasn't received any proposals for potential property uses. He said that word that Tomson bought the club was news to him.
"I'm glad it has been sold," Marino said. "I'd like to know what they're going to do with it."
Tomson said he couldn't commit to having the course open in the spring, indicating the greens have been lost.
He suggested the course could open by early summer.
