STUDIO CITY : Interest Grows Over Plans for Golf Course Site

Prospective buyers are buzzing around a parcel of land currently occupied by the Studio City Golf Course, according to the realtor representing the property owner.

Studio City realtor Mort Allen said that since a June 26 newspaper report appeared about potential development of the site, 18 interested parties have contacted him about the property.

Of the 18, Allen said, the property owner--Weddington Investment Partnership--is focusing on four. Two are “major home-building corporations” that want to build homes in the $200,000 range and two are golf course operators who want to expand the existing course across land occupied by tennis courts, the realtor said.

“My fear is that, because it is such a commercial venture now, it could (operate) on a major commercial basis,” Allen said. “The best option for this community is to put in single-family homes to sell in the middle range.

“You could get maybe 80 homes, then the residents could be shopping in the community and working in the community,” Allen added.

Studio City residents have expressed concern about development of the 17.2-acre site, which they consider an urban oasis. It was recently suggested that a buyer could develop the property if it was determined that the lease agreement between Weddington and the golf course operator is not valid.

Co-owner Guy Weddington McCreary maintains the lease ran out when the golf course failed to renew its conditional-use permit, while golf course general manager George McCallister insists the lease is good.

The owners are in the process of liquidating their properties, Allen said. One interested party that has made an offer is the Los Angeles Fire Department, which wants to relocate a fire station on an acre of the golf course.

Allen and Vivian Rescalvo, an aide to Los Angeles City Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky, were scheduled to speak to the Studio City Residents Assn. about the golf course’s future at its general meeting Tuesday night.

“We haven’t developed a specific position on (future uses of the property) at this point,” Rescalvo said, “but we think that recreational use is a valuable resource to the community and to the city as a whole, and we wouldn’t want to see it go away.”

“I think the initial feedback from our membership indicates that they would be strongly opposed to any change of use,” said Tony Lucente, president of the residents association. “(The golf course) is one of the crown jewels of Studio City.”