The Maine State Golf Association is hoping to sell its commercial condominium at Val Halla Golf Course in Cumberland. Michael Kelley / The Forecaster
After a decade of owning its headquarters property at the Val Halla Golf Course in Cumberland, the Maine State Golf Association is looking for a buyer for the building.
The town, which runs the golf course, gets first dibs on the property and is interested in it, but the price is too high right now, Town Manager Bill Shane said last week.
The 8,000-square-foot commercial condominium, which includes a banquet hall, offices and, until recently, the Tee Box, a seasonal golf simulator business, was put on the market this spring for $695,000, but the asking price was recently reduced to $595,000, said Chris Paszyc, a partner and broker with The Boulos Company.
The golf association bought the space in 2011 from the town for $500,000, according to town assessing records, and it is now assessed at $841,000. The sales agreement with the town gave MSGA the right to purchase the rest of the Val Halla Golf Facility building and the town the option to buy the MSGA space back if it were to be sold. The other half of the Val Halla Golf Facility, owned by the town, houses Rachel’s On the Green, which is a year-round restaurant, offices and the Val Halla Pro Shop.
“Once there is an offer, we will decide whether to exercise our right or not,” Shane said.
The town uses space in the basement of the Maine State Golf Association section for storage, but Shane said the town has interest in the acquiring the rest of the space, but only if the price is right.
“The town is obviously interested in the space, but the current asking price is a little bit more than we feel it’s worth,” Shane said.
Paszyc said the space has garnered some interest and he expects the property to sell this fall.
“The space is perfect for an commercial owner-user, such as a catering/banquet operator, gym or fitness use, not-for-profit user similar to MSGA, or a medical/office user who would occupy the space. We have also had developers interested in renovating for residential condos or apartments,” he said.
If the property were to come back under town ownership again, Shane said Cumberland would use it for banquets and other events, much like it has been used since the structure was built in 1995.
“We used to use it for 30 to 40 golf outings and were able to service much larger events,” Shane said. “We have had to shrink the number and size of the events to deal with the uncertainty of the banquet center status.”
MSGA is the official governing body of amateur golf in the state and includes more than 120 clubs and 16,000 members. It was formed in 1917 by representatives from Portland Country Club, Brunswick Golf Club, Conduskeag Canoe and Country Club of Bangor, Kennebunkport Club and Northport Club.
Val Halla was started by a group of Cumberland residents in the 1960s.
“The pandemic and work at home order taught us, the Maine State Golf Association, that we can work remotely and still be effective,” Executive Director Brian Bickford said of the reason for unloading the property. “We’re often in the field during the season anyway and we’ve come to the conclusion that we don’t need as much space as we thought we needed.”
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