Sumner Council Approves Broker for Sale of Golf Course

It’s official: Sumner Meadows Golf Links is up for sale.

The Sumner City Council unanimously approved an agreement to market the Sumner Meadows Golf Course for sale at the Jan. 22 meeting.

With multiple real estate firms and several direct investors and developers expressing interest, Sumner needed a professional and transparent process of selecting a buyer, according to the city newsletter.

Colliers International, a global real-estate firm with world headquarters in Seattle, has been selected as the broker after city employees and Mayor Enslow released a call for proposals, meeting with five interested parties before second interviews.

"Since this is such an important asset of the citizens of Sumner, we need a process that is open, transparent and able to bring to the council the widest range of proposals possible," said Mayor Enslow. "That way, the council can make the choice this spring that they think best serves the people of Sumner." 

Colliers will now move forward to advertise the golf course in early February, with offers expected to be due in early to mid- March. The city will be able to interview potential buyers, anticipating a buyer selection in mid-April.

Any acceptance of any offer will be done by the City Council.

"This is one of the best sites remaining on the West Coast and potential buyers are extremely excited about the project" said Matt McGregor and Bill Condon of Colliers. 

The land that will be offered for sale is approximately 132 usable acres, currently zoned for industrial use.

Sumner Meadows was purchased in the early 1990s with the intention that it would pay for itself within five years and then fund all parks in Sumner. Only once in the past 20 years did the course break even, and the city still owes approximately $6 million in debt.

In the 2013-2014 biennium alone, the city faces payments totaling approximately $1.5 million in debt service plus an additional $680,000 in interfund loans. The issue of repaying the interfund loans has been brought up by the State audits of both 2011 and 2012.

Information provided by the City of Sumner

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