'The writing is on the wall': Beacon Hall members narrowly vote down $250M bid for land

Aurora Mayor Tom Mrakas celebrates close vote for Oak Ridges Moraine property as 'welcomed news'

yorkregion.com
March 11, 2021

Members at an exclusive Aurora golf course have voted not to sell the 200-acre course to a Vaughan developer for $250 million.

The vote results released the night of March 5 show the sale fell just nine votes short of a two-thirds majority, the threshold needed to achieve a sale. The sale achieved 63-per-cent support.

The vote was the culmination of an issue that has deeply divided members of the golf club.

It got so messy that at one point, there was a bomb scare at the Bayview Avenue club.

The Treasure Hill Homes attempt to buy the land, part of which is on the Oak Ridges Moraine, is not the first bid on the property, as there was another bid in 2018.

Although many, including Aurora Mayor Tom Mrakas, are celebrating the news as a victory -- Mrakas called it "welcome news as Aurora retains this world class golf course … that our community cherishes" -- at least one club member said the vote left him with two overarching but conflicting feelings.

The first is that many members now feel it’s just a matter of time before the club will be sold as real estate values peak in the GTA.

The second is that the condition that the developer must also negotiate with Beacon Hall’s homeowners association looms in the background of any future vote.

"The writing is on the wall … It’s only a matter of time," the member said, asking that his name not be published. "It was so close, if a developer really wanted, he could come back now and say $300 million."

Having said that, he added that the portion of the deal everyone appears to be ignoring remains perhaps the biggest stumbling block: reaching an agreement with the homeowners.

Phil Hardy of Beacon Hall said the club would not be commenting on the story.

"As a community builder, Treasure Hill is very respectful of the legacy of Beacon Hall Golf Club and its significance both to The town of Aurora and the golf community," Nicholas Fidei, president and founder of Vaughan-based Treasure Hill, said. "Our group respects the members’ decision not to sell the club at this time."