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Dominion Club Could Change Hands - special from Richmond Times Dispatch

Dominion Club could change hands

Plan says sale proceeds would be used to help refund deposits

ALEXA WELCH EDLUND/RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH

Posted: Friday, July 25, 2014 10:30 pm

Dominion Club could change hands BY ATHENA CAO Richmond Times-Dispatch Richmond Times-Dispatch

The Dominion Club, a private country club in the heart of the Wyndham community in western Henrico County, might be on the market soon.

Current club members received a letter this month from Daniel Schmitt, manager of the club and president and chief operating officer of HHHunt Corp., which developed the club, telling them about the possible sale.

“The letter is to advise you that we intend to consider proposals from interested parties to purchase the club,” his letter said.

The club has set a deadline of Aug. 15 to receive proposals.

Representatives from HHHunt were not available for comment. A representative at the Dominion Club confirmed that the letter was mailed out.

The club includes a 28,000-square-foot clubhouse, a swim and racket facility, nine tennis courts, a restaurant and an 18-hole golf course.

“We feel the best way to determine the fair market price for the club and club members is to obtain proposals from multiple third parties,” the letter said.

“We will evaluate the proposals and will make a decision that is in our best interest and also the best interest of the club, the members and the creditors. This could involve moving forward with a sale/purchase agreement. We simply need to understand the interest level and the vision each party has for the future of the club.”

The letter said that, based on preliminary discussions, the interested parties have indicated a willingness to invest in the club to make sure it remains “vibrant, active and competitive in the marketplace.”

In January 2011, the club filed for bankruptcy reorganization as many members resigned but the club could not afford to pay their refundable membership deposits, about $1.7 million due the end of that year and $11.7 million in total.

The club emerged from its Chapter 11 bankruptcy a year later.

Under the plan approved by U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Kevin Huennekens, the club would continue to operate under its then-ownership, and hundreds of members who were owed would be repaid at 20 to 29 cents on a dollar of their refundable initiation deposits.

Possible future sale of the property would be used to help refund those deposits, according to the plan. Money to repay those deposits also would come from 10 percent of new members’ initiation fees, the plan said, and HHHunt would put in $1.2 million by the end of 2021.

acao@timesdispatch.com  (804) 649-6349

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