水果派AV

The scenic golf course will next host paintings, as it has been purchased by the nonprofit West Lake Art Conservation Center. The $1.45 million sale closed today.

West Lake will make Lakeview's 13,500-square-foot clubhouse its new headquarters, said Holland Gregg, chair of the center's board of directors. That will occupy about eight of the club's 250 acres. But most of the land, Gregg told 水果派AV, will be sold to the town of Owasco later this year and turned into a park and nature preserve with hiking trails.

The center made the purchase thanks to a gift of more than $1 million from the Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation, which Gregg called "a key supporter" of West Lake. The foundation, a philanthropic arm of Inns of Aurora founder Pleasant Rowland, has no financial stake in the nonprofit and therefore no ownership of the 6642 E. Lake Road property, Gregg noted.聽

West Lake will lease Lakeview to previous owners John and Cindilee Mendillo through the end of the season, Gregg continued, so golf can continue until then.聽The Mendillos wanted to focus on running their bowling alley, Starlite Lanes in Aurelius, as they approach retirement age. Formerly Auburn Golf & Country Club, the 18-hole course opened in 1916.

The purchase is part of a succession plan, Gregg continued. The nonprofit is the next phase of West Lake Conservators, a company founded by Susan S. Blakney in Skaneateles in 1975. The company will be formally absorbed by the center this fall, and its handful of world-class conservators will begin working in Owasco after the clubhouse is repurposed.聽

Along with conserving paintings and other works of art, West Lake staff works with old photos and documents. Their work will be "more public-facing" in Owasco than it was in Skaneateles, Gregg said, as the nonprofit wants to become more educational in nature. Plans include relationships with local universities and museums, school tours and a small gallery.

"We want to become a centrally located resource center ... a home base statewide where people can learn how this industry works," Gregg said. "It's a fascinating craft, and we think the public will really get something out of learning how this works. It's about promoting our cultural heritage and making sure critical and important pieces of art are preserved."

Gregg continued, "This is a true win for Auburn, the town of Owasco and the art and cultural heritage communities throughout New York state."

The project will cost $1.7 million overall, with additional support coming from the Regional Economic Development Council. The Cayuga Economic Development Agency assisted West Lake as well.

The nonprofit will receive another $900,000 from the town of Owasco in October, when it buys 242 acres of the club for a different type of conservation project.

Owasco Supervisor Ed Wagner told 水果派AV the town wants to protect the wetlands on the course, as well as Willow Brook, which runs through the property and into Owasco Lake. Meanwhile, Wagner said the dry areas are ideal for recreation, with old growth trees and miles of golf cart paths that can easily become walking or snowshoeing paths.聽

But water quality and recreation weren't the town's only reasons for the purchase. Officials also learned a solar farm developer was interested in the land, Wagner said.聽

"They were going to cover all 250 acres in solar panels," he said. "We didn't think that was an appropriate use of recreational land."

The town of Owasco, and West Lake, had additional competition for the golf course from聽former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted, who聽聽a $6 million home on Skaneateles Lake in 2020.

At the town board's June 22 meeting, Wagner Newsted submitted a $1.45 million offer for Lakeview the day after an initial $1.3 million offer from West Lake. Upon consulting with the Rowland foundation, Wagner continued, the nonprofit raised its offer to $1.45 million as well, and won the bidding war because the Mendillos "wanted us to get it."

Half of the $900,000 the town will pay for the property will come from cash reserves or bonding, Wagner said. The other half, he hopes, will come from a grant from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. The town sought assistance with applying for it from the Finger Lakes Land Trust and The Nature Conservancy.

Wagner added that the town of Owasco does not anticipate the park and preserve creating any significant expenses nor requiring any new personnel.

"We're just trying to protect the natural beauty of the land and protect the lake," he said. "It's a premier location."