Cherry Hill, county join to save golf course space

Cherry Hill is partnering with Camden County to bid on the bankrupt Woodcrest Country Club in an effort to preserve it as open space.

At the county's request, the Township Council voted Friday to spend up to $960,000 on the bid at Monday's auction.

The move comes after the county Board of Freeholders voted Tuesday to commit the required deposit of $650,600 from its open-space fund in order to participate in the bidding.

The club's only secured creditor is Sun National Bank of Vineland, N.J., which is owed about $11 million. The county has not said how much it will bid, though it will have to spend a minimum of $6.5 million to win under rules set by the golf club's bankruptcy trustee.

The county has said $11 million is available in its open-space fund. A Marlton real estate group, First Montgomery Group, has entered a tentative agreement with the trustee to buy the 155-acre property for $6.25 million.

The land is zoned for institutional purposes, meaning it could continue as a country club or be turned into an educational or medical campus, among other possibilities.

Mayor Chuck Cahn has said he would not vote in favor of a zoning change - to build apartments on the land, for example - something the council would have to approve.

Other potential bidders for Monday's auction include the Union League of Philadelphia and former Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski.