WESTBROOK – After being closed for more than a year, the future of the sprawling Sunset Ridge Golf Links in Westbrook is still not clear.
But with the announcement of an auction of the bank-owned property later this month, one thing is sure: Ron Edgecomb will not be running it.
Edgecomb, who bought what was then a 9-hole, par-3 course in 1985, has lost the 231-acre property to foreclosure, and now Savings Bank of Maine has put it, along with all of its equipment, up for auction.
Edgecomb has managed to hold onto his house, however, and two acres adjacent to the course. On Monday night, Edgecomb declined to comment in detail, other than to confirm that he was still living at the home. He said he was not upset about the auction, and when asked, said he didn’t know what he would be doing in the near future.
“I’ve got time to figure it out,” he said, “I’m only 77.”
The property, located on Cumberland Street, is listed on the website for South Portland-based Keenan Auction Co. under the full name, Sunset Ridge Golf Links and Westerly Winds Sports Park. A spokesman for the company declined comment on the auction. According to the website, the property includes an 18-hole golf course, clubhouse, in-ground pool, tennis courts, driving range, miniature golf course and basketball courts.
The city had put liens on the property in an attempt to collect more than $100,000 in overdue taxes. As of this week, records show most of that has been paid off, with about $13,000 remaining, all from 2012. Assessing records show the total value of the property, not including Edgecomb’s home, at about $1.75 million.
The property auction is Wednesday, Feb. 29, at 11 a.m. on site. In addition, the company is also auctioning off the course’s equipment in a separate, online auction.
The listing includes various mowing and tractor equipment, an outdoor duel-fuel wood furnace, a dump truck and “amusement equipment,” which includes a nine-station batting cage. The online auction for the equipment begins on Monday, Feb. 17, at 9 a.m., and ends Thursday, March 1, at 1 p.m.
All of the property will be viewable at an open house on Tuesday, Feb. 14, from 2-3 p.m.
The auction marks an end to a long period of inactivity. Edgecomb had big plans for the course when he bought it, adding, among other things, nine more holes in 2007.
An accidental fire that year destroyed the 18th-century farmhouse that served as a clubhouse for the course. Edgecomb rebuilt it even larger than it was before, making it clearly visible from Cumberland Street.
But the recession, coupled with a few rainy summers, made it tough for Edgecomb to stay in business. In February 2011, Edgecomb revealed that the bank was threatening to foreclose on the property.
A few months later, the club didn’t reopen for the season, and Edgecomb said then that the reopening was “on hold” pending a decision from the bank.
At the time Keith Luke, Westbrook’s then-director of economic and community development, said whoever owned the property would do well to keep it running as a golf course, even if that meant hiring a management company to operate the business. Doing so, he said, would be a good way to keep the property value higher.
Throughout the spring, summer, and fall, however, it was clear that did not happen.
Now, the property is covered in snow, with a sign out front advertising the auction.
In a past interview, Edgecomb said he had some family in Georgia, and he was contemplating moving there. On Monday, Edgecomb said he “may still” move there. He declined further comment.
Sunset Ridge will be sold at auction this month. The 231 acres
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