Bedford Trails owner bids on golf course

A lawyer is hoping for a competitive auction with 10 to 20 bidders.
By DON SHILLING
VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR
COITSVILLE -- The owner of a nearby golf course has placed the first bid in an auction of Countryside Golf Course.
A. Thomas Grischow, who owns Bedford Trails Golf Course, has submitted an $850,000 bid in advance of the auction, which is to begin at Countryside at 2 p.m. Tuesday.
"I really don't want to comment until the auction is over," Grischow said.
The auction is part of the bankruptcy proceedings of Villa Marie Estates, the corporation that owns Countryside, 1421 Struthers-Coitsville Road, Coitsville Township.
Steve Olenick III of Boardman is president and majority shareholder of the corporation. Neither he nor the corporation's attorney could be reached to comment.
Villa Marie Estates filed for bankruptcy protection last July just before a foreclosure sale was to be held by Cortland Banks, which is owed $530,000.
The bankruptcy filing put off that sale, and the corporation continued to manage the course until April, when Judge Kay Woods of U.S. Bankruptcy Court appointed Nancy Valentine as trustee to oversee operations.
Rocco Debitetto, a lawyer for the trustee, said the course operations struggled this spring and employees were not being paid in a timely manner. The trustee decided the best option for protecting the estate was to close the course, he said.
Closing deadline
The winner of the auction must close on the sale by Aug. 31, so the course could be reopened before the end of this golf season, Debitetto said. Bedford Trails is being paid for course maintenance.
The 150-acre site could be bought by a developer with other plans, however, Debitetto said.
He said he is hoping for a competitive auction with perhaps 10 to 20 bidders. Thomas Michael Auction Group of Cleveland has advertised the course in national and regional publications.
The auctioneer said nearly 100 organizations have asked for information about the course, including groups from New Jersey, New Mexico and California.
Grischow opted to be the initial bidder, which entitles him to a $5,000 fee if he is outbid. Bankruptcy court auctions typically feature a bidder who is willing to make a public bid before the auction in order to draw out other bidders.
Villa Marie Estates' bankruptcy filing listed the value of the real estate at $1.5 million. Its total assets were $1.6 million, including $138,000 in personal property.
The corporation listed $738,000 in liabilities, including the bank debt, $120,000 owed to the Internal Revenue Service for withholding taxes and various other debts.
shilling@vindy.com