COLUMBIANA county Land by The Links for sale at $4.9M; golf course not included

Staff report

COLUMBIANA

The Columbiana County Sheriff’s Office is seeking someone with nearly $5 million to spare who wants to buy 920 acres of undeveloped commercial and residential real estate.

The property for sale was owned by Meadowbrooke Development LLC and is adjacent to The Links at Firestone Farms in Columbiana. The golf course is not part of the sale, which is today at 10 a.m. on the first floor of the Columbiana County Courthouse. The sale includes vacant homes in the development along with the undeveloped property.

The property was appraised at $7.375 million. For the property to sell, a minimum bid of $4,916,677 is required, which represents two-thirds of the appraised value, according to sheriff’s office records.

There has been a lot of confusion over what property is going to be sold, said Debbie Skorich, general manager of banquet facility at The Links at Firestone Farms. People have been saying for three years the golf course is part of the foreclosure.

“It’s caused a lot of chaos. I can’t wait for this whole thing to be over,” Skorich said.

The problem is development at the property stopped around 2009. The homes adjacent to the golf course sell for between $200,000 and $600,000, and people do not have the money for those kind of houses, she said.

National City Bank filed foreclosure documents on the property July 19, 2009, according to Columbiana County Common Pleas Court records. There are several other defendants who have liens against the property.

Prior to the foreclosure, Meadowbrooke Development LLC needed to pay nearly $8.4 million to National City Bank to satisfy the total debt.