The Capital Regional District has purchased the former Royal Oak Golf Course adjacent to Elk/Beaver Lake Regional Park for $8.5 million.
The nearly 11-hectare parcel of land borders the southeast boundary of the regional park and includes connecting trails between the park and Saanich Commonwealth Place.
The CRD says it will work with local First Nations while developing a long-term management plan for the land, and engage with the public to determine what it should be used for.
Board chair Colin Plant said the regional district does not yet have specific plans for the land’s use, but several nations have expressed an interest in being involved in creating a vision for the former golf course.
“I think using the space for parks and recreation will be a logical place to start the conversation, but the board will listen to our First Nation governments and the public and respond transparently,” Plant said.
The nine-hole golf course closed eight years ago, and the property went on the market this spring for $9.5 million.
The property was owned by a Saskatchewan-based numbered company called 1122580 B.C. Ltd. since August 2017, when it was purchased for $3.5 million, B.C. land records show.
The site holds a clubhouse with meeting rooms, an equipment rental space and restaurant facilities with an outdoor patio with seating for up to 120.
A golf coaching business on the property, Golf Performance Project, will be able to stay, said an employee who answered the phone.
The majority of the land is within the Agricultural Land Reserve.
Roger Graham, president of the Royal Oak Community Association, said the association is “thrilled” by the announcement that the regional district has purchased the property.
“It’s a fantastic decision from our perspective,” he said. The community association wants the land to stay in the ALR and Graham said it seems likely that will be the case under CRD ownership.
Since the beginning of the CRD’s regional parks service in 1966, the system has grown to include 33 regional parks and four regional trails, with over 13,300 hectares of land.
