HOLYOKE — Area businessman and entrepreneur Cesar Ruiz has acquired the Wyckoff Country Club in Holyoke for $2.8 million.
The 109-acre property, which includes an 18-hole golf course and clubhouse, including the “Daniel Ross Course” restaurant, will remain a country club and golf course under Ruiz’s ownership.
Ruiz said he first looked at the Wyckoff property for a potential spot to build his proposed sports complex but quickly learned that residents had serious concerns especially with traffic.
Now the plan is to build a sports complex and new International Volleyball Hall of Fame on Whiting Farms Road and Ruiz will look to renovate the Wyckoff property.
The restaurant and clubhouse will undergo an approximately $250,000 modernization and renovation.
Ruiz said the property hasn’t had any renovations in “probably 50 years,” and a lot of the fixtures, rugs and bathrooms are all dated.
The interior renovations will include replacing the flooring and carpeting, updating the bathrooms, updating the walls in the banquet room and putting in new light fixtures, furniture and countertops.
For the golf course, Ruiz said the golf course trails need repairing and the maintenance of the grounds need to be upgraded. New golf carts will also be acquired, replacing the existing fleet.
Ruiz explained, “The fertilization wasn’t always done consistently in the past and that’s how you begin losing your greenery. I like green grass and when you want to golf, you want to have a nice green golf course.”
Ruiz said he’d hoped to complete the purchase this past November or December, but delays pushed the purchase until just recently which gives him a tougher timeline for renovations to the banquet hall and event space.
The construction has begun on the lower level but explained the renovations may take a little longer because they now must schedule days to work that don’t interfere with other scheduled events.
The construction will take place in phases, but Ruiz hopes about 90% of the renovations are done by the end of March.
Ruiz will also begin seeking contractors for the golf trails and figure out a plan for fertilization before warmer weather and golf season approaches.
Ruiz talked more about the purchase and said, “This 120-acre gem will continue its legacy as a premier country club and vibrant social hub. I look forward to working with the community in Wyckoff’s next growth phase.”
The new Wyckoff is projected to generate jobs and attract existing and new members annually to the once-thriving course.
“We want to increase the membership,” Ruiz stated, “In its heyday they had like 500 members and right now there’s only probably about less than 200. We’re going to increase the membership; we feel very confident on that.”
Ruiz also said the plan is host multiple activities including comedy shows, foreign films, wine and spirit tasting, casino nights, guest speakers, lunch and learn events.
Ruiz is leading the proposed sports corridor currently under development, which he sees as positioning Holyoke as New England’s premier destination for athletic excellence, tourism and community development.
He said he views the redevelopment of Wyckoff as a complement to an Olympic-styled sports corridor in Holyoke that he envisions with volleyball as a centerpiece.
“What we plan to do with [Wyckoff] is going to complement the sports facility which is just down the road. We still went ahead and purchased it because it was intriguing with the history of Wyckoff. It has a beautiful long history, and we looked as an opportunity to compliment our sports initiative.”
The initiative is led by Ruiz, a 2020 BusinessWest top entrepreneur and founder of Golden Years Home Care Services, which he recently sold.
Right now, Ruiz said the sports complex is still a work in progress and is still in the design and development stage.
“We’re talking with our consultants and others to make this a premier volleyball tournament center and also a premier basketball tournament center with our collaboration with the Basketball Hall of Fame,” Ruiz stated.
