A Houston developer who bought the Chestnut Ridge Golf Resort and Conference Center in southern Indiana County in a July 25 auction wants to maintain the site as a golf course and conference center, the developer’s attorney said Friday.
RRH Development also wants to market it more and possibly use some of the 345-acre site for golf course housing,
RRH, owned by Ronald Holley, “saw a lot of potential (in Chestnut Ridge) and liked the opportunity,” said Dwayne Day, a Houston attorney.
Holley has golf courses and other developments throughout the country, but this is the first one for Pennsylvania.
“He is going to make that place as nice as possible,” Day said. “He is going to market it more.”
Holley purchased the resort for $2.4 million from Thomas Usher of Oakmont, a former U.S. Steel Corp. chief executive, who has owned the property since 2008. The bidding, conducted by auctioneer Sherman Hostetter, started at $500,000. It was held both in-person at the resort and online.
Holley has 60 days to close on the sale, Hostetter said.
In buying Chestnut Ridge, Holley has acquired a 36-hole golf course, 48,000-square-foot clubhouse, restaurant and banquet facility in Burrell Township, just south of Routes 22 and 119. The property generated $2.75 million last year, including $1.8 million from food and beverage sales and $709,000 in golf revenue, according to auction materials.
About 100 people are employed at the resort, said George Thomas, the general manager.
