The Reading Country Club is under new ownership after the Exeter Township supervisors voted 5-0 Monday to accept a bid from DCM Investments for the sale of the 134-acre property.
DCM Investments is owned by brothers David, Charles and Michael Gulati, who were assisted in the $4.8 million purchase by their father, businessman Jack Gulati.
Facing steep operating costs, supervisors opted to sell the club in March.
Township officials noted that owning and operating the club has cost the township about $1.1 million annually since 2017.
“Continuing in this vein is just unsustainable,” said William Heim, township manager. “Diverting resources to support its operations reduces the township’s ability to fund other essential services and projects.”
Supervisors and some residents said they were glad to see the 101-year-old property that once hosted some of the world’s best golfers handed down to a local family that has experience as a steward of other storied sites.
“Names like (pro golfers) Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Betsy King: This is the royalty of the PGA and the LPGA,” former Supervisor Ted Gardella said. “They made history at the Reading Country Club. We need to protect that.”
Gardella spoke before the vote, urging supervisors to hand the club’s reins to the Gulatis.
Jack Gulati previously owned the Reading Royals and his family owns Stokesay Castle.
“The country club is a legend, legends played here,” Jack Gulati said. “There is a gem here that just needs to be calibrated, renovated, has to bring in good management, not only for the golf course, but also for the hospitality. There are functions that this property can have and should have.”
Gulati said his main goal is to restore the clubhouse and golf course to its former glory.
“It will require some investment, we understand that,” Gulati said. “So basically, let’s rejuvenate what we have here, bring back the grand old club.”
Gulati also plans to revamp the country club’s restaurant and add a pool as well as tennis and pickleball courts.
Exeter bought the property in 2005 for $18.6 million, including the purchase price, financing fees, project expenses and related costs.
Heim noted the property was acquired through eminent domain to prevent the development of Heritage Hills, a proposed residential project with 525 housing units.
Supervisor George Bell said what the township paid for the property isn’t the point.
“We were going to be on the hook (paying for the country club) until at least 2037 because of the debt service,” Bell said. “That means 13 more years of a million-dollar bleed. I don’t care what we paid. It’s getting the annual cost off of our budget.”
Bell said the township isn’t in the hospitality business and should focus on its core competencies, like improving emergency services.
Supervisor Michelle Kircher said she was pleased the property will remain as it is.
“We’re not going to have all those houses in here,” Kircher said. “It was worth every penny not to have the traffic congestion and everything else.”
Supervisor Mohammad Mohammad said it was about time the club brought money to Exeter instead of draining its resources.
“How about no tax increase just to fund the RCC?” Mohammad said. “There isn’t a better deal we could hope for than this.”
Kircher and other supervisors thanked Jack Gulati for his interest in the property, and he received a round of applause from many of the roughly 20 residents in attendance.
A few residents voiced dissatisfaction with the sale, claiming the bidding process was flawed and asking for more input from the residents that the sale affects.
Gulati said he wasn’t sure how long it would take to realize his plans for the property.
“We have a binding agreement and we can go from there,” he said. “I think in the next few months, we’ll have a strategy laid out.”
The Gulatis have already paid a bid deposit of $480,500, and the township will receive another $2,324,600 within 60 days of the bid being accepted.
The final $2 million will be due on the 10th anniversary of the deed’s recording.
