Politics & Government

Could Detroit Sell Rackham Golf Course in Huntington Woods?

Speculation has swirled again recently about whether Rackham Golf Course in Huntington Woods could be sold as the city of Detroit works to shore up its finances; but how likely is such an outcome?

Selling Rackham would come with several complicating factors – including a precedent-setting Supreme Court ruling – and was not on Detroit Emergency Financial Manager Kevin Orr's radar as of last week, Huntington Woods City Manager Alex Allie said Tuesday.

"It's all speculation at this point," Allie said. "I don't think anybody objectively looking at it from Detroit's perspective would sell it because it's profitable. It carries other city courses that aren't.

"(However,) all that changes in federal bankruptcy court," Allie said. "I cringe at the thought of a Detroit bankruptcy, so I don't want to go that far."

Detroit attorney Horace H. Rackham and his wife Mary donated Rackham to the city of Detroit in 1924 on the condition that it remain a publicly owned golf course. Detroit officials touched off a firestorm in 2006 when former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's administration proposed selling the property for a minimum of $6.25 million to a developer, a move the Michigan Supreme Court blocked after a costly legal fight.

The property may only be sold to a purchaser who will keep it as a publicly owned golf course; otherwise, it reverts to ownership by the Rackham heirs, which limits the pool of interested buyers, Allie said.

"(Orr) knows if Rackham is going to be sold, there are very few authorized buyers based on the deed restrictions," Allie said.


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