Sale planned for Gypsum golf course

GYPSUM, Colorado — A swath of Cotton Ranch property in Gypsum heads to the auction block on Wednesday, July 8, according to county officials.

A golf course, clubhouse, pool and tennis courts and will be for sale, said Clyde Deffaa, director of the Cotton Ranch Club, and Tim Garton, a former partner.

The auction is part of the foreclosure proceedings on the property.

Eagle County's public trustee office will conduct the auction at 10 a.m. at the county building, 500 Broadway St. in Eagle.

The owners of the golf course — Cotton Ranch Club, Inc. and Cotton Ranch Company, LLC., both based in Gypsum, owe $2.2 million to PMC Commercial Trust in Dallas, Texas, the lendor for the project, county documents state.

In the past, Gypsum town officials have tossed around the idea of buying the golf course and transforming it from a semi-private course to a municipal operation.

However, Mayor Pro Tem Richard Mayne said this week the town does not plan to submit a bid on the golf course.

“I think the price would be a main concern for a lot of us,” he said. “We don't want to get overextended and into something that won't be a benefit to the majority of the taxpayers.”

Auction details

Here's how the auction will work. State law requires the lendor — PMC Commerical Trust — to submit an opening bid on the property, said Karla Herridge, chief deputy public trustee for the county. The amount of that bid will hinge on the fair market value of the property, plus any costs and interest associated with the foreclosure, she said.

Exactly what the auction will mean for the future of the golf course is hard to predict.

Defaa, director of the Cotton Ranch Club, said he expects the course to remain open if the lendor retains the property.

“Under our usual experience, if the bank retains the asset, operations are carried forth as normal,” he said.

PMC Commercial Trust officials could not be reached for comment.

Deffaa said he cannot predict what will happen to the golf course if an outside bidder prevails in the auction.

The golf course stands on 142 acres west of Valley Road, on either side of Cotton Ranch and Legend drives. It consists of the 18-hole golf course, a roughly 10,000 square foot clubhouse including a restaurant, an Olympic sized pool and three tennis courts.

The back story

The golf course auction is the latest chapter in the development's complex history. Cotton Ranch consists of the golf course and a housing development. The owners bought the land in 1995, started selling homes the following year and opening the golf course in 1997, Garton said.

Seven years later, Garton and business partner Vince Cook became entangled in a legal battle.

The original lawsuit Cook filed in 2005 claimed that Garton, in his capacity as manager of the Cotton Ranch Golf Club, was “grossly negligent,” the Vail Daily previously reported. The suit claimed that both parties agreed to lend money to Cotton Ranch Golf Club to keep the operation open, but Garton failed to meet his financial obligation, the newspaper previously reported.

Garton, in his cross filings, claims he was never paid for legitimate management expenses connected with running the club, the Vail Daily previously reported.

The complex case included lengthy financial reports, audits and expert testimony with Cook and Garton lobbing charges and counter-filing over the four-year case history.

In February, the two sides reached a settlement that divvied up the debts and assets.

Denver residents Vince and Kathy Cook retained the golf course; Garton received a roughly 140-acre parcel of land called the Upper Mesa Tract, which straddles Sky Legend Loop. Zoning for that land allows 65 homes, but Garton said he has not yet built any homes on the property.

During the legal battle, the court appointed a receiver to protect the company's assets as it proceeded with foreclosure actions.

In February Judge Frederick Gannett appointed Indiana-based Summit Asset Management as the receiver for the property. That company continues to serve as a manager for the property, Garton said.