Arlington’s Rolling Hills Country Club to close this summer, paving way for more housing
Rolling Hills Country Club will shutter its doors at the end of July to clear the way for more housing in North Arlington, club members told the Star-Telegram Monday afternoon.
The club, on 96 acres at the corner of North Cooper Street and East Lamar Boulevard, is Arlington’s oldest and features an 18-hole golf course that was the host of tournaments like the Texas Women’s Open. It was in operation for 68 years, according to 15-year club member Charean Williams.
The property is valued at more than $12 million, according to Tarrant County Appraisal District records. The developer looking to purchase the property is Dallas-based Provident Realty Advisors, said Lee Kleinman, a senior adviser with Masterplan — a company hired by Provident to help with rezoning.
A Masterplan page for proposed redevelopment on the property said the club had a hard time maintaining members with competition from other clubs in the county. Membership has fallen from 500 to more than 300, said general manager John McGowty via text.
For the sake of finances, the club’s closure was a difficult yet necessary decision, said Chuck McCoy, an 18-year member and four-year board member.
The club had existed as the social life of its older members, Becky Hughes, who has been a club member since 2002 and has been on its board for six years, said. Its closure means they have no choice but to start anew.
The Masterplan website shows the property has room for 318 lots, and Kleinman said Monday afternoon the plan is to build more than 200 single-family homes.
Kleinman said the property’s sale depends on whether the zoning can be changed. Provident has yet to receive a case date from the city, but Kleinman anticipated the case will be heard at the end of July or early August. It won’t go up for a council vote until a month after that meeting, he said. Kleinman guessed the zoning change will be completed sometime in September.
Hughes said the property was always a great place to catch a sunrise or sunset with its hills and green space. She fears the beauty will fade away as the buildings pop up.
Representatives from the city’s planning and development office, which was closed Monday for Juneteenth, couldn’t be reached for comment. The general manager of the club, which was also closed Monday, also did not immediately return a message for comment.
Mayor Pro-Tem Helen Moise, who represents the club’s district, could also not be reached for comment via phone or email Monday.
Over the years, McCoy said the club had a few offers to buy the property that didn’t work out, one of which would’ve kept the club as a golf course. He was glad to have an opportunity to work with the developer to put a nice neighborhood in the club’s place.
“Everybody hates to see it go away,” McCoy said. “It’s a really nice green space for everybody that lives in the area, but I think with like everything, you know, things have a life and this one may have run it.”
And as the club reaches its final days, the question comes down to where members will go next. Some have already begun conversations about joining other local clubs.
But Hughes knows that whatever comes next just won’t have the same charm.
“What we’ve had here at Rolling Hills we will not have at any other place,” Hughes said.
This story was originally published June 20, 2022 at 5:19 PM.
CORRECTION: This story has been updated with a correction to the membership count from the club’s general manager John McGowty.
