River Park Golf Center to close after selling land to Valley Children’s Hospital

River Park Golf Center will close at the end of the year after nearly two decades in operation.

The owners sold the property on Avenue 9, just west of Highway 41, to Valley Children’s Hospital for future expansion, according to the center’s Facebook post on Sunday.

The hospital paid about $5 million for 60 acres of land on the river bottom, where the golf center is located, and on the bluff next to the hospital’s current 100-acre property, said Todd Suntrapak, the hospital’s president and chief executive officer.

“We believe to meet our future strategic demand, we need about 300 acres on our Madera campus,” Suntrapak said. The hospital is interested in buying more land nearby owned by developer Richard Gunner, he said.

The exact use for the golf center parcel is not known at this time. A master site plan is being developed to figure out where inpatient and hospital services should be located, where future office buildings and educational buildings will go, and where town homes for residents and fellows could be built, Suntrapak said.

The golf center will close after business hours on Dec. 31. The business is encouraging customers to use their gift cards and range key credits as soon as possible. Green Grass members will receive refunds for the unused portion of their memberships.

“The owners wish to express a heartfelt thank you to all our loyal customers over the years for their support and patronage,” the Facebook post said, “and look forward to seeing you again for the next few months.”

This story was originally published October 10, 2017 at 1:52 PM with the headline "River Park Golf Center to close after selling land to Valley Children’s Hospital."