Trinity swallows Sleepy Hollow
09:10 PM CST on Wednesday, November 26, 2003
By MATT MCKAY / The Dallas Morning News
The lawsuits and battles over restitution could continue well into next year. But one thing is certain: As of Monday, the two courses at Sleepy Hollow Golf and Country Club are history.
Owner Remy Tabor has been informed by the City of Dallas that it will take over the property on that date. Using eminent domain, it will take over the land in order to make changes to the flow of the Trinity River as a part of the continuing evolution of the Trinity River Corridor Project.
Tabor's side of the story isn't a happy one. His sons, Chuck and Mark, have worked at the shop since Remy bought the course from ClubCorp in 1980. They'll lose their jobs when the course closes, as will other employees, including one food and beverage server who has been with the club since 1958.
Tabor said the city offered him $3 million for the land, and Tabor believes that sum is a dramatic underestimation of the value of the courses and the cost of setting up a golf course elsewhere. After paying off debts and taxes, Tabor said he walked way with $500,000.
"That's not a lot when you've poured 23 years of your heart and soul into a business," said Tabor, a lawyer by trade. "That's about one-sixth of what we have in it."
Rebecca Dugger, director of the Trinity River Corridor Project, said the Army Corps of Engineers determined the best way to protect the city's urban forest and the downtown area from flooding was to take over the Sleepy Hollow course. Giant levees on two sides of the property have protected the course from the Trinity River.
"There's more paving and construction upstream, and with all the additional trees [in the urban forest] downstream, there's a bottleneck in between," said Dugger. "The corps decided the best way to handle that was to take Sleepy Hollow."
Tabor said he doesn't want to try his court case in the media. But legal, municipal and engineering machinations aside, it's a fact that another of Dallas' historic courses will fade into memory at the end of this month.
The facility opened as Riverlake Country Club in 1956. It was designed by Press Maxwell, fresh off his success at Oak Cliff Country Club.
ClubCorp bought the property in 1972 and ran the club for eight years under the name of Forest Oaks. Tabor then purchased the club and changed the name to Sleepy Hollow after the street in Irving where he lived.
Tabor said he'll continue to fight for increased restitution. He's also pushing forward in court, because he wants his side of the story to be on the legal record.
"When we get our turn, we're going to tell our story," said Tabor. "And it's going to sound a lot different from the city's version."