Amherst, N.Y. (WBEN) - Ever the optimist, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said he is hopeful that people will be able to use, at least, a portion of Willowdale Park by late 2026.
If the restoration of nine holes on the former Westwood Country Club property along North Forest Road in Amherst is completed within the next 12 months, the first golfers could be teeing off from the newly-christened county-controlled park by mid-fall 2026, Poloncarz said during a Sept. 26 ceremonial ground breaking on the 171-acre complex.
"What I didn't want to see is this property turned into a housing development," Poloncarz said. "This is no longer a country club. It is the 'people's park.'
Not so fast, says Dan Gagliardo, who is running of the Republican ticket in the Amherst Supervisor's race. Gagliardo, on Sept. 25, said he has filed documents in State Supreme Court seeking an Article 78 hearing centering on Erie County taking over the Westwood property from the Town of Amherst.
Gagliardo, the endorsed Republican Party candidate, says he thinks the transfer of the Westwood property from Amherst to Erie County was done illegally. No court date has been set for the Article 78 hearing.
The fate of the Westwood property has become one of the major talking points in this year's Amherst supervisor's race between Gagliardo and Amherst Deputy Supervisor and Councilman Shawn Lavin, the endorsed Democratic Party candidate.
Erie County taking over the Westwood property ends a saga that dates back to 2012 when the country club was sold to private interests who wanted to develop the property into a mix of housing and commercial development. The club closed in 2014 and the land has sat fallow ever since.
Public outcry and a community backlash scuttled those plans and the town ended up acquiring the former country club, but plans to move forward with a new park fell through and, in April, the county and town announced the plan for property to become a county park and rebranded as Willowdale Park - in a nod to its historic past.
Willowdale Park will feature the nine-hole golf course, playgrounds and passive walking trails. Erie County is investing $9.1 million in the Willowdale Park upgrades.
Poloncarz said the upgrades will be done in phases, but he expects the entire Willowdale Park conversion should be completed by 2027.
"I can't wait to see people walking, golfing and just enjoying this park," Poloncarz said.