Former Golf Course Will Become Part Of Cuyahoga Valley National Park

It's been more than a year since golfers teed off at the former Brandywine Country Club. But the next visitors might be wearing hiking boots instead of golf shoes.

The Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park signed an agreement to buy the site Thursday. 

Conservancy CEO Deb Yandala says the park has been interested in the land for quite awhile, in part because the parcel sits in the middle of the park.

“It’s beautiful property on both sides of Akron-Peninsula road. Some of it goes right up to the Cuyahoga River, just a beautiful piece of land that was an old par-3 course,” she said.

Yandala would not disclose the purchase price.

Bringing the 215-acres into park's boundaries has been a topic of conversation since the parcel became available more than a year ago. That's when the Trust for Public Land began to work with CVNP to acquire the property. But getting the land took on urgency when developers became interested in it, Yandala says. 

“We did get word that there were other people interesting in purchasing the property and getting it zoned residential," she said. "So when we heard that, we were fearful that could lead to some development that would not be appealing right in the middle of a national park “

Park and conservancy staff will start studying possible uses for the land early next year.