By Paul Maryniak | Ahwatukee Foothills News
Stating that it could take as long as three years for the courts to resolve the legal fight over the future of the Ahwatukee Lakes Golf Course, owner Wilson Gee last week made a surprise offer to his opponents – offering to share potentially millions of dollars in profits if they allow him to sell the land to a homebuilder.
The offer was promptly rejected by Lakes residents Eileen Breslin and Linda Swain, who are suing to have the 101-acre site restored as a golf course.
In an email to the two plaintiffs, Save the Lakes and the Ahwatukee Board of Management, Gee said he could possibly reap between $20 million and $25 million by selling the site to a homebuilder if the land use restrictions requiring a golf course were lifted.
In return, he promised to pay all legal fees incurred by Breslin, Swain and Save the Lakes as well as give Swain and Breslin each 1 percent of the profits and 18 percent to ABM for any community improvements that the umbrella HOA and its member homeowners associations want to make.