FORT SMITH, Ark. — An old Fort Smith country club has been purchased by a local company.
The Norris Group has purchased what was the Fianna Hills Country Club for $1.1 million for the 12-acre property, and the group has big plans to revitalize the once-country club.
“It's a beautiful setting,” said Kelly Clark, the Norris Group’s chief operating officer.
Fianna Hills Country Club has been closed since the end of 2018, but the Norris Group plans to have a lot of the same amenities as the former club such as a restaurant, pool, tennis court, and more, but they will not be reopening the golf course.
“Right now, it's still a blank slate, but we know we want a restaurant, pickleball courts, and to get the tennis court back up,” said Clark.
“Obviously we'll give the building a facelift. It's had an inspection on it, and the bones are really good. We're just gonna go in there and make it look fresh and new again,” he said.
Clark says they also plan to build multi-family housing on the land that was once the golf course. Since 2018 there have been several plans by other potential buyers to reopen the club but those all failed. However, Clark says they aren’t worried:
“There's been such a public outpouring of people wanting us to open it, and we really feel like that. We build it, they'll come,” said Clark.
There will be some membership aspect, but he says there also might be parts open to the public because they want the restaurant to be open to as many people as possible.
“When I first moved here in the 80s, it was thriving, and it was an amazing place. It still is, it's got so much character, and the views are probably the best in Fort Smith. So gosh, it's just got so much to offer, we just need to breathe a lot back into it,” said Clark.
The Norris Group plans to start work soon and thinks the renovation will take at least a year.
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