LIVERPOOL, N.Y.—37 acres is massive lot. That is what Ron and Richard Ajemian have in the Liverpool Country Club. Then an offer came along to purchase all of that property.
“Surprise. We’ve had people come in and surprise us before, but,” Ron Ajemian said. “But,” this one was different.
A $280-million-dollar project to build a warehouse. The company coming in is unknown, but over 1,000 jobs to the Liverpool-Clay area would be brought in with it.
The Ajemians, whose family has owned and operated the golf course for 70 years, have received multiple purchase offers before: a Flying J, a Wal-Mart. Each time they’ve been denied due to public opposition.
“Traffic. It’s always traffic,” Ron Ajemian said, referring to what’s been the deal-breaker in each of these offers.
And this one is no different. A Rochester engineering firm did a report and found the new warehouse would congest the roads with over 1,000 vehicles during peak traffic hours.
But Clay Town Supervisor Damian Ulatowski believes the positive economic benefits far outweigh the potential negatives.
“I think about 80 per cent of the public reaction is, and will be, positive,” Ulatowski said. “When you’re talking about 1,000 jobs, that’s a lot of impact.”
The Ajemians certainly hope he is right. Even though the family loves what they do, they worry about how much longer they can keep operating the country club.
“We can’t do that work anymore, it’s physical,” Ron Ajemian said. “I mean, how much longer can we really last.” Ron will be 78 years old within a few weeks and his brother Richard is 80.
So, the deal is set on the Ajemians’ side. Ron noted that they are not very optimistic.
“We’ll see what happens,” Richard Ajemian said. “That’s all we can do.”
A public hearing on the warehouse will be held on September 30th. Town Supervisor Ulatowski moved it to Liverpool High School because a large crowd is expected.
