Developer who sold DragonRidge Country Club now buying it back

Nearly two years after developer Rich MacDonald sold DragonRidge Country Club in Henderson at his MacDonald Highlands development, he's buying it back.

In February 2014, Canada-based Pacific Links International bought the 186-acre golf course for a little more than $11 million.

McDonald declined to reveal the repurchase price but did say it was less than his selling price.

Earlier this month, MacDonald said Pacific Links told him they were liquidating some of its U.S. holdings and asked him if he was interested in purchasing DragonRidge.

"I was surprised when they announced that and they let me know they were going to make that decision," he said. "I said I was interested and we put this together pretty fast."

MacDonald said it was vital to him to buy back the golf club.

"It's important that the golf course stays the way we left it when I sold it to keep the integrity of the community," he said. "I guess I'm getting back in the golf business."

Rudy Anderson, president of Pacific Links International, which also acquired SouthShore Golf Course in Henderson and Southern Highlands Golf Club in southwest Las Vegas in 2011, said the company is "not necessarily" liquidating its U.S. assets.

"We're always going through a review of our assets to determine our long-term strategy," Anderson said. "All of our clubs are being reviewed, as they always are, for possible sales or acquisitions. If sold, they would remain a golf course."

MacDonald said he built DragonRidge, which opened in 2001, on his birthday, April 21.

"We will probably have another reopening on the same date this year," he said. "We'll definitely have a big celebration for that."

Before the grand reopening, MacDonald said he has big plans for the club.

"We'll be adding foliage in certain places to beautify the course and upgrade the clubhouse, which is nice now but I want it to be better," he said. "Our community has some of the biggest, most expensive homes in the valley and it's important for the club to feel like that, too, when you walk in."

MacDonald added that he'll be looking for a club decorator to help him achieve that goal.

"We'll be redoing lobby and cocktail lounge, too, to give it a much higher-end feel," he said. "It's comfortable now and I still want it to be comfortable but upgraded as well."

The closing, MacDonald said, is expected to be complete by March 1.

"I'm looking forward to increasing the quality of the club for our residents because it's a focal point of the community and it's why a lot of people come to this community in the first place," he said. "I wasn't looking forward to it originally but the more we get into this, the more excited I'm getting."

— Contact Ann Friedman at afriedman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4588. Find @AnnFriedmanRJ on Twitter.