Why was the Rancho San Joaquin Golf Course for sale?

​Despite the golf course’s viability as an ongoing, profitable business serving the needs of the Irvine community, the previous owner of the Rancho San Joaquin golf course attempted to sell the golf course property as potential for development.  The golf course’s former corporate owner, Drive Shack Inc. (which owns American Golf Corp.) had embarked on a strategy of liquidating its golf course holdings including Rancho San Joaquin so it can invest in a series of virtual “golf entertainment centers.” 
Drive Shack Inc., the owner of Rancho San Joaquin Golf Course, announced on Monday, October 19, 2020 that they have sold the RSJ golf course to a private investment group for $34.5 million.  Read the complete details
Drive Shack and its broker, Cushman & Wakefield, had marketed Rancho San Joaquin golf course as suitable for residential development -- despite their awareness that the golf course straddles an old landfill (possibly making development prohibitively expensive) and the fact that the golf course is bordered by hundreds of homes that were designed specifically to be part of a golf course community.

​As if that were not enough to deter the prospect of “development” on the golf course, it is surrounded by busy intersections and streets that are already clogged with traffic and noise, problems that more development will only exacerbate.

Was Cushman & Wakefield's Sales Brochure on the RSJ Golf Course Misleading?

Was the Cushman & Wakefield sales brochure on the RSJ golf course misleading by stating the property is an "Entitlement/Redevelopment Opportunity?"  You be the judge.  But at an August 28th City Council meeting, (now former) Mayor Don Wagner stated the following:
"​Some of the [Cushman & Wakefield] sales material which was what first got our attention when this was brought to us by community members, stating things like the Council '...is examining other possible land use designations, which creates an opportunity to create value through further densification of [this] Site.' 

That comes really, really close to being a fraudulent statement.  That was not something this Council was considering on this site -- had never been presented to us.  And so, if you're moving into a process based on a statement like that or a belief that that's where this Council is, the point of tonight is to say that's not where this Council is." 

--Irvine Mayor Don Wagner, public comments made at the August 28th Council meeting
In addition, in response to Cushman & Wakefield issuing the sales brochure as an "Entitlement/Redevelopment Opportunity," the City of Irvine Community Development (Planning) Dept. issued a "Info Sheet" document on the golf course property stating the current zoning of the property and a historical summary of the landfill under which the majority of the golf course sits.