Augusta National has extended its reach around Old Berckmans and Washington Road with the acquisition of Jay’s Music Center, but it cost them a pretty penny to do so. The National has bought up more than 80 properties that surround the home of the Masters, 28 of which were bought in the last five years.
Augusta National purchases a local record store to further expand its land reach https://t.co/L6TZ5Td2qv pic.twitter.com/n1TFPPpyfm
— Golficity (@Golficity) November 15, 2016
The Augusta Chronicle had the dollars and cents report the led the store owner Doug Frohman to sell.
Public records show that the Frohman family sold the 0.73-acre parcel to Berckman Residential Properties LLC on Oct. 13 for $5.35 million. Augusta National spokesman Steve Ethun declined to comment on the transaction, citing the private club’s practice of not publicly discussing business matters.
Augusta National spokesman Steve Ethun declined to comment on the transaction, citing the private club’s practice of not publicly discussing business matters. The taxable value of the land and its 5,600-square-foot store is $637,900, according to Richmond County real estate records.
Frohman said the music store has been at its current location, at the intersection of Washington and Old Berckmans roads, since it moved from downtown in 1992. The business was founded in 1945.
Augusta National-affiliated limited liability companies began acquiring residential and commercial properties around the store in the early 2000s. Four years ago, the Frohman family unsuccessfully petitioned against an Augusta National-backed plan to realign Berckmans Road with Alexander Drive, less than a half-mile west of where it used to pass in front of Jay’s Music’s corner parcel.
While the Jay’s Music acquisition sits near the back end of the practice area at Augusta National and will likely be a move to make parking more accessible for tournament week, there have been large acquisitions made that would affect the golf course itself, as GolfDigest.com pointed out.
Earlier this year, there was also a report that the club was close to obtaining a small piece of land bordering Amen Corner. That deal with neighboring Augusta Country Club was rumored to be for $27 million and would allow Augusta National to lengthen its iconic par-5 13th hole.
In less business-based news, we’re less than 150 days from the start of the 2017 Masters.
