After years of speculation, the rumors are reality: On May 20, Minerva Park's only golf course was sold. It will host its final rounds during the July Fourth weekend. Then, it will be razed and replaced with 250 homes.

At least once a week they retreat to the secluded, rolling hills of Minerva Lake Golf Club and unwind after a long day's work.

But as the five golfers stood on the green at the 10th hole, with picturesque, tree-lined fairways shrouding them from the surrounding city, their usually carefree gathering became a eulogy. The golfers recalled taking their first putts as preteens. They praised the course's affordable prices and accessibility. And, finally, they pondered where they'll move their time-honored tradition.

After years of speculation, the rumors are reality: On May 20, Minerva Park's only golf course was sold. It will host its final rounds during the July Fourth weekend. Then, it will be razed and replaced with 250 homes.

"We're getting in as many rounds as we can," said Jon Reeb, 32, a Clintonville resident who estimated he's been golfing at Minerva Lake for 20 years.

Reeb and his fellow golfers called the development plan a bummer. But those involved said it was inevitable.

For years, developers have tried � and failed � to reach an agreement with the village of Minerva Park regarding its cherished, 18-hole, 85-year-old course. Most recently, a plan fizzled in summer 2014. But the recently approved proposal from M/I Homes of Central Ohio, about a year in the making, aimed to succeed where others fell short, said Kevin Zeppernick, the developer's vice president of land.

M/I Homes purchased the property for $3 million, according to the Franklin County auditor's office.

The developer's plan calls for about 40 acres of green space on the 100-or-so-acre site, which the village recently annexed from Blendon Township. Homes will cost between $200,000 and $250,000. The neighborhood, in the Westerville school district, will blend seamlessly with the quaint, tight-knit village, filled with curving boulevards, scenic hills and canopy trees, Zeppernick said.

"There's a lot of complexity in this deal, but that's what makes it so special," he said. "It's taken a high level of creativity to make a project work here."

About 14 acres of the site's green space will be turned over to Westerville schools, in exchange for some of the district's existing property alongside Hawthorne Elementary School. There, M/I Homes will extend and reconstruct Farview Drive, creating a new north-to-south corridor from Route 161 straight into the development.

That work, the first phase of construction, has already begun, Zeppernick said. The first homes are likely to be built next year.

M/I Homes also will fix a crumbling dam on Minerva Park Lake, which will be paid for using tax-increment financing. Tax-increment financing subsidizes companies by refunding or diverting a percentage of their paid taxes to finance infrastructure improvements.

About 1,300 people lived in Minerva Park's more than 550 homes as of the 2010 U.S. census, meaning the new development's 250 homes could increase the village's population by about 50 percent or more.

"The plan really fits with our vision of what we want for the village," Mayor Lynn Eisentrout said. "Change is difficult, and this is a huge change for everyone, but it's also an opportunity for growth. We want to make the most of it."

Jeff Groezinger's family has owned Minerva Lake Golf Club since his grandfather, Harold Pollock, built it in 1931. The sale has been difficult for him to stomach, too, he said. But it was time.

Most members of the Groezinger and Pollock families, including him, no longer live near Minerva Park. The family's younger members weren't interested in running the course, either. M/I Homes offered the right deal at the right moment, he said, and the village seemed to agree.

In the club's final days, Groezinger said he expects there will be lots of reminiscing on the historic course and in the club shop.

He encouraged golfers to come tee off one last time. He's going to dust off his clubs, too.

"It hasn't really sunk in yet, but it might after one last trip," Groezinger said. "It's a strange feeling. But I don't think the lifespan of most small businesses is 80-plus years. I guess we're lucky it stayed a golf course this long."

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@AlissaWidman