MERIDIAN TWP., MI - A 97-year-old country club near East Lansing is closing its doors for good.

The Walnut Hills Country Club, 2874 E. Lake Lansing Road, won't open this spring, according to Meridian Township officials and a spokesman for the company liquidating the country club's assets.

Summer Park Realty, which now owns Walnut Hills, has sued the township over a denied rezoning request, said Mark Kieselbach, Meridian Township community planning and development director. The two parties are currently in court-ordered mediation, he said.

"They wanted to rezone it so they could redevelop it for housing," Kieselbach said. "The board at the time thought it was too dense, too many houses."

Approximately 190 acres, Walnut Hills includes a golf course, restaurant, event space, pool and other amenities. Representatives from Walnut Hills couldn't be reached for comment on Tuesday, March 20.

Meridian Township denied a rezoning request in May 2017 that would have allowed a developer to build more than 400 homes on the property, according to the Lansing State Journal. Under existing zoning rules, Summer Park Realty could build 280 homes on the space, Meridian Township Manager Frank Walsh told LSJ last year.

If a settlement in the lawsuit isn't reached, Kieselbach said the rezoning dispute will go to trial.

Meanwhile, the assets from the country club will be auctioned online on Tuesday, March 27. Anybody can bid on the items between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Orbitbid.com, said Jon Kuiper, online auction specialist for the company.

Assets for auction include the full range of grounds equipment, golf carts, commercial kitchen and bar equipment, TVs, furniture and more. People can view the items at Walnut Hills on Monday, March 26, and the day of the auction.

Orbitbid.com has done similar auctions in the past, Kuiper said, including one in southwest Michigan last fall. Buyers are responsible for making shipping arrangements, he said.

“(Country club auctions) are always really well received and always a little bittersweet, because it’s ‘I’ve played that course,’” Kuiper said. “It’s always a little bittersweet, especially for members and people locally.”