LAKEVILLE – The future of the 162-acre LeBaron Hills Country Club property is unclear following the scheduling of a Dec. 6 foreclosure auction and a separate statement from the club that a sale to another golf course operator is in the works.

Paul E. Saperstein Co. will be conducting an auction of the LeBaron Hills Country Club property on Wednesday, Dec. 6 according to auctioneer Samantha Saperstein.

“This property has not been sold,” Saperstein said. “It is a real foreclosure auction and not a formality. The property may be sold at auction to a third party.” 

The property consists of 162 acres. 17 acres of the property are located in Taunton. The remaining 145 acres are located in Lakeville.

The portion of the LeBaron Hills Country Club property that is in Lakeville is zoned as residential, Lakeville town planner Marc Resnick said in an email. The portion of the property in Taunton is zoned as “rural residential” according to a representative of the Taunton Planning Board.

In a Friday, Nov. 3 email sent to LeBaron Hills Country Club members, the club claimed that the club house would be sold to Brian Conefrey, owner of the Poquoy Brook Golf Club in Lakeville.

Conefrey and representatives of LeBaron Hills did not respond to a request for comment.

“LeBaron Hills is utilizing a foreclosure only as a vehicle to sell the club to Brian Conefrey,” the email said. “We have determined it is the best way to manage the legal process and clear title to ensure a smooth transfer.”

“We are not anticipating any impact to the club or membership,” the email continued. “Our plan is still to have dues to you on or before January 1.”

If purchased, LeBaron Hills Country Club wouldn’t be the only Lakeville property with a golf course sold this year.

Lakeville’s The Back Nine Club property, located on 17 Heritage Hill Drive, was sold to Lakeville developer Robert Poillucci in 2023. According to an application to transfer the Back Nine Club’s liquor license, Poillucci paid $1.45 million dollars for the property and $450 thousand dollars for business assets like golf carts.

At the Sept. 18 Select Board Meeting, a lawyer for Poillucci said that the property would continue to operate as a golf course. 

In an email, Poillucci described various projects he had undertaken on the golf course. “We have hired a new head chef,” Poillucci said. “We have started cleaning up the clubhouse and doing repairs.”

“We are excited,” Poillucci added. The “course has not looked this good in 7 years.”

A year earlier, in 2022, the town of Lakeville had considered whether to purchase land at the site of the Lakeville Country Club.

At a 2022 Special Town Meeting, Lakeville residents voted to give the town of Lakeville the ability to take on debt in order to purchase land.

However, the Lakeville Select Board ultimately did not decide to purchase the Lakeville Country Club property.