The owners of Paramount Country Club have filed for a zone change to build a housing development on the golf course property.The proposed project, “The Dells,” would include 230 residential units, including townhouses, condos, and villas.Many residents have expressed negative views on the project, though some support it for controlled growth and golf course preservation.In exchange for the zone change, Paramount has offered benefits like road improvements, a donation to parks, and limited golf access for town residents.
NEW CITY, N.Y. — The owners of Paramount Country Club have taken the formal step of filing for a zone change for a long-talked-about plan to add housing to the storied golf course.
The town’s planning board on Nov. 19 held the first discussion on a petition for the project, dubbed “The Dells.” The project could take months or years to wend its way through land-use boards and other agencies and get a final decision by the town board.
Many residents at the Nov. 19 meeting offered a negative view of the project. However, some locals have supported the idea, saying it could ensure controlled growth and preserve the presence of a top-flight golf course. The planning board is expected to continue the public hearing.
Even though the formal land-use process just launched, the project has been floated by Paramount for more than a year.
Back in July 2024, Paramount launched a website, Paramountandclarkstown.com. It offers details about the “intelligent residential development” and offers a way to show support.
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Steve Lapper who represents Paramount and the club’s owners, the Mandelbaum family of New Jersey.
Lapper said the club, formerly Dellwood Country Club, has seen a turnaround under the Mandelbaums’ ownership and is a successful endeavor.
“The family is patient but their patience is not unlimited. … They have invested considerable money into the club, they have grown the club (and) they have been a wonderful local community member,” Lapper said. “We are committed to owning the club. … We’re not going away. This is not a build it and flip job.”
Clarkstown Supervisor George Hoehmann said on Nov. 21 that it would be “totally premature to discuss the plan” and called the requsted zone change “significant.”
The town board is the final arbiter of any zone change. “We forwarded it to the planning board and related agencies to get feedback,” Hoehmann said.
Paramount’s plan includes a cluster of “country club lifestyle” housing on a section of their property that’s now fallow.
The property is currently in the town’s R-160 zone, known as a “Conservation Density Residence District,” that allows limited development to preserve “scenic resources.” The current R-160 conservation zoning would allow four-acre lots, town officials have said.
Paramount is asking the town to rezone the site to R-22, which allows single-family residences in areas that sit between subdivisions and lower density zones.
Paramount’s pitch: 230 residential units, including 128 townhouses, 70 condo flats, 30 golf villas and two single-family homes.
That’s tweaked a bit since the plan was first marketed to the community in 2024. The original pitch was for 247 residences, including 128 townhouses, 84 condo flats, 33 golf villas and two single-family homes.
Carrots include some golf access for town residents
Paramount has touted job creation from the building phase and envisions at least $3 million more in town and school property tax revenues from the owners of the new dwellings.
Lapper, Paramount’s representative, said the club would pay to widen Zukor Road, which leads to the country club’s entrance and then traverses the golf course itself, and add sidewalks.
Hoehmann said sidewalk additions to a new housing development are routinely required by the town, and had been since the 1980s.
Lapper said there are plans to make a one-time monetary contribution to the town’s Parks and Recreation Department to be used to enhance town facilities. For example, he said, the money could be used to add a small ice skating rink to Zukor Park, which is down the road.
Lapper also said eight to 10 units would be set aside for affordable first responder housing, with the town setting the parameters for qualification.
Paramount’s prime draw is its golf course. Clarkstown is the sole town in Rockland that doesn’t have its own municipal golf course.
Lapper said Paramount envisions an “unescorted guest policy,” which could allow the town to dole out slots to residents for certain times.
“We’re a private club,” Lapper said. “Typically all our access is limited to members and their guests.”
And their big sweetener: Paramount has offered to preserve, through a deed restriction, roughly two-thirds of the 217-acre property, including its golf course. “This will ensure that it will remain undeveloped and protected as open space by preventing future development,” its promotional material stated.
History and reputation at Paramount Country Club
Paramount’s well-regarded golf course is just one of the country club’s amenities. There’s a restaurant and catering, a full clubhouse and rental space for weddings and events, tennis courts and an Olympic-sized pool. There’s also a playground, overnight accommodations, a rose garden and well-appointed grounds beyond the 243-acre golf course.
The golf course was originally part of property owned by then-Paramount Studios chief Alfred Zukor.
Zukor then hired legendary golf architect A.W. Tillinghast to expand the course to 18 holes.
By 1936, fortunes dimmed for Paramount and Zukor, so he opened the course to members.
Zukor sold the course in 1948 and died in 1976 at age 103.
Dellwood Country Club was sold in 2009 to the Mandelbaum family. They changed the name to Paramount as a nod to its roots.
Under the Mandelbaums’ ownership, the Tillinghast course was spruced up by well-known golf architect Jim Urbina.
