By Gloria Lloyd
News Editor
glorialloyd@callnewspapers.com

At first, Tower Tee owner Steve Lotz wanted to fight a proposed subdivision at the golf course his family leased for five decades.

But when his attorney looked at the language of his contract, there was no way out, Lotz said. Even with the help of business interests, he couldn’t match McBride Berra’s competing offer to owner Tegna.

“I know their bid and I know my bid, and I know their bid was 2.5 times what my bid was,” he said. “So I lose. And I made a bold bid as far as I was concerned. But I was willing to take a shot.”

He harbors no ill feelings toward the developer, which agreed to let Tower Tee stay beyond its lease: “They went above and beyond to help me say goodbye to our customers. Our policy has been that McBride did us a favor.”

As for Tegna, “Tegna was really subsidizing the facility for 50 years — we never paid much rent,”  Lotz said.

“I feel like I got away with one. For 55 years, Tower Tee had a good deal.”