Adam Weitsman and Jeff Knauss pay $795,000 for 154 acres near Micron development

CLAY, N.Y. — High-powered businessman and philanthropist Adam Weitsman and former advertising executive Jeff Knauss paid $795,000 for 154 acres of property just north of the site where semiconductor giant Micron plans to build in the coming years.

The newly formed real estate company paid $370,000 more than what the prior owner KA-CO Realty paid in 2010.

The acreage is the home of the now-closed Caughdenoy Links Golf Course which was built in 1995 in the rural Town of Hastings in Oswego County. Last week on social media, Jeff Knauss described the property as on the same road as the Micron site. The actual address is on County Route 33, which is less than a 10-minute drive from the intersection of Route 31 and Caughdenoy Road, where Micron is expected to break ground sometime next year.

Robert Rose had owned the golf course since 2010. It was operated in recent years by RJ Graham Golf which also owns Orchard Vali and Tanner Valley in southern Onondaga County.

When reached at his retirement home in Florida, Rose said, “I wasn’t looking to sell it for development. I was hoping to continue the operation as a golf course.” But, there were no buyers for a golf course and Weitsman and Knauss made an offer on the property. About the sale, Rose said, “I’m happy. My wife’s happy.”

Other property owners that are more directly in Micron’s footprint have received higher prices for their acreage from the Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency. For example, the Caza family sold several parcels on Burnet Road last November totaling approximately 35 acres for $2.5 million.

Another purchase by Onondaga County from Arthur Mitchell on Burnet Road was priced at $1.6 million for 52 acres.

Weitsman and Knauss have not disclosed any specific plans for their 154 acres in Hastings, but they do not include continued operation as a golf course.