It is time to keep your eyes open at Lawrence’s Alvamar Golf and Country Club. And I’m not just talking about when I have a club in my hand on the tee box . . . or in the rough, or in the sand, or waist deep in one of the ponds. Instead, keep an eye out for news that the club has sold to a new local ownership group.

Bob Johnson, chairman of the board of directors of Alvamar Inc., confirmed to me that the shareholders of Alvamar are in the advanced stages of negotiations to sell the two golf courses, clubhouse and other assets to a local group.

“I have my fingers crossed,” Johnson said. “It is far better than a 50-50 proposition at this point.”

Johnson said he is hopeful that an agreement will be finalized by the end of this month. Johnson declined to identify any members of the potential ownership group, but speculation in certain business circles has focused on a group led by Lawrence businessman Thomas Fritzel. Fritzel is the developer whom the city and Kansas University have worked with on the Rock Chalk Park sports complex, and Fritzel also was part of the group that developed The Oread hotel, and has developed significant amounts of property in downtown Lawrence.

Again, Fritzel’s involvement in the project isn’t confirmed yet, so you’ll have to decide how much stock you want to put in that speculation at the moment. I’ve reached out to Fritzel, but haven’t heard back from him. But the KU Athletics department has turned to Fritzel to help it with its facility needs for track and field, soccer and softball, so it is reasonable to think that Fritzel may be part of a plan to shore up the future of KU’s golf facilities. The KU golf teams use Alvamar as their base of operations, and it is my understanding that KU has had a desire to create a more secure long-term future for those facilities. It has been no secret that Alvamar has been on the market for several years, and that has created questions about how KU’s program would fit into the plans of a new ownership group.

Johnson didn’t provide any details about what plans a new ownership group would have for the property, which is located in the heart of west Lawrence, just south and west of Bob Billings Parkway and Kasold Drive. But Johnson said he’s confident the future plans are for the property to operate as a golf and country club. The approximately 100 shareholders who own the course previously have stated they are only interested in selling the property to a group that is committed to the community and the university. Whenever a sale of Alvamar comes up, the potential for infill development always comes up. The facility has 36 holes of golf — both a public and a private course — and speculation always turns to whether a new ownership group would reduce the number of holes of golf and redevelop a portion of the property. I received no details on any such plans or thinking along those lines.

“Who can say what ultimately will happen, but there is no reason to believe that it will be anything but better,” Johnson said.

I’ll let you know when we hear of a finalized deal.

In other news and notes from around town:

• Another west Lawrence property to keep an eye on is at Clinton Parkway and Wakarusa Drive. The northeast corner of that intersection is an undeveloped piece of steeply sloping ground. But as we have reported over the years, there is interest in building a multi-use bank, retail and office building on the site. The project, though, has been slow to develop. The project has been in the planning stages since 2006, but tenants for the site haven’t yet materialized.

At tonight’s City Commission meeting, commissioners will be asked to keep the project alive. The city is being asked to pass an extension of the project’s approved development plan. Development plans generally expire after two-years of sitting inactive. The city has passed three extensions for the plan in the past. But this time some neighbors of the project are objecting.

The neighbors have expressed concern about drainage issues and the potential loss of some trees and vegetation that separate the neighborhood from the proposed commercial site. But as some commissioners have pointed out, the property has been zoned and planned for commercial development since 2007, and many of the neighbors have moved into their homes next to the site subsequent to that zoning. In other words, it has been forecasted that such a change could be coming.

Commissioners, though, have said they do want to look at the plans in more detail and see what assurances can be made to neighbors about the green belt that currently separates the two properties. Plus, it probably is worth remembering that the property may sit as it is for a considerable amount of time. The site is a challenging one to build on, and I haven’t yet heard of any plans to begin construction at the site in the foreseeable future.