JJ Manning.com

Georgetown - A crowd of about 50 people gathered in front of the Georgetown Club for its foreclosure auction Friday morning, but there was only one bid on the property. Black Swan Country Club LLC made the winning bid of $3.2 million.

Justin Manning of J.J. Manning Auctioneers explained that the winning bidder would be responsible for paying municipal liens on the property, which totaled $129,836.28 as of April 21.

Black Swan was also the company holding the foreclosure auction. The company purchased the mortgage on the Georgetown Club from Sovereign Bank back in April, days before a previously scheduled auction. According to state records, Black Swan Country Club was established five days before that purchase by John "Jack" Swansburg, a Beverly-based businessman.

At the May 17 Board of Selectmen's meeting, Black Swan filed a request for the town to waive its right to 90 days notice of an auction sale so that the foreclosure auction could be held on June 11. The board voted to approve the waiver, and three other town boards and commissions signed off on it in time for the auction to be held.

After the real estate was sold, all the fixtures, furniture and equipment associated with the property were auctioned in one bulk group, with the exception of about 30 pieces of maintenance and kitchen equipment that were auctioned individually.

Black Swan made the only bid in the bulk sale of the contents as well, winning with an offer of $150,000. The company spent an additional $2,980 on 19 of the 30 items that were for sale individually.

Swansburg and Tony Aieta, manager of Black Swan Country Club, were both at the auction, but declined to comment at this time.

It is unclear when the golf course will be open for business, but Alan Boisvert said that the restaurants at the club should be ready to open by late June or early July.

Boisvert, owner of Keon's 105 Bistro in Haverhill, said that he would be handling all food and beverage at the clubhouse and function hall.

"We're going to bring that same quality of food and service here," Boisvert said. "We're really excited to be here in Georgetown."

According to Boisvert, there will also be a fine dining restaurant called Keon's at the Black Swan. He said that everything will be made from scratch, and they will also have their own pastry chef to make wedding cakes.

Boisvert said he plans to go before the Board of Selectmen at its June 21 meeting to apply for a liquor license.

The parking lot of the golf club showed signs of maintenance and improvements that are already under way, with dirt and sand piled in part of the parking lot.

Boisvert said that the interior of the club had already been completely repainted. "It's had a complete facelift," he said, adding that a new roof had also been put on the building.

He said that plans for landscaping include putting in a fountain out front and adding lots of flowers and color.

"We want people driving in to say 'Wow' and continue to feel that throughout their experience," Boisvert said.