September 2, 2021 – Town of Trenton, WI – It has been nearly six months since a devastating fire raced through the clubhouse at West Bend Lakes Golf Club, 1241 Highway 33 in the Town of Trenton.
It was March 14, 2021 and 15 area fire departments responded.
Kicking through the rubble of what was once a 100-year-old building, the Merkel family counted its blessings as no one was injured and they worked quickly to pick up the pieces. With generous support from the community the 18-hole course opened for the season.
Below are the first drawings to be released of the new clubhouse. Designs are courtesy American Construction Services.
“Team American is proud to be working with the Merkel family to restore full operations of West Bend Lakes,” said company President Kraig Sadownikow. “Their golf course is a landmark in the West Bend area and we are excited to be associated with a family business that gives so much to the community.”
The building is approximately 4,000-square-feet which includes bar/dining area, pro shop, full kitchen, office, and storage.
“Our design intent was a small homage to the Augusta National Clubhouse,” said Adam Hertel with American Construction Services.
The Merkel family said it is pleased to be moving forward. Some statements from the family are below.
“I like the openness and the country style with the porch. We are blue collar but we wanted to keep it with a ‘country feel. We’re not going for a high-end, white collar, fancy. We want it to be a clubhouse where people could come and relax.
“The new design features all one level, no second story. From the customer side it will be more user friendly so you don’t have to go down 10 steps to get outside.
“The ground level of the first floor will be lower than what it used to be because it was built on stilts. There will be fewer steps to get in or out.
“This is a little bit smaller than we want but today’s costs are just not conducive to that. It will work very efficiently for us. I’m hoping to get it started pretty soon.”
Plans for the new clubhouse must still be approved by the State of Wisconsin.
The Merkel’s credit businesses in the community for their help including Tommy Schwai, Jeff’s Spirits on Main, Jeff Lamby, and Equipment Rentals.
The cause of the fire was electrical in nature.
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