With the purchase, the Jankowskis are ensuring the entire property \u2014 which they feared was a target for residential development \u2014 remains untouched.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce it becomes developed, there\u2019s no undeveloping it,\u201d said Travis Jankowski, a Lancaster Catholic High School graduate who lives in Strasburg with his family during the baseball offseason. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of a way of keeping Strasburg Strasburg.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lindsey Jankowski, a Lampeter-Strasburg High School alumna who grew up near Strasburg, remembers playing the course as a child and visiting for its annual Christmas light displays and Easter egg hunts.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like everyone who is local to here has been (at Village Greens) since they were little,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
With four children under age 7, the couple wants to provide that same nostalgic experience for other young families.<\/p>\n
When the course holds its grand reopening April 4 \u2014 headlined by an Easter egg hunt with 4,000 eggs \u2014 visitors will see three new outdoor patios with fire pits and a revamped snack bar featuring a full coffee bar.<\/p>\n
The most significant addition is “Tiny Tees Village,” an outdoor play area featuring miniature versions of some Strasburg area businesses, including a coffee shop, pizza shop and barber shop.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it will be really exciting. I think the community is going to love it – I hope they are going to love it,\u201d Lindsey Jankowski said. \u201cOur goal is to have mini golf not just be a one-hour activity, but an all-day experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
READ:\u00a0Travis Jankowski goes with ‘the flow,’ adjusts to new role as Texas Rangers coach<\/a><\/p>\n End of an era<\/p>\n The sale marks the end of an era for the Petters family, which had owned and operated the business since 1972.<\/p>\n The late Oscar Petters, a former engineer for Hamilton Watch Co. and president of the Lancaster firm\u2019s spinoff company Datcom, designed the holes with his wife, Jean. The 18-hole Orange Course is the original, easier course while 23-hole Gold Course challenges players with hillside terrain.<\/p>\n Following Jean Petters’ death in 2023, the course continued under the care of daughters Debra Anspach and Cindy Fairchild, who made the decision to sell.<\/p>\n “It is our time in life to retire, although this is so bittersweet,” Anspach wrote on the business’s Facebook page. \u201cOur whole family will miss being a part of Village Greens.\u201d<\/p>\n The business is leaving the family, but it remains a local affair \u2014 sold to a family friend who has been part of the Strasburg circle for years.<\/p>\n Lindsey Jankowski went to Lampeter-Strasburg High School with some grandchildren of the golf course\u2019s founders, and one of its operators was a sports coach for her and her brothers.<\/p>\n \u201cJim Fairchild (Cindy\u2019s husband) was a softball coach for me and coached my brothers in midget football,\u201d Lindsey Jankowski said. \u201cThey were a good family.”<\/p>\n READ:\u00a0Lancaster Catholic grad, retired MLB outfielder takes over East Lampeter Twp. gym with community focus [photos]<\/a><\/p>\n Growing local portfolio<\/p>\n The purchase is the latest in a series of local investments for the couple. In December, Travis Jankowski opened the Jankowski Performance Complex<\/a> in East Lampeter Township.<\/p>\n The Jankowskis invested $350,000 into the former Formula Fitness at 2495 Lincoln Highway East where they updated the gym with a batting cage, spin studio and red light therapy room<\/p>\n The couple\u2019s path to ownership of the Village Greens began a year ago when they purchased an 1800s schoolhouse at 1355 Penn Grant Road for $264,120. They learned the schoolhouse was owned by the same family as Village Greens.<\/p>\n While the Jankowskis said they liked the idea of owning some open land near Strasburg, they were hesitant about taking over operations of a mini golf course. However, a desire to protect the land from potential residential development \u2014 and a commitment from the Petters family to help with the transition \u2014 sealed the deal.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s just something about Lancaster County having the land and the farmland staying what it is,\u201d Lindsey Jankowski said. \u201cI think it makes it feel like home here, and we want our kids to be able to see that when they grow up.\u201d<\/p>\n Travis Jankowski, who concluded an 11-season career with approximately $8.9 million in earnings, called the Village Greens purchase as \u201ca real estate investment we don\u2019t really ever plan on cashing in on.\u201d<\/p>\n