CRANBERRY TWP — Supervisors are preparing to take another significant step toward several upgrades of the clubhouse at township-owned Cranberry Highlands Golf Course.

At an upcoming Oct. 3 meeting, the board will be asked to approve an authorization to bid regarding a considerable face-lift that notably includes improvements to the clubhouse’s roof, banquet hall and outdoor patio.

The plan for upgrades started two years ago, when the board put together and reviewed a golf course master plan that shined a light on what needed to be done.

“We did a golf course master plan that looked at multiple types of improvements that included the golf course, but also clubhouse improvements,” said township manager Dan Santoro. “We’re now moving forward with the clubhouse pieces of that project.”

Since the structure was built more than two decades ago, it was an appropriate time to push for a makeover that will benefit one of Cranberry’s largest public use facilities.

“We’ve needed a new roof for a couple of years,” Santoro said. “We have some plumbing things that we need to do some corrections on. There’s some other minor miscellaneous things as well.”

The banquet room is one of the largest spaces inside the 14,000-foot clubhouse and is regularly rented out over the course of the year for weddings, baby showers and a host of other special events.

According to Santoro, one of the upgrades to the banquet room will be installing a permanent bar, and another is the addition of more storage space for guests in the room.

As of now, the outdoor patio does not receive enough shade, so one of the improvements will be to provide much needed cover to the area.

“We’re looking at putting a roof or an awning-type structure to cover the back patio that will hopefully allow us to put some more tables and chairs out there,” Santoro said. “It also provides expanded space for events.”

The board won’t know an exact number of contractor proposals until the authorization to bid is approved. However, Santoro said it’s usually better to have multiple options.

“The more bids, the better for us,” he said. “We hope there’s lots of contractors who are interested in bidding because we will take the low bid as we’re required to do.”

Santoro estimates construction work will start sometime after the Christmas rental season, with the earliest start time being January 2025.