Jun. 21--York County has made a name for itself in the area of manufacturing. 

But the county known for, among other things, Harley-Davidson, may soon become a golfer's paradise. 

With a combination of existing courses and new ones on the drawing board, York County will soon be home to nearly 20 golf courses. Golf courses are spread across the county, from Hanover to Spring Garden Township to Wrightsville. 

East Manchester Township plans to get into the game with the Carriage House Resort. 

Red Lion-based Eastern Development & Design plans to break ground this fall on the Carriage House Resort that will include a six-story, 229-room hotel, 94 single-family homes, 60 townhouses and an 18-hole golf course, said Shah Mathias, owner of Eastern Development & Design. 

The resort will be built on 405 acres east of Sherman Street Ext. near the Codorus Creek. 

But Anne Druck of the York County Visitors and Convention Bureau said York County is not in need of a new hotel. 

"It's almost like we need another hotel like another hole in the head," she said Wednesday. "We have seen so many hotels come to York County within the last three years." 

The York County hotel industry has increased by 18 percent since 1998, but demand for the 3,200 available rooms has increased by only 2.5 percent. Druck said the recent increase in the number of rooms has caused the hotel business in York County to become a soft industry. 

The new hotel at the Carriage House Resort will be successful if it can attract business conventions and events, she said. 

The hotel will feature a conference center, one 350-seat auditorium and three 250-seat auditoriums. 

"It may give us another place to advertise for business conventions," she said. "I can see it helping the local economy in the long run, but it will negatively impact the local hotel industry in the long run." 

Dave Van Arsdale, who operates Comfort Inn hotels in York Township and Manchester Township, said this is not a good time to open a hotel in York County. 

"You really don't want to go into a market where the supply is outpacing the demand," he said. "If the hotel charges $29 per night, it may be a success. If it charges $229 per night, it will fail dismally." 

The new resort might give the hotel and golf industry some unwelcome competition, but it promises to benefit East Manchester Township. 

Tax revenue generated by the resort will go to the township, the school district and the county, said Terry Gingerich, secretary-treasurer for East Manchester Township. 

"I'd rather see a golf course than 2,000 homes," he said. "More people would create problems for the township, including traffic congestion." 

On June 26, the township planning commission will review the plans for the resort. Final approval from the East Manchester Township Board of Supervisors is needed before construction can begin. Still Dan Duke of East Manchester Township questions the plans. 

"I'm not real excited about the town houses," he said. "It'll probably drive the deer away, but change is good." 

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(c) 2001, York Daily Record, Pa. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.