In 1971, Pinehurst was sold to Diamondhead Corporation, a land development company headquartered in a Mountainside, New Jersey and owned by Malcolm McLean, a North Carolinian who had developed McLean Trucking Company. The venerable old resort which had seen virtually no noticeable changes in its 75 years before its sale became the center of controversy. Finally, in 1982, Pinehurst became the property of Diamondhead's major lenders, who formed a NC corporation called Resort Assets Corporation. With their takeover, a more viable effort was then made to work in concert with Pinehurst village officials to restore the overall community.