If you believe there's a link between the housing market and golf development in the United States, then good times may be just around the corner.
"While the existing home sales market is just beginning to show fluttering signs of life," writes Ann Brenhoff of Wallet Pop, "things are booming in the land sales sector."
The land rush is important because it serves as a sort of leading economic indicator for house sales. Home builders don't buy lots unless they believe they can sell them.
And today, as Brenhoff reports, all the big home builders are buying dirt-cheap lots in towns across the United States.
Two key points from the article:
First, the land rush began about a year ago, as land prices fell to levels that the builders couldn't pass on. "With land prices so low," Brenhoff writes, "competition ensued among the big builders, and now land prices are sizzling hot -- increasing monthly, even weekly in some places."
Second, the price increase is significant. Citing a report from Bloomberg, Brenhoff says that "in parts of Florida and Southern California, where prices were hit by the recessionary tsunami, some construction-ready lots are up in price more than 50% from their 2009 lows."
Finally, Brenhoff quotes a home builder who believes that the activity in land sales "suggests a confidence in the return of the market."
Here's a link to the article, called "Land Sales Leading Recovery in Housing Market, and Why You Should Care."
Friday, April 30, 2010
Thursday, April 29, 2010
the cliffs Convertible Bonds
Jim Anthony still can't sell any houses, and he's way behind schedule on building his forthcoming "signature" golf courses. But he's been able to do something that's quite extraordinary for a developer: he's cashed in on the faith of the people he's been selling houses to.
Anthony has persuaded the residents of his Cliffs communities in North and South Carolina to invest $62 million into his future -- a financial cushion that virtually guarantees his company will emerge from the recession with its assets intact.
Anthony plans to spend the money on new amenities, in particular a Gary Player-designed course at Cliffs at Mountain Park in Travelers Rest, South Carolina and a Tiger Woods-designed course at Cliffs at High Carolina in suburban Asheville, North Carolina. Construction of the courses is expected to begin within the next month or two, and the courses could open in 2012.
This is a George Bailey moment for Anthony, who these days must be thinking that it really is a wonderful life. He'd tried to secure financing from the usual sources but came up empty, or at least without terms he could live with. So, with the help of some Cliffs residents, he put together a bond issue that will provide the bondholders with a 12 percent return over seven years.
For the residents, the funding is an insurance policy. By stuffing Anthony's wallet, they ensure that he'll continue to build the golf courses, clubhouses, wellness centers, and the other amenities that will, eventually, sell more lots at the Cliffs. And if Anthony does go broke someday, well, they'll have prevented the communities from being taken over by lenders or developers who don't share the Cliffs vision.
"If [the communities] go kaput, we wind up in the club business," a resident who bought into the bond issue told the Asheville Citizen-Times. "But at least we have control of the amenities."
About 600 Cliffs residents have reportedly chosen to join the program. The average investment is said to be $130,000.
“We think this is the most important thing we’ve ever done,” Anthony told the Greenville News.
It certainly is a breakthrough. Across America these days, residents of golf communities are more likely to stand on the sidelines and watch developers wither away and die. Out West, Lyle Anderson developed some primo golf communities full of conspicuously wealthy residents who didn't lift a finger on his behalf when times got tough. Adios, Lyle! Leave the key to those Jack Nicklaus golf courses!
And when residents do get actively involved, it's usually because they're out for blood. Just ask Bobby Ginn and David Lucas, the principals of Ginn Resorts and Bonita Bay Group. On their way to bankruptcy court, they were sued by the residents of their communities, who suspect that they've been defrauded.
By contrast, Anthony has been able to convert what amounts to good will into cash on the barrel. For a developer, it's a real achievement.
CliffsCommunities.com
Anthony has persuaded the residents of his Cliffs communities in North and South Carolina to invest $62 million into his future -- a financial cushion that virtually guarantees his company will emerge from the recession with its assets intact.
Anthony plans to spend the money on new amenities, in particular a Gary Player-designed course at Cliffs at Mountain Park in Travelers Rest, South Carolina and a Tiger Woods-designed course at Cliffs at High Carolina in suburban Asheville, North Carolina. Construction of the courses is expected to begin within the next month or two, and the courses could open in 2012.
This is a George Bailey moment for Anthony, who these days must be thinking that it really is a wonderful life. He'd tried to secure financing from the usual sources but came up empty, or at least without terms he could live with. So, with the help of some Cliffs residents, he put together a bond issue that will provide the bondholders with a 12 percent return over seven years.
For the residents, the funding is an insurance policy. By stuffing Anthony's wallet, they ensure that he'll continue to build the golf courses, clubhouses, wellness centers, and the other amenities that will, eventually, sell more lots at the Cliffs. And if Anthony does go broke someday, well, they'll have prevented the communities from being taken over by lenders or developers who don't share the Cliffs vision.
"If [the communities] go kaput, we wind up in the club business," a resident who bought into the bond issue told the Asheville Citizen-Times. "But at least we have control of the amenities."
About 600 Cliffs residents have reportedly chosen to join the program. The average investment is said to be $130,000.
“We think this is the most important thing we’ve ever done,” Anthony told the Greenville News.
It certainly is a breakthrough. Across America these days, residents of golf communities are more likely to stand on the sidelines and watch developers wither away and die. Out West, Lyle Anderson developed some primo golf communities full of conspicuously wealthy residents who didn't lift a finger on his behalf when times got tough. Adios, Lyle! Leave the key to those Jack Nicklaus golf courses!
And when residents do get actively involved, it's usually because they're out for blood. Just ask Bobby Ginn and David Lucas, the principals of Ginn Resorts and Bonita Bay Group. On their way to bankruptcy court, they were sued by the residents of their communities, who suspect that they've been defrauded.
By contrast, Anthony has been able to convert what amounts to good will into cash on the barrel. For a developer, it's a real achievement.
CliffsCommunities.com
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
tiger woods The Phone Keeps Ringing
Can't say if I believe him or not, but Tiger Woods reports that his design business hasn't slacked off.
"We're still getting offers, offers all over the world to design golf courses," he said at a press conference prior to the Quail Hollow Championship. "It's just a matter of do I have time to do it."
Of course, time shouldn't be an issue. As we all know, Woods has just one active project, at Cliffs at High Carolina in Swannanoa, North Carolina. His projects in Dubai and Mexico are on ice.
Incidentally, Woods visited the High Carolina property earlier this week.
"Everything is progressing there," he said. "We just had a few environmental issues we needed to get through, some impacts, but that's all been passed, and now we've ready to go. We'll start moving dirt here pretty soon. We've got the clearance, but now we can start moving and creating a golf course."
"We're still getting offers, offers all over the world to design golf courses," he said at a press conference prior to the Quail Hollow Championship. "It's just a matter of do I have time to do it."
Of course, time shouldn't be an issue. As we all know, Woods has just one active project, at Cliffs at High Carolina in Swannanoa, North Carolina. His projects in Dubai and Mexico are on ice.
Incidentally, Woods visited the High Carolina property earlier this week.
"Everything is progressing there," he said. "We just had a few environmental issues we needed to get through, some impacts, but that's all been passed, and now we've ready to go. We'll start moving dirt here pretty soon. We've got the clearance, but now we can start moving and creating a golf course."
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
canada Revelstoke Revived
The Revelstoke resort in British Columbia has refinanced more than $100 million worth of debt and expects to ground on its Nick Faldo "signature" golf course next year.
Revelstoke has made a long climb out of a deep financial hole -- a climb that scores of similar real estate ventures hope to duplicate. The resort was on top of the world when it opened in 2007, selling condos and single-family lots as fast as the contracts could be written. Then the housing market froze solid, and it became clear that the sky wasn't the limit, even for a ski mountain with dizzying runs and a never-ending supply of snow.
The resort's original developer, a group led by Denver, Colorado-based Don Simpson, went downhill fast. To avoid being buried alive, in early 2009 Simpson sold out to one of his partners, Bob Gaglardi, the principal of Northland Properties Corporation.
Gaglardi, one of Canada's richest people, cleaned up Revelstoke's balance sheet and is now turning his attention to construction, with his top priorities reportedly being the golf course and a new ski lift.
Tom Gaglardi, Bob's son and the resort's president, said in a press statement: "All of the debt we inherited has been retired, and we are now planning for further growth."
That growth will include the usual residential options -- 550 single-family houses, 1,500 condos, 850 townhouses -- along with 2,000 hotel rooms, more than 500,000 square feet of commercial space, and Faldo's golf course, which will be co-designed by Brian Curley of Scottsdale, Arizona-based Schmidt-Curley Design.
Revelstoke had originally planned to break ground on the golf course in the spring of 2009. Now it plans to break ground on the course in 2011, with an opening tentatively scheduled for 2013.
The village of Revelstoke is located in a particularly snowy part of British Columbia, roughly a five-hour drive west of Calgary. Some 50 feet of powder typically falls on the mountain every year, although the past winter was relatively dry. By contrast, Breckenridge, Colorado, one of the premier U.S. ski areas, gets about 30 feet of snow annually.
RevelstokeMountainResort.com
Revelstoke has made a long climb out of a deep financial hole -- a climb that scores of similar real estate ventures hope to duplicate. The resort was on top of the world when it opened in 2007, selling condos and single-family lots as fast as the contracts could be written. Then the housing market froze solid, and it became clear that the sky wasn't the limit, even for a ski mountain with dizzying runs and a never-ending supply of snow.
The resort's original developer, a group led by Denver, Colorado-based Don Simpson, went downhill fast. To avoid being buried alive, in early 2009 Simpson sold out to one of his partners, Bob Gaglardi, the principal of Northland Properties Corporation.
Gaglardi, one of Canada's richest people, cleaned up Revelstoke's balance sheet and is now turning his attention to construction, with his top priorities reportedly being the golf course and a new ski lift.
Tom Gaglardi, Bob's son and the resort's president, said in a press statement: "All of the debt we inherited has been retired, and we are now planning for further growth."
That growth will include the usual residential options -- 550 single-family houses, 1,500 condos, 850 townhouses -- along with 2,000 hotel rooms, more than 500,000 square feet of commercial space, and Faldo's golf course, which will be co-designed by Brian Curley of Scottsdale, Arizona-based Schmidt-Curley Design.
Revelstoke had originally planned to break ground on the golf course in the spring of 2009. Now it plans to break ground on the course in 2011, with an opening tentatively scheduled for 2013.
The village of Revelstoke is located in a particularly snowy part of British Columbia, roughly a five-hour drive west of Calgary. Some 50 feet of powder typically falls on the mountain every year, although the past winter was relatively dry. By contrast, Breckenridge, Colorado, one of the premier U.S. ski areas, gets about 30 feet of snow annually.
RevelstokeMountainResort.com
Sunday, April 25, 2010
canada Oceanview Golf Resort
The community once called Cable Bay has a new name, and its owners hope to break ground on its “signature” golf course this year.
Oceanview Golf Resort & Spa, as the community is now called, will take shape on 420 acres in Nanaimo, the second-largest city on Vancouver Island, in British Columbia. It’s expected to consist of a marina with slips for up to 600 boats, a boutique hotel, a “wellness spa,” and an 18-hole golf course. It could also have hiking trails and a shopping area.
Of course, it’ll also have single-family houses, townhouses, villas, and condos, some of which will be designed especially for seniors. The number is still to be determined, but Cable Bay's master plan called for up to 2,677 units.
Oceanview is being developed by Cable Bay Lands, Inc., a group affiliated with Canadian Property Investments, and its principals include Wilf and Dianne Richard and George Bains. The developers plan to build an Audubon-certified golf course that will rely exclusively on organic fertilizers.
The course has been designed by Gary Browning and Wade Horrocks of Calgary-based Browning Horrocks Golf Design. The designers' portfolio includes Coyote Creek Golf Course in Sundre, Alberta; Stewart Creek Golf & Country Club in Canmore, Alberta; and Copper Point Golf Club in Invermere, British Columbia.
Public hearings on Oceanview began in January. At the initial session, Glenn Brower, Oceanview’s project manager, said that the developers hope to break ground on the golf course in 2010.
Incidentally, Nanaimo is known as “the Bathtub Racing Capital of the World.”
OceanviewGolfResort.ca
Oceanview Golf Resort & Spa, as the community is now called, will take shape on 420 acres in Nanaimo, the second-largest city on Vancouver Island, in British Columbia. It’s expected to consist of a marina with slips for up to 600 boats, a boutique hotel, a “wellness spa,” and an 18-hole golf course. It could also have hiking trails and a shopping area.
Of course, it’ll also have single-family houses, townhouses, villas, and condos, some of which will be designed especially for seniors. The number is still to be determined, but Cable Bay's master plan called for up to 2,677 units.
Oceanview is being developed by Cable Bay Lands, Inc., a group affiliated with Canadian Property Investments, and its principals include Wilf and Dianne Richard and George Bains. The developers plan to build an Audubon-certified golf course that will rely exclusively on organic fertilizers.
The course has been designed by Gary Browning and Wade Horrocks of Calgary-based Browning Horrocks Golf Design. The designers' portfolio includes Coyote Creek Golf Course in Sundre, Alberta; Stewart Creek Golf & Country Club in Canmore, Alberta; and Copper Point Golf Club in Invermere, British Columbia.
Public hearings on Oceanview began in January. At the initial session, Glenn Brower, Oceanview’s project manager, said that the developers hope to break ground on the golf course in 2010.
Incidentally, Nanaimo is known as “the Bathtub Racing Capital of the World.”
OceanviewGolfResort.ca
Thursday, April 22, 2010
st. croix Carrying the Wait
Will 2010 be the year when the richest Indian tribe in the United States finally breaks ground on its long-planned beachfront casino in St. Croix?
In 2005, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation agreed to finance the construction of Amalago Bay Resort & Casino, which is to take shape on nearly 600 acres along the island’s northwestern shore. At the time, the tribe was ready and eager to diversify, because its super-sized Foxwoods Casino & Resort complex in Ledyard, Connecticut was rolling in dough -– enough to fund the construction of Lake of Isles Golf Course, a 36-hole, Rees Jones-designed complex in North Stonington, Connecticut.
Those were the good old days, when a casino was a veritable license to print money. Today, the tribe is being squeezed uncomfortably by the recession. In late 2009, it admitted that it needs to restructure more than $2 billion worth of debt.
Still, Amalago Bay appears to be moving forward, and the tribe’s St. Croix-based minority partner, a firm called William & Punch, says that it hopes to break ground by the end of 2010, depending on how well the economy performs this year.
William & Punch sounds like a British comedy team, but it’s actually the corporate face for a pair of St. Croix-based developers, Kevin Rames and Chris Elliott. The partners bought the Amalago Bay property -– consisting of the William and Punch estates -– in 2006, reportedly for $3.75 million. Early last year, they got permission to enlarge its beach, and last fall they told the Virgin Islands Daily News that an agreement was “almost finalized” with “a celebrity golfer” to design its 7,600-yard golf course.
I spoke with Elliott a couple of months ago, and he told me that the celebrity golfer hadn’t yet been hired. Several “signature” designers are being considered, he said, and he hopes to have a contract in place sometime this spring.
Amalago Bay will have condos and time-share units, a 378-room hotel, a casino, a marina with slips for 64 boats, a spa, restaurants, and retail shops. The golf course will be managed by Troon Golf.
In 2005, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation agreed to finance the construction of Amalago Bay Resort & Casino, which is to take shape on nearly 600 acres along the island’s northwestern shore. At the time, the tribe was ready and eager to diversify, because its super-sized Foxwoods Casino & Resort complex in Ledyard, Connecticut was rolling in dough -– enough to fund the construction of Lake of Isles Golf Course, a 36-hole, Rees Jones-designed complex in North Stonington, Connecticut.
Those were the good old days, when a casino was a veritable license to print money. Today, the tribe is being squeezed uncomfortably by the recession. In late 2009, it admitted that it needs to restructure more than $2 billion worth of debt.
Still, Amalago Bay appears to be moving forward, and the tribe’s St. Croix-based minority partner, a firm called William & Punch, says that it hopes to break ground by the end of 2010, depending on how well the economy performs this year.
William & Punch sounds like a British comedy team, but it’s actually the corporate face for a pair of St. Croix-based developers, Kevin Rames and Chris Elliott. The partners bought the Amalago Bay property -– consisting of the William and Punch estates -– in 2006, reportedly for $3.75 million. Early last year, they got permission to enlarge its beach, and last fall they told the Virgin Islands Daily News that an agreement was “almost finalized” with “a celebrity golfer” to design its 7,600-yard golf course.
I spoke with Elliott a couple of months ago, and he told me that the celebrity golfer hadn’t yet been hired. Several “signature” designers are being considered, he said, and he hopes to have a contract in place sometime this spring.
Amalago Bay will have condos and time-share units, a 378-room hotel, a casino, a marina with slips for 64 boats, a spa, restaurants, and retail shops. The golf course will be managed by Troon Golf.
Monday, April 19, 2010
china It's All About the Benjamins
So much about China fascinates us -- its size, its wealth, its industrial ambitions, its development potential, and, most certainly, its appetite for golf.
Several of these attractions come together in a short but very sweet new report on golf in China by Darius M. Hatami, the president of Boulder, Colorado-based HVS Golf Services. In "Unraveling the Chinese Golf Markets," Hatami breaks down the nation's fast-growing golf business and provides some insights into where it's headed. In a nutshell, he believes that golf in China "is driven by the newly rich," is poised to accept "alternative golf concepts," and "promises significant growth opportunities."
Here are a few noteworthy conclusions from his study:
-- Like many observers, Hatami estimates that China currently has between 200 and 300 golf courses, most of them in big cities, where wealth is concentrated. Roughly a third of the existing courses are located in and around Beijing and Shanghai, while another third are in Guangdong province. The remainder, says Hatami, are scattered around the rest of the country, mostly in coastal areas.
-- As we've heard before, golf in China is sometimes called "green opium," a testament to its addictive nature. The addiction was sparked by the SARS epidemic in 2003, Hatami says, which drove people to golf courses, where they could find abundant fresh air. Today the sport is fast becoming popular among people of all income levels, but Hatami says its future "is inevitably linked to the growth in China's upper class and the accumulation of wealth."
-- If golf is a rich man's game in China today, the evidence suggests that it will remain so in the future. Partly because rounds of golf and club memberships are so expensive, Hatami concludes that "the prerequisites for the growth of affordable golf in China are not in place." He suggests that people with limited incomes will play mostly at driving ranges and practice centers, while the rich will join pricey private clubs.
"Golf in China is primarily accessible only to the elite in China," Hatami writes. "While the middle class holds the potential for growth, the affordability of the game remains a significant challenge."
-- Over the next five years, Hatami estimates that China can accommodate the construction of 18 to 58 new golf courses a year. "While the prospects for growth in golf courses is significant," he believes, "it is dependent on the continued creation of wealth in China. The ultimate driver of golfer as well as golf course development will lie in the ability of China to maintain its dynamic growth in wealth."
The study has been posted at HVS.com.
Several of these attractions come together in a short but very sweet new report on golf in China by Darius M. Hatami, the president of Boulder, Colorado-based HVS Golf Services. In "Unraveling the Chinese Golf Markets," Hatami breaks down the nation's fast-growing golf business and provides some insights into where it's headed. In a nutshell, he believes that golf in China "is driven by the newly rich," is poised to accept "alternative golf concepts," and "promises significant growth opportunities."
Here are a few noteworthy conclusions from his study:
-- Like many observers, Hatami estimates that China currently has between 200 and 300 golf courses, most of them in big cities, where wealth is concentrated. Roughly a third of the existing courses are located in and around Beijing and Shanghai, while another third are in Guangdong province. The remainder, says Hatami, are scattered around the rest of the country, mostly in coastal areas.
-- As we've heard before, golf in China is sometimes called "green opium," a testament to its addictive nature. The addiction was sparked by the SARS epidemic in 2003, Hatami says, which drove people to golf courses, where they could find abundant fresh air. Today the sport is fast becoming popular among people of all income levels, but Hatami says its future "is inevitably linked to the growth in China's upper class and the accumulation of wealth."
-- If golf is a rich man's game in China today, the evidence suggests that it will remain so in the future. Partly because rounds of golf and club memberships are so expensive, Hatami concludes that "the prerequisites for the growth of affordable golf in China are not in place." He suggests that people with limited incomes will play mostly at driving ranges and practice centers, while the rich will join pricey private clubs.
"Golf in China is primarily accessible only to the elite in China," Hatami writes. "While the middle class holds the potential for growth, the affordability of the game remains a significant challenge."
-- Over the next five years, Hatami estimates that China can accommodate the construction of 18 to 58 new golf courses a year. "While the prospects for growth in golf courses is significant," he believes, "it is dependent on the continued creation of wealth in China. The ultimate driver of golfer as well as golf course development will lie in the ability of China to maintain its dynamic growth in wealth."
The study has been posted at HVS.com.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
scotland Stonehaven Strikes Out
One of Scotland’s oldest golf clubs faces an uncertain future.
Last year, Stonehaven Golf Club’s more than 500 members voted to sell 20 acres of their property -– essentially, holes #9 through #12 -– to Stewart Milne Group, an Aberdeen-based home builder. With the proceeds from the sale, the Stonehaven-based club planned to overhaul its golf course, build a modern clubhouse, and attract some desperately needed dues-paying members.
Last month, however, local elected officials nixed the plan.
“I'm disappointed," the club's captain, Sandy Walker, told the Aberdeen Press & Journal upon hearing the news. "It would have been a real opportunity."
The deal with Stewart Milne was hatched out of desperation. Stonehaven has reportedly lost about 100 members over the past five years, and it’s running out of money.
“We are finding the financial climate very difficult to live with,” a club official told the paper in mid 2009. “The facilities are not very modern, and we have to improve what we offer.”
Stonehaven, which is located along the North Sea just south of Aberdeen, was founded in 1888, with a nine-hole course. The club’s full 18, which opened in 1897, is by today’s standards very short -– just 5,103 yards -– and its aged clubhouse has seen better days. (One of the course’s quirky features is a crater known as Hitler’s Bunker, which was created when a German pilot dropped a bomb on the course in 1940.)
The club had hired Graeme Webster of Niblick Golf Design, a firm based in Moss, Norway, to design three new holes, redesign several others, and, in general, give the track a nip and tuck from tee to green.
“The golf club will survive, but we will wait and see what develops," Walker said after the council's decision. "We’ll see what happens.”
On the 20 acres it agreed to buy, Milne planned to build as many as 500 houses, along with a retail/commercial area and an elementary school.
StonehavenGolfClub.com
Last year, Stonehaven Golf Club’s more than 500 members voted to sell 20 acres of their property -– essentially, holes #9 through #12 -– to Stewart Milne Group, an Aberdeen-based home builder. With the proceeds from the sale, the Stonehaven-based club planned to overhaul its golf course, build a modern clubhouse, and attract some desperately needed dues-paying members.
Last month, however, local elected officials nixed the plan.
“I'm disappointed," the club's captain, Sandy Walker, told the Aberdeen Press & Journal upon hearing the news. "It would have been a real opportunity."
The deal with Stewart Milne was hatched out of desperation. Stonehaven has reportedly lost about 100 members over the past five years, and it’s running out of money.
“We are finding the financial climate very difficult to live with,” a club official told the paper in mid 2009. “The facilities are not very modern, and we have to improve what we offer.”
Stonehaven, which is located along the North Sea just south of Aberdeen, was founded in 1888, with a nine-hole course. The club’s full 18, which opened in 1897, is by today’s standards very short -– just 5,103 yards -– and its aged clubhouse has seen better days. (One of the course’s quirky features is a crater known as Hitler’s Bunker, which was created when a German pilot dropped a bomb on the course in 1940.)
The club had hired Graeme Webster of Niblick Golf Design, a firm based in Moss, Norway, to design three new holes, redesign several others, and, in general, give the track a nip and tuck from tee to green.
“The golf club will survive, but we will wait and see what develops," Walker said after the council's decision. "We’ll see what happens.”
On the 20 acres it agreed to buy, Milne planned to build as many as 500 houses, along with a retail/commercial area and an elementary school.
StonehavenGolfClub.com
Thursday, April 15, 2010
cuba The Waiting Game
Late last month, Bloomberg breathlessly reported that Cuba is "seeking investment partners for 10 golf courses and luxury hotels aimed at Americans."
Fantastic news, right? After all, it's not every day that a nation with so much development potential talks excitedly about building an entire parade of golf courses, not to mention the villas, marinas, and luxury hotels that will inevitably accompany them.
Before you start hyperventilating, though, take note: We've heard this story before -- many times before. When it comes to golf, Cuba's tourism officials are all talk and no action.
People have been playing golf in Cuba since the 1930s, when the DuPonts built a nine-hole course at their vacation home in Varadero, a town along the island’s northern coast. Another nine-hole track opened in Havana in the 1950s, and in the late 1990s a government-controlled entity, Palmares S.A., replaced the DuPonts' course with an 18-hole, Les Furber-designed layout, Varadero Golf Club.
That's the complete inventory of golf courses in Cuba -- a total of 27 holes in a country the size of Pennsylvania.
Sis. Boom. Bah.
Incidentally, those 27 holes are more than enough to satisfy the local demand. According to Golf magazine, Cuba has a measly 120 golfers of its own.
I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that, if Cuba had just a few crowd-attracting, celebrity-designed golf courses, its tourism numbers would be off the charts.
I'm not so sure. The fact is, tourists have been visiting Cuba in relatively large numbers for years, despite the island's lack of golf opportunities. In the same Bloomberg story that I referenced earlier, Cuba's tourism officials said that 2.4 million vacationers visited the island in 2009, an increase of 3.5 percent over 2008.
Let's put Cuba's tourism business in perspective. In 2009, Cuba attracted more vacationers than the Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico. In fact, it attracted more tourists than any nation in the Caribbean except the Dominican Republic.
I'm sure I don't need to mention it, but all those other islands have plenty of golf courses to draw crowds. Cuba has developed a respectable tourism industry without even one U.S.-style golf resort.
And there's the rub. I'm wondering exactly how committed Cuba is to golf development. When the government wanted to build a golf course in Varadero, Palmares got it done. Something like 12 years have since passed, and all the while Cuba has been yapping incessantly about building more golf courses. Why hasn't it delivered?
Could it be that Cuba doesn't intend to build any golf courses until the United States lifts its prohibition on travel to the forbidden nation?
Cuba's tourism ministers will tell you that they've been working diligently on golf development. For the better part of a decade, they'll say, they've been in partnership with a North Vancouver-based company, Leisure Canada, on a resort community called Jibacoa.
If it's ever built, and I have my doubts, Jibacoa will take shape on a site with three miles of waterfront near Santa Cruz del Norte, about 45 miles east of Havana. It’s planned to have 600 bungalows and villas, a few hotels (1,400 total rooms), several secluded “pocket” beaches, and a pair of championship-length golf courses.
Where do Leisure Canada's development plans stand? The company recently said that it hopes to break ground on Jibacoa in three to five years.
Of course, it said the same thing three to five years ago.
The Cubans are also working with a British company, Esencia Hotels & Resorts, on a 375-acre resort community near Varadero. Carbonera Country Club Resort, as it’s being called, is supposed to consist of houses, a 150-room hotel, a spa, and an 18-hole golf course.
According to the Hotel Report, Esencia is also looking for sites near Varadero where it could build another golf resort, perhaps two.
So many plans, so little to show for them.
Maybe out of frustration at working with unproductive private-sector partners, Cuba's tourism officials recently teamed up with a government-owned entity from Vietnam, Hanoi-based Housing & Urban Development Corporation, to do some golf development within a short drive of Havana.
There are conflicting reports about what the partners have in mind. Some reports say they’ll build a single 750- to 1,000-acre resort with two golf courses, several hotels, a trade center, and an entertainment area. Other reports say that two resorts are in the works, each of them to take shape within 20 miles of Havana.
Of course, it's possible that the partners haven't yet settled on a plan. No hurry. In Cuba, there always seems to be world enough and time.
LeisureCanada.com, EsenciaHotelsAndResorts.com
Fantastic news, right? After all, it's not every day that a nation with so much development potential talks excitedly about building an entire parade of golf courses, not to mention the villas, marinas, and luxury hotels that will inevitably accompany them.
Before you start hyperventilating, though, take note: We've heard this story before -- many times before. When it comes to golf, Cuba's tourism officials are all talk and no action.
People have been playing golf in Cuba since the 1930s, when the DuPonts built a nine-hole course at their vacation home in Varadero, a town along the island’s northern coast. Another nine-hole track opened in Havana in the 1950s, and in the late 1990s a government-controlled entity, Palmares S.A., replaced the DuPonts' course with an 18-hole, Les Furber-designed layout, Varadero Golf Club.
That's the complete inventory of golf courses in Cuba -- a total of 27 holes in a country the size of Pennsylvania.
Sis. Boom. Bah.
Incidentally, those 27 holes are more than enough to satisfy the local demand. According to Golf magazine, Cuba has a measly 120 golfers of its own.
I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that, if Cuba had just a few crowd-attracting, celebrity-designed golf courses, its tourism numbers would be off the charts.
I'm not so sure. The fact is, tourists have been visiting Cuba in relatively large numbers for years, despite the island's lack of golf opportunities. In the same Bloomberg story that I referenced earlier, Cuba's tourism officials said that 2.4 million vacationers visited the island in 2009, an increase of 3.5 percent over 2008.
Let's put Cuba's tourism business in perspective. In 2009, Cuba attracted more vacationers than the Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico. In fact, it attracted more tourists than any nation in the Caribbean except the Dominican Republic.
I'm sure I don't need to mention it, but all those other islands have plenty of golf courses to draw crowds. Cuba has developed a respectable tourism industry without even one U.S.-style golf resort.
And there's the rub. I'm wondering exactly how committed Cuba is to golf development. When the government wanted to build a golf course in Varadero, Palmares got it done. Something like 12 years have since passed, and all the while Cuba has been yapping incessantly about building more golf courses. Why hasn't it delivered?
Could it be that Cuba doesn't intend to build any golf courses until the United States lifts its prohibition on travel to the forbidden nation?
Cuba's tourism ministers will tell you that they've been working diligently on golf development. For the better part of a decade, they'll say, they've been in partnership with a North Vancouver-based company, Leisure Canada, on a resort community called Jibacoa.
If it's ever built, and I have my doubts, Jibacoa will take shape on a site with three miles of waterfront near Santa Cruz del Norte, about 45 miles east of Havana. It’s planned to have 600 bungalows and villas, a few hotels (1,400 total rooms), several secluded “pocket” beaches, and a pair of championship-length golf courses.
Where do Leisure Canada's development plans stand? The company recently said that it hopes to break ground on Jibacoa in three to five years.
Of course, it said the same thing three to five years ago.
The Cubans are also working with a British company, Esencia Hotels & Resorts, on a 375-acre resort community near Varadero. Carbonera Country Club Resort, as it’s being called, is supposed to consist of houses, a 150-room hotel, a spa, and an 18-hole golf course.
According to the Hotel Report, Esencia is also looking for sites near Varadero where it could build another golf resort, perhaps two.
So many plans, so little to show for them.
Maybe out of frustration at working with unproductive private-sector partners, Cuba's tourism officials recently teamed up with a government-owned entity from Vietnam, Hanoi-based Housing & Urban Development Corporation, to do some golf development within a short drive of Havana.
There are conflicting reports about what the partners have in mind. Some reports say they’ll build a single 750- to 1,000-acre resort with two golf courses, several hotels, a trade center, and an entertainment area. Other reports say that two resorts are in the works, each of them to take shape within 20 miles of Havana.
Of course, it's possible that the partners haven't yet settled on a plan. No hurry. In Cuba, there always seems to be world enough and time.
LeisureCanada.com, EsenciaHotelsAndResorts.com
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
israel Sweet 16
Is Israel about to become a golf destination?
Today the nation has just one golf course, an 18-hole track in Caesarea that was recently redesigned by Pete Dye. But the number is expected to increase, as Israel’s tourism ministry has budgeted $200 million to build 16 “international-caliber” golf courses over the next 15 years.
Late last year, tourism minister Stas Misezhnikov told Israeli news sources that the courses will attract “tens of thousands of golf tourists” and help his nation “compete with other countries in the region,” notably Egypt and Jordan. The ministry is working with Israel Land Administration, which will, over the next few months, identify three to five potential sites.
The partners will be looking at property in five areas, among them Tiberias, which is along the western shore of the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel; Hadera, which is east of Haifa in northern Israel; and Eilat, the nation’s southernmost city, which is already a tourist destination even though its summer temperatures routinely crack 100 degrees.
The partners expect to have a development plan for the first two courses by the end of this year.
Incidentally, last year Israel attracted 2.3 million visitors, the same number it got in 1999. The ministry hopes the golf courses will help to boost the number to 4 million by 2012 and to 6.5 million by 2020.
Today the nation has just one golf course, an 18-hole track in Caesarea that was recently redesigned by Pete Dye. But the number is expected to increase, as Israel’s tourism ministry has budgeted $200 million to build 16 “international-caliber” golf courses over the next 15 years.
Late last year, tourism minister Stas Misezhnikov told Israeli news sources that the courses will attract “tens of thousands of golf tourists” and help his nation “compete with other countries in the region,” notably Egypt and Jordan. The ministry is working with Israel Land Administration, which will, over the next few months, identify three to five potential sites.
The partners will be looking at property in five areas, among them Tiberias, which is along the western shore of the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel; Hadera, which is east of Haifa in northern Israel; and Eilat, the nation’s southernmost city, which is already a tourist destination even though its summer temperatures routinely crack 100 degrees.
The partners expect to have a development plan for the first two courses by the end of this year.
Incidentally, last year Israel attracted 2.3 million visitors, the same number it got in 1999. The ministry hopes the golf courses will help to boost the number to 4 million by 2012 and to 6.5 million by 2020.
Monday, April 12, 2010
talking points What's in Store for 2010?
It's hard to predict the future, but that doesn't stop any of us from trying.
In recent weeks, writers from just about everywhere have been asking golf industry experts to look into their crystal balls and make a forecast about 2010. Here are some of their comments.
-- Doug Carrick, a Canadian golf architect, in Asian Golf Business: "It's not great yet, but at least we're seeing some signs of it turning around."
-- Jack Nicklaus, in an interview with PGA.com: "Overseas is exploding for golf. . . . The game is growing, particularly in China, India, Brazil, Russia -- places that didn't have much golf before. It's going to continue to grow in those markets for a long time."
-- Dave Glod of Tour Edge Golf, in Golfing magazine: "For 2010, we are not anticipating any growth in the game due to the unemployment rate and difficult economy."
-- Teddie O'Keefe, a board member of the New Jersey Golf Course Owners Association, in the Asbury Park Press: "Things are looking up for courses this year. We believe the golf industry is coming out of the recession a little bit earlier than other businesses because there is pent-up demand."
-- Craig Wrench of Washington Holdings (the company that recently bought the St. Regis Monarch Beach resort in Dana Point, California), in the Los Angeles Times: "We're still in a troubled economy, and we need another six to 12 months or maybe 18 months of recovery to be back where we need to be."
-- Tom Shapland of Wadsworth Golf Construction, in Asian Golf Business, comparing 2009 and 2010: "Our projection is that 2010 is going to be worse."
-- Harry Arnett of TaylorMade Golf, in Golfing magazine: "We are extremely positive about the market in 2010. . . . We know it will be some time before the industry gets back to the levels it was at a few years ago. But we think 2010 will be a growth year again for us."
-- Mark Eitelman of Agri-Scape Golf Course Construction, in Asian Golf Business: "I don't think it's going to get much worse."
In recent weeks, writers from just about everywhere have been asking golf industry experts to look into their crystal balls and make a forecast about 2010. Here are some of their comments.
-- Doug Carrick, a Canadian golf architect, in Asian Golf Business: "It's not great yet, but at least we're seeing some signs of it turning around."
-- Jack Nicklaus, in an interview with PGA.com: "Overseas is exploding for golf. . . . The game is growing, particularly in China, India, Brazil, Russia -- places that didn't have much golf before. It's going to continue to grow in those markets for a long time."
-- Dave Glod of Tour Edge Golf, in Golfing magazine: "For 2010, we are not anticipating any growth in the game due to the unemployment rate and difficult economy."
-- Teddie O'Keefe, a board member of the New Jersey Golf Course Owners Association, in the Asbury Park Press: "Things are looking up for courses this year. We believe the golf industry is coming out of the recession a little bit earlier than other businesses because there is pent-up demand."
-- Craig Wrench of Washington Holdings (the company that recently bought the St. Regis Monarch Beach resort in Dana Point, California), in the Los Angeles Times: "We're still in a troubled economy, and we need another six to 12 months or maybe 18 months of recovery to be back where we need to be."
-- Tom Shapland of Wadsworth Golf Construction, in Asian Golf Business, comparing 2009 and 2010: "Our projection is that 2010 is going to be worse."
-- Harry Arnett of TaylorMade Golf, in Golfing magazine: "We are extremely positive about the market in 2010. . . . We know it will be some time before the industry gets back to the levels it was at a few years ago. But we think 2010 will be a growth year again for us."
-- Mark Eitelman of Agri-Scape Golf Course Construction, in Asian Golf Business: "I don't think it's going to get much worse."
Friday, April 9, 2010
south korea The End Is Near
South Korea may be seeing a lot of golf construction these days, but, like Japan, it’s effectively been tapped out as a market for future golf development.
That’s the view of David V. Smith, who’s been working on golf projects in South Korea for a decade and is currently managing the development of the 54-hole Sanyosoo resort in Chuncheon.
Smith, who operates through Agoura Hills, California-based Golf Projects International, says that the prices of golf memberships at the clubs on Jeju Island, the nation’s premier golf destination, have fallen by 50 percent over the past 18 months –- evidence, he believes, that developers have already built too many courses there, just as they have in other parts of the nation.
As a result, he predicts, only about 100 additional courses will be built in South Korea.
“For the next two years there will be opportunities in Korea, but that’s it,” he says. “The market is saturated.”
As for the next big thing, Smith is lukewarm on Vietnam and Thailand, where, he says, prospects are limited to resort development, but he’s hot on India, where golf has been played since the 1820s and the middle class is thriving.
“If I were 10 years younger,” he says, “India would be my next stop, no question about it.”
That’s the view of David V. Smith, who’s been working on golf projects in South Korea for a decade and is currently managing the development of the 54-hole Sanyosoo resort in Chuncheon.
Smith, who operates through Agoura Hills, California-based Golf Projects International, says that the prices of golf memberships at the clubs on Jeju Island, the nation’s premier golf destination, have fallen by 50 percent over the past 18 months –- evidence, he believes, that developers have already built too many courses there, just as they have in other parts of the nation.
As a result, he predicts, only about 100 additional courses will be built in South Korea.
“For the next two years there will be opportunities in Korea, but that’s it,” he says. “The market is saturated.”
As for the next big thing, Smith is lukewarm on Vietnam and Thailand, where, he says, prospects are limited to resort development, but he’s hot on India, where golf has been played since the 1820s and the middle class is thriving.
“If I were 10 years younger,” he says, “India would be my next stop, no question about it.”
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
talking points Is the Golf Business Sustainable?
Some of you may know Golf Club Atlas, a web-based forum where just about anything and everything related to golf design is discussed and dissected by a bevy of architects, builders, writers, historians, and assorted hangers-on.
Mike Young, an Athens, Georgia-based designer, recently posted a piece at GCA called "Golf Is No Longer Sustainable as We Know It." This isn't a new topic for Young -- he's been issuing similar wake-up calls for years -- but it's one that resonates today, in light of the recession that's flattened the U.S. golf industry.
I've trimmed Young's post to sharpen his argument, and I've taken the liberty of editing his text a little. (Sorry, Mike. It's the magazine editor in me. I can't resist editing text.) To read Young's post in it entirety, and exactly as he wrote it, visit GolfClubAtlas.com. You might also want to check out Young's website, MYDgolf.com.
Here it is:
The golf industry that we know today has been a false industry since the mid-1980s. Much of this was due to the real estate development business, and many of our golf courses were developed with that in mind and no concern for how we would maintain these golf courses or even justify their existence in the future. . . . We continue to act as if this problem will go away, and we will go right on down our merry path. . . .
When it comes to golf course design and construction, that is an entirely wild wild west. We have thrown so much BS on the unknowing club committees and developers whereby they think the answer to all problems is to spend more money and to always be sure you spent more than a club down the street or the development down the street. But the truth of the matter is that neither the design business or the construction business is a sustainable model within golf itself and for itself. . . .
We can have all of the industry meetings to explain how things will turn in the future, but at some point we have to face the facts. There is no design and construction industry in the United States and will not be for a long time. That is not to say there will not be some work, but it will not be enough to sustain anywhere near the number of people in the business. And it is wrong to continue to act as though there will eventually be work to sustain these people.
Now there is nothing wrong with this, and it's probably a good thing. Think back to the days when so-called golf design was a fledgling business, and you will see that it was usually done by people who were somehow involved with golf on another basis day-to-day. And that's how it will be again. We have blown enough smoke and created enough false plateaus in the last 25 years to do us for the next 50 years.
I have never put a tee in a set of plans, taken a divot from a set of plans, or made a ball mark in a set of plans. The average old owner knows that. It was the committees and developers that wanted something else, and even they only wanted to pay for a huge marketing fee disguised as a design fee. That's all over. The new model is straight from Larry the Cable Guy: "Git ur done."
I am not saying any of this to be adversarial. There will always be exceptions -- private clubs that can afford these conditions and a few resorts -- but the sport of golf throughout the country cannot sustain what we have created, and we can either accept it and do something about it or continue down this path of thinking it'll right itself.
And it will, but it will be in the opposite direction.
Mike Young, an Athens, Georgia-based designer, recently posted a piece at GCA called "Golf Is No Longer Sustainable as We Know It." This isn't a new topic for Young -- he's been issuing similar wake-up calls for years -- but it's one that resonates today, in light of the recession that's flattened the U.S. golf industry.
I've trimmed Young's post to sharpen his argument, and I've taken the liberty of editing his text a little. (Sorry, Mike. It's the magazine editor in me. I can't resist editing text.) To read Young's post in it entirety, and exactly as he wrote it, visit GolfClubAtlas.com. You might also want to check out Young's website, MYDgolf.com.
Here it is:
The golf industry that we know today has been a false industry since the mid-1980s. Much of this was due to the real estate development business, and many of our golf courses were developed with that in mind and no concern for how we would maintain these golf courses or even justify their existence in the future. . . . We continue to act as if this problem will go away, and we will go right on down our merry path. . . .
When it comes to golf course design and construction, that is an entirely wild wild west. We have thrown so much BS on the unknowing club committees and developers whereby they think the answer to all problems is to spend more money and to always be sure you spent more than a club down the street or the development down the street. But the truth of the matter is that neither the design business or the construction business is a sustainable model within golf itself and for itself. . . .
We can have all of the industry meetings to explain how things will turn in the future, but at some point we have to face the facts. There is no design and construction industry in the United States and will not be for a long time. That is not to say there will not be some work, but it will not be enough to sustain anywhere near the number of people in the business. And it is wrong to continue to act as though there will eventually be work to sustain these people.
Now there is nothing wrong with this, and it's probably a good thing. Think back to the days when so-called golf design was a fledgling business, and you will see that it was usually done by people who were somehow involved with golf on another basis day-to-day. And that's how it will be again. We have blown enough smoke and created enough false plateaus in the last 25 years to do us for the next 50 years.
I have never put a tee in a set of plans, taken a divot from a set of plans, or made a ball mark in a set of plans. The average old owner knows that. It was the committees and developers that wanted something else, and even they only wanted to pay for a huge marketing fee disguised as a design fee. That's all over. The new model is straight from Larry the Cable Guy: "Git ur done."
I am not saying any of this to be adversarial. There will always be exceptions -- private clubs that can afford these conditions and a few resorts -- but the sport of golf throughout the country cannot sustain what we have created, and we can either accept it and do something about it or continue down this path of thinking it'll right itself.
And it will, but it will be in the opposite direction.
Monday, April 5, 2010
mexico Cabo Cortes Golf Club, Baja California Sur
Looking for “the ultimate vacation experience of Mexico”?
Well, Spanish and U.S. interests are teaming up to build it along the Sea of Cortez, in the southern tip of Baja California Sur.
It’s called Cabo Cortes, and it’ll spread over 9,400 acres roughly 40 miles northwest of Los Cabos International Airport. According to its promotional materials, Cabo Cortes will offer vacationers an experience that “will be comparable or better than that of the best resort communities in North America,” with “second homes equal to anything the world can offer.”
Clearly, the people behind Cabo Cortes know which buttons to push. Now if they can just find some home buyers and a boatload of money to fund the construction.
Cabo Cortes is being co-developed by Hansa Baja Investments, an entity led by Hansa Urbana Group and Goodman Real Estate. When it’s done, it’ll have more than 13,000 housing units, several hotels (more than 3,000 total rooms), something like 2.5 million square feet of office and retail space, marinas, beach clubs, spas, a private “jet port,” schools, medical facilities, and three to five golf courses.
Is that what the publicity people mean when they say Cabo Cortes will have “a deep connection to the essential part of Mexico”?
Two of the community’s golf courses will be of the “signature” variety. The first one will be designed by Robert Trent Jones, Jr.
Goodman Real Estate is a Seattle, Washington-based firm that owns and/or manages more than 15,000 apartments and 2.5 million square feet of office and retail space in the United States and Canada. One of its subsidiaries, Triad Development, owns Hiddenbrook Golf Course in Vallejo, California.
Hansa Urbana is based in Alicante, Spain and has offices in Madrid, Barcelona, and five other Spanish cities. It developed Alicante Golf Club in Alicante and Novo Carthago Beach & Golf Resort in suburban Cartagena, Spain. The latter has a pair of 18-hole, Jones-designed golf courses.
CaboCortes.com, GoodmanRE.com
Well, Spanish and U.S. interests are teaming up to build it along the Sea of Cortez, in the southern tip of Baja California Sur.
It’s called Cabo Cortes, and it’ll spread over 9,400 acres roughly 40 miles northwest of Los Cabos International Airport. According to its promotional materials, Cabo Cortes will offer vacationers an experience that “will be comparable or better than that of the best resort communities in North America,” with “second homes equal to anything the world can offer.”
Clearly, the people behind Cabo Cortes know which buttons to push. Now if they can just find some home buyers and a boatload of money to fund the construction.
Cabo Cortes is being co-developed by Hansa Baja Investments, an entity led by Hansa Urbana Group and Goodman Real Estate. When it’s done, it’ll have more than 13,000 housing units, several hotels (more than 3,000 total rooms), something like 2.5 million square feet of office and retail space, marinas, beach clubs, spas, a private “jet port,” schools, medical facilities, and three to five golf courses.
Is that what the publicity people mean when they say Cabo Cortes will have “a deep connection to the essential part of Mexico”?
Two of the community’s golf courses will be of the “signature” variety. The first one will be designed by Robert Trent Jones, Jr.
Goodman Real Estate is a Seattle, Washington-based firm that owns and/or manages more than 15,000 apartments and 2.5 million square feet of office and retail space in the United States and Canada. One of its subsidiaries, Triad Development, owns Hiddenbrook Golf Course in Vallejo, California.
Hansa Urbana is based in Alicante, Spain and has offices in Madrid, Barcelona, and five other Spanish cities. It developed Alicante Golf Club in Alicante and Novo Carthago Beach & Golf Resort in suburban Cartagena, Spain. The latter has a pair of 18-hole, Jones-designed golf courses.
CaboCortes.com, GoodmanRE.com
Friday, April 2, 2010
argentina El Desafio Golf Club
This year, one of the richest people in the United States plans to start building the first Greg Norman-designed golf course in South America.
Norman’s 18-hole course will serve as a drawing card for El Desafio, a 2,500-acre resort community that’s taking shape in San Martin de los Andes, in the Patagonia region of southern Argentina. At build-out, El Desafio will have a bunch of houses, a hotel with the obligatory spa, an equestrian center, a pair of professional polo fields, and other attractions favored by the well-heeled. More than half of the property, which offers views of the Andes Mountains, will be preserved as open space.
El Desafio is being developed by Hicks Trans American Partners LLC, an entity created by Tom Hicks, the principal of Dallas, Texas-based Hicks Holdings LLC and a long-time member of the Forbes 400. Hicks Holdings has its fingers in a lot of investment pies -– satellite television, steelmaking, real estate development –- but it’s perhaps best known for its sports franchises, which include the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League and the Liverpool Football Club in the English Premier League. It also owns baseball’s Texas Rangers, although the team is in the process of being sold, reportedly for a price just north of $500 million.
Hicks Trans American Partners, which is based in Buenos Aires, is the controlling shareholder of Argentina’s top pet-food company, but it’s mostly a real estate developer. It's developing El Desafio as a 50-50 joint venture with Terra Patagonia, an Argentine developer. The partners cleared much of the golf-course site in 2009, and they expect to begin moving dirt later this year.
Norman has two projects in the works in Brazil (in Sao Paulo and Fortim), but the course at El Desafio is expected to come out of the ground first.
ElDesafioMountainResort.com, HicksHoldings.com
Norman’s 18-hole course will serve as a drawing card for El Desafio, a 2,500-acre resort community that’s taking shape in San Martin de los Andes, in the Patagonia region of southern Argentina. At build-out, El Desafio will have a bunch of houses, a hotel with the obligatory spa, an equestrian center, a pair of professional polo fields, and other attractions favored by the well-heeled. More than half of the property, which offers views of the Andes Mountains, will be preserved as open space.
El Desafio is being developed by Hicks Trans American Partners LLC, an entity created by Tom Hicks, the principal of Dallas, Texas-based Hicks Holdings LLC and a long-time member of the Forbes 400. Hicks Holdings has its fingers in a lot of investment pies -– satellite television, steelmaking, real estate development –- but it’s perhaps best known for its sports franchises, which include the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League and the Liverpool Football Club in the English Premier League. It also owns baseball’s Texas Rangers, although the team is in the process of being sold, reportedly for a price just north of $500 million.
Hicks Trans American Partners, which is based in Buenos Aires, is the controlling shareholder of Argentina’s top pet-food company, but it’s mostly a real estate developer. It's developing El Desafio as a 50-50 joint venture with Terra Patagonia, an Argentine developer. The partners cleared much of the golf-course site in 2009, and they expect to begin moving dirt later this year.
Norman has two projects in the works in Brazil (in Sao Paulo and Fortim), but the course at El Desafio is expected to come out of the ground first.
ElDesafioMountainResort.com, HicksHoldings.com
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