MEXICO
Construction launched on Gary Player design
Construction is underway on a new Gary Player-designed golf course as part of phase two of development at the CostaBaja Resort & Marina in Baja California Sur.
The course is the globe-trotting architect’s first project in Mexico and is expected to open some time in 2009. The 18-hole design will feature panoramic views of the Sea of Cortez.
Phase two of the master-planned resort’s development has progressed rapidly after Grupo Concord, developer of CostaBaja Resort & Marina, partnered with PREI, the real estate investment management business of Prudential Financial Inc., to secure an $800 million capital investment in the project.
Two residential neighborhoods will also be built during the second phase of construction.
COSTA RICA
Greg Norman course part of $300 million development
Azulera Resort Village, a new $300 million residential resort in northwest Costa Rica’s Guanacaste Province, will feature an 18-hole, Greg Norman-designed golf course as part of its initial phase of development.
Troon Golf has been hired to manage the yet-to-be-named course, which will be spread across more than 500 acres of land and is expected to open for play in 2009.
New Jersey-based developer Global Financial Group broke ground on the 557-acre project overlooking Brasilito Bay in June of this year.
Designed by architect Michael Graves, the project’s first phase also features a 185-room Hyatt Regency Resort and 64 full-ownership condos. It is scheduled for completion in early 2010.
An additional 1,000 residential units including condominiums, townhouses, mid-rise apartments and custom homes will be constructed in the project’s second phase.
UNITED STATES
Sweetwater Golf Course opens in Michigan
Sweetwater Golf Course, an 18-hole, championship course in Harris, Mich., opened for play in July.
Designed by Paul Albanese of Albanese & Lutzke and set on 150 acres, the 7,300-yard course was part of a $43 million expansion of the nearby Island Resort & Casino. Both the hotel and casino were upgraded and expanded in April of 2007.
The course, which also features a 5,000-square-foot clubhouse, was developed by Three Fire Society, a joint venture of the Ojibway, Ottawa and Potawatomi tribes.
CANADA
Developer unveils plans for $1.5 billion resort
Calgary-based developer Stone Creek Properties Inc. unveiled plans for the Village at Silvertip, a new $1.5 billion destination resort community in Canmore, Alberta.
The development, which Stone Creek Properties estimates will draw 200,000 visitors annually upon completion, is expected to include a luxury hotel, spa, wellness center, conference center, and a variety of restaurants and lodges. Construction will either begin late in 2008 or early in 2009, with completion of the project’s first phase anticipated for 2012.
The Village at Silvertip region is already home to Silvertip Golf Course, an 18-hole, championship facility in the Rocky Mountains. The course will remain open for play throughout construction of the new village development.
BERMUDA
Spring opening slated for Tucker’s Point project
Tucker’s Point Hotel & Spa, an 88-bedroom resort featuring two freshwater swimming pools and a private beach is scheduled to open next spring.
The new hotel and spa will serve as the centerpiece of Tucker’s Point Club, a 200-acre resort community that is also home to an 18-hole Roger Rulewich-redesigned championship golf course as well as a four-court tennis club.
In addition to guest rooms ranging from 520 to 630 square feet, Tucker’s Point will offer 19 luxury suites averaging 1,200 square feet and a 1,650-square-foot governor’s suite.
Four additional luxury properties are also scheduled to open within the next five years in Bermuda, including the Newstead Belmont Hills Golf Resort and Spa, the 37-acre Jumeirah Southlands Spa Resort, the Ritz-Carlton Atlantic development and the Par-la-Ville in the city of Hamilton, which will also be managed by Ritz-Carlton.
URUGUAY
$100 million development to begin in March
Brazilian holding company JHSF will begin construction in March on a $100-million hotel complex in the Cerro Eguzquiza region of the department of Maldonao.
Named La Cumbre, Villas & Hotel Fasano, the project will feature 20 bungalows and 205 villas in addition to a golf course, spa and other sporting facilities.
JHSF is developing the complex on approximately 1,200 acres of land that it purchased one year ago for $12.5 million.