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The Wildcat Golf Club opened the Lakes course in
the summer of 2002, completing the 36-hole landfill golf development.
The project also features a 12,000 square foot clubhouse, a large
practice range and training facilities. The Wildcat is a wonderful
example of a successful landfill redevelopment project.
Please Click Here for photographs of the completed
development.
Please Click Here for Flash Project Summary
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PROJECT SUMMARY (2001)
Click Here For Construction Photographs
Location
The Pierce
Junction property, formerly the Browning-Ferris Industries Holmes Road
Landfill, is located approximately one mile south of the Astrodome
complex in Houston, Texas. The Site is within a 15 minute
drive of major business districts and a 25 minute drive of a substantial
percentage of Houston’s 4.2 million residents.
The Site is bounded by Holmes
Road to the North, a Harris County Flood Control channel and light
industrial properties to the West, light industrial properties and a
small oil field to the East and undeveloped land to the South. A housing
development is located near the Southwest corner of the Site. The main
access to the Site is Almeda Road, a heavily traveled thoroughfare. The
Site entrance is approximately one and one half miles from Interstate
610, which is one of the primary interstates surrounding Houston. By
2004, a four-lane thoroughfare (West Airport Boulevard) is scheduled to
bisect the Southeastern corner of the Site. Upon its completion, West
Airport Boulevard will provide direct access to the Site from US 288, a
major north-south artery connecting the CBD to southern suburbs.
General
Description
The Site is an
approximately 450 acre closed BFI landfill that was operated as a Type I
sanitary landfill between 1970 and 1979. The Site discontinued landfill
operations in 1979 and was properly maintained until its release from
post-closure care by the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission
("TNRCC") in February 1999. Post-closure care is a mandated
period of maintenance, monitoring and regulatory reporting following the
capping and closure of a landfill. Regulatory release from post-closure
care equates to the final closure and the release of further regulatory
obligation unless environmental impacts related to the landfill are
subsequently discovered. The TNRCC file for the landfill was formally
closed on February 22, 1999.
The Site has
ample space for two 18-hole golf courses, a driving range, and
clubhouse. The property includes over 60 acres of existing lakes, 20
additional acres of created lakes and wetlands, and views of downtown
Houston, the Astrodome and the Galleria area. The Golf Courses occupy
approximately 320 acres
of the Site. The significant acreage and dramatic topographic features
at the Site will translate into a high quality golfing experience.
Because of the underlying waste mass, the Site is approximately 60 feet
above the surrounding grade at its highest point. The absence of homes
and other buildings surrounding the Site will also enhance the golfing
experience.
The Pierce
Junction development will offer the following amenities:
Two 18-hole
daily fee championship golf courses, par 72, each approximately 7,000
yards in length, bunkers, water features and natural preserve areas, and
greens built to U.S. Golf Association specifications. The Project also
will include a large, lighted driving range, practice area and putting
green.
Development
facilities will include a clubhouse, cart storage and maintenance
buildings, and on-course comfort stations.
The clubhouse will be
a 12,800 + SF plaster and stone building with roofing consisting of a
combination of painted metal and standing seam copper. Carpet will be
installed throughout the interior of the facility. The building will capture
the flavor of a country Texas building that is residential in scale. The
building will provide area for a proshop, locker rooms, dining and bar areas
with a kitchen and a large pavilion to accommodate corporate outings and large
group gatherings. Offices for administration and management will also be
provided. A covered drop off will greet patrons arriving at the clubhouse for
golf or meeting activities. Valet and club handling will accompany the
drop-off.
The cart storage
facility will be separate from the clubhouse but adjacent to the staging area
at the proshop. The cart storage facility will house 150 electric carts and
will be fenced from view and supplemented by landscaping. The fenced
maintenance facility will be on a separate site and will contain 10,900 SF of
enclosed space housing the superintendent's office, a crew area, chemical and
miscellaneous storage as well as a repair shop and open equipment storage
bays. The maintenance facility site will contain wash bays, soil storage bins
and a fuel station. Parking will be provided at the maintenance site for
employee and visitor parking. The on-course comfort stations are small
restroom facilities accommodating player needs in the middle of each golf
course.
Construction
Status
Work began on the
Project in November 1999 and is ongoing. To date, this work has primarily
consisted of clearing, golf course layout, mass excavation and rough shaping
of fill dirt, golf course feature shaping, drainage and irrigation
installation, greens and bunker construction, and the installation of the
methane gas collection
system. The Links Course is
in the early grassing phase and the Lakes Course will be ready for grassing in
June or July 2001. Construction activities have not been initiated on the clubhouse.
Design drawings and documentation for the clubhouse complex have been
submitted for agency reviews. The cart storage and maintenance facilities have
been put on a fast track to obtain permits and begin construction of these
facilities in advance of the clubhouse. With weather permitting, construction
of the clubhouse complex will take approximately 6-7 months. Infrastructure
construction is well under way.
Development Team
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The
Developer
The project
developer is EnCap Golf, a specialty firm established to develop golf
courses on closed brownfield sites. Based in Tampa, Florida, EnCap
Golf
brought combined expertise from the environmental engineering, banking
and accounting, and waste-to-energy industries to the project. Project
financing is provided by Lexington Commercial Holdings of Beverly
Hills, California.
The Golf Course
Architect
The Golf Courses have
been designed by Mr. Roy Case and the Case Golf Company of Lake Worth,
Florida ("CGC"). Mr. Case is a British national who has been
in practice in the United States since 1988. Mr. Case has collaborated
extensively with the design groups of Arnold Palmer and Sam Snead. Mr.
Case’s recent successes include New Jersey National, a high profile
daily fee course located adjacent to the U.S.G.A.’s headquarters in
Far Hills, New Jersey. The Jersey Golfer Magazine recently ranked New
Jersey National as the second best public course in the state of New
Jersey.
CGC is credited with
the design of the following courses: New Jersey National; Cobblestone
C.C.; Palm Beach Gardens Municipal; Safehaven, Grand Cayman;
Minisceongo Golf Club, New York; Negril Hills, Jamaica; Palm Beach
County, Municipal; Mill Creek, Illinois; Braco, Jamaica; Canouan,
Grenedines, B.W.I.; San San, Jamaica; Flowood, Mississippi; Memphis
National, Tennessee; Town of Clarkstown, New York; North Charleston,
South Carolina; Guanacaste, Costa Rica; Menorca, Spain; Bedminster,
New Jersey; Bella Rosa, St. Lucia, W.I.; Northfork, Florida;
Meadowwood, Florida; The Headlands, Jamaica; Derby, Kansas; Booby
Pond, Little Cayman; Tega Cay, South Carolina; Goose Creek, South
Carolina; Timper Point, New York; Penderbrook, Virginia; San Leandro,
California; Crofton, Maryland; Montpelier, Virginia; San Juan, Puerto
Rico; Tokyo, Japan Pitch & Putt; Playa Dominical, Costa Rica; and
Pierce Junction, G.C., Texas.
The Clubhouse
Architect
The clubhouse has been
designed by architect and repeat Texas Amateur Champion golfer Robert
McKinney. Mr. McKinney has designed numerous golf clubhouse projects.
He has written extensively on the subject of golf and the buildings
that support the game. He has been involved with the game of golf for
over 40 years. Mr. McKinney has been responsible for projects ranging
in scope from $1 million to $30 million. His project experience has
encompassed a diversity of building types done both domestically and
internationally and includes golf clubhouses and related buildings,
educational projects, recreational complexes, criminal justice
buildings and medical and research projects.
Mr. McKinney’s golf
clubhouse projects include the following: Glenloch Farms Golf Club,
Houston, Texas; Blackhorse Golf Club, Houston, Texas; Country Place,
Pearland, Texas; Bay Forest Golf Course, LaPorte, Texas; Marsh Landing
Country Club, Ponte Vedre Beach, Florida; Longwood Golf Club, Cypress,
Texas; Beeville Country Club, Beeville, Texas; Blakeville National
Golf Club, Magnolia, Texas; Country Club of West Texas, Lubbock,
Texas; Glenbrook Golf Course, Houston, Texas; Old Orchard Golf Club,
Richmond, Texas; City of Houston Hermann Park Golf Course, Houston,
Texas; City of Houston Memorial Park Golf Course, Houston, Texas; San
Jacinto golf and Country Club, Baytown, Texas.
The Course Builder
Environmental
Golf ("EG"), a subsidiary of Environmental Industries, Inc.,
is an industry leader in the development and employment of
sophisticated, state of the art environmental construction and site
development techniques. EG has more than 40 years experience building
and maintaining some of the nation’s premier private, daily fee,
resort and municipal golf courses. EG’s onsite manager for the
Project directed construction activities at one of the first and most
successful landfill golf courses, Mountain Gate Country Club located
in Los Angeles, California. EG has construction experience on over 32
landfill sites. Environmental Industries, Inc., has over 5000
employees. EG has built, operated or maintained more than 150 golf
courses.
The Clubhouse
Builder
The clubhouse, cart
barn and maintenance facilities, roads and utilities will be
constructed by general contractor Rob Croix Construction ("RCC").
Established in 1979, RCC has acted as General Contractor, Construction
Manager and Developer for a variety of projects including custom
single family homes, multi-family housing, townhomes, condominiums,
light commercial buildings, farm and ranch projects, and golf course
related buildings.
Recent RCC
projects include the following: Cypresswood Traditions Golf Clubhouse,
Pavilion, Cart Barn and Pumphouse, Houston, Texas; Windrose Golf
Clubhouse, Cart Barn, Maintenance Buildings, Meeting House, Recreation
Center and Pumphouse , Spring, Texas; Meadowbrook Farms Golf
Clubhouse, Cartbarn, Maintenance, Comfort Stations, and Pumphouse,
Katy, Texas; Cypress Lakes Golf Clubhouse, Pavilion, Cartbarn,
Maintenance and Pumphouse, Cypress, Texas; Riverbend Country Club,
Renovation to Dining Room, Conference Room and Bar, Sugarland, Texas.
The Construction
Manager
The construction of
the Project is managed by Redstone Golf Management, L.P. in its
capacity as Manager (the "Manager"). The Manager, owned by
Redstone Golf Properties, L.P. ("Properties"), provides
project management services during the construction phase of a golf
course and manages operating properties. The Redstone Companies, a
Houston based company known for its upscale hospitality ventures and
financial services, plans for Properties to become a leading owner and
operator of golf properties by acquiring and developing top quality,
private, resort and daily fee facilities nationwide. The Properties
portfolio currently consists of a long-term lease with the state of
Tennessee for Bear Trace, a collection of five Jack Nicklaus signature
courses that are located in Tennessee State Parks. Also in the
portfolio is BlackHorse Golf Club, a 36-hole Jacobsen/Hardy design
expected to open in the fall of 2000. In October 1999, [Redstone]
opened the private Shadow Hawk Golf Club and The Houstonian Golf Club
resort course in Ft. Bend County, south of Houston. The Manager will
provide technical services to both of these properties.
The
Operations Manager
Golf
operations at the completed Project will be managed by Redstone Golf
Management, L.P. in its capacity as operator (the
"Operator"). The Operator will provide operational guidance
and will contribute functions such as centralized purchasing of
merchandise, golf club services, media and advertising services to
allow the Project to take advantage of the Manager’s volume buying
power. The Operator will provide marketing, advertising and public
relations consultation and management for the Project. The Project
will be analyzed to determine target audiences within the market,
pricing tiers, product packaging and promotional opportunities for the
club. Marketing plans will be designed to address the specific target
markets for the Golf courses and will be followed through pre- and
post-opening to try and ensure that market entry recognition, and
repeat and referral business is realized.
The
Feasibility Consultant
An
independent market and economic analysis of the Project (the
"Market Study") was prepared by Economic Research
Associates, Inc. ("ERA"). Established in 1958, ERA is
the largest and most experienced golf economics consulting firm in the
United States. The firm has participated in a wide range of projects
including public, private and semi-private golf courses as well as
golf-oriented master-planned communities and world-renowned golf
resorts. |
Pierce
Junction/Wildcat Opening
The development is
expected to open in fall of 2001. The experience will be unique for
Houston golfers featuring elevation changes, views of the Astrodome, Galleria
and Downtown, and a persistent cooling breeze. The quality of golf will
be unsurpassed with challenging prairie and lakes courses boasting double
fairways, oil wells in play, and an island green.
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