February 9, 2016

Clubhouse, hotel eyed for Chambers Bay

Photo by Aidan Bradley [enlarge]

The links-style Chambers Bay golf course opened in 2007.

Pierce County is once again looking for a developer to add a hotel, clubhouse and other amenities at Chambers Bay golf course.

RFQs for the latest offer are due March 4.

Tony Tipton, director of Parks & Recreation at the county, said the county had previously issued a request for qualifications in 2008 but then the Great Recession hit and the few proposals received lost their funding.

Things got serious in 2014, when Los Angeles developer Robert Sonnenblick came forward with a proposal topping $150 million that included a 258-room hotel with two restaurants and two bars, a conference center and second golf course.

Sonnenblick had architect Robert Trent Jones II draft up plans for the second golf course. Jones designed the original course at Chambers Bay.

But the second golf course became a sticking point last year between Sonnenblick and the county.

Tipton said a second golf course wasn't compatible with the county's vision for the site. He said the site isn't large enough for a second course without affecting open space, waterfront access and other public amenities.

Sonnenblick said the second course was an important part of his plan, since the existing course is fescue grass and golf carts aren't allowed, so it's a walk-only course. The problem is about 80 percent of resort golfers use carts, he said.

“When we got involved in this two years ago we had the intent of turning the golf course into a world class resort (like Pebble Beach in California or Bandon Dunes in Oregon),” he said.

“We're saddened that the project isn't going forward in the scope we envisioned,” Sonnenblick said. “We understand that the government isn't necessarily in the real estate business and they really couldn't see what we see as the highest and best use of this property. It's a shame that it's going to be underdeveloped instead of reaching its full potential.”

Sonnenblick said the county gave dozens of acres of the site to the adjoining water treatment plant for overflows, so now there's no room to build a second golf course. He said overflows occur only a handful of days each year, and the water could have been stored in the lakes planned for the second golf course.

Sonnenblick said he put about $1 million into designs, drawings and feasibility studies for the project, however Pierce County citizens have the most to lose.

“Our entire $200 million project was going to be privately financed — we were not looking to the government for any monies at all,” Sonnenblick said. “Between the ground rent that we were going to pay the county and bed taxes for city, our project would have probably created about $300 million in tax revenues for the people of Pierce County over the next 50 years and now none of that is going to happen.”

Sonnenblick said most of that revenue would have been generated by out-of-state tourists.

“It's a shame, we had great hopes for this site,” he said. The problem, he said, is that the county wants to keep it small and for “locals only.”

Tipton said Sonnenblick didn't revise his proposal, so the county moved on.

“He is certainly welcome to make a proposal through the current process that's underway,” Tipton said.

Sonnenblick said he will not participate.

Tipton said they are now looking for a turnkey package, with a developer financing design, construction and operation of the resort. The county would provide the land and a lease in the 75-year range.

The RFQ says development could include a hotel, permanent clubhouse, restaurants, banquet and meeting space, golf practice and teaching facilities, parking, trail connections and water access related amenities.

Tipton said they do a lot of events at Chambers Bay — such as business meetings and weddings — but bigger events are mostly limited to six months out of the year and are held in a temporary pavilion.

Smaller events, mostly business meetings, are held at the adjoining Environmental Services Building.

Tipton said he believes the site is capable of hosting year-round events, and adding a hotel would open up a different market for events.

“We're not an expert in the lodging industry and we recognize that,” Tipton said. “We're trying to let development teams be as creative as possible with their proposals.”

Tipton said the golf course needs a permanent clubhouse. The existing 4,300-square-foot temporary clubhouse was put together in 2006 from six modular trailers with a site-built roof covering them.

The course also has two open driving ranges that could be enhanced by covering the golfer stations. Another amenity could be a new building with golf simulators inside.

County officials next month will review the RFQs and in April notify the qualified teams.

Tipton said they hope to get specific proposals by late July, then pick one and negotiate a development agreement by the end of the year. He said it is too early to speculate on a construction schedule.

The county netted about $1 million from hosting the U.S. Open last year at Chambers Bay. A lion's share of that money is going to repay debt on the golf course and the rest is covering operating expenses at Chambers Bay.

Tipton said the U.S. Open helped put Chambers Bay on the national map.

“We hope that we gather some strong proposals from development teams (locally and nationally),” he said.

Sonnenblick said he is now looking for sites in the Puget Sound area to develop a waterfront hotel. In the past 90 days, his development group has secured funding for two hotels: one in Los Angeles and the other in Sacramento.

“There's plenty of money flying around today,” he said. “Financing wasn't our problem (with Chambers Bay).”