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August 24, 2016

Two teams vie to build $45M golf resort at Chambers Bay

By BENJAMIN MINNICK
Journal Construction Editor

Chambers Bay LLC’s plan calls for an 80-room hotel, ballroom/meeting space, clubhouse and spa, Tom Douglas restaurant and 80 golf “villas.”

Two groups — one made up of locals and the other from out of town — will compete to build a $45 million resort at Chambers Bay in University Place.

Both proposals were shown Tuesday to the Pierce County Council. The county owns Chambers Bay Golf Course, where the resort would be built.

One proposal came from Chambers Bay LLC, which is made up of local businessmen Dan Absher, Tom Absher, Greg Helle and Dan Putnam. The LLC's team includes Absher Construction, Tom Douglas Restaurants, Columbia Hospitality, GGLO, KemperSports, AHBL and PCS Structural Solutions.

(Editor's note: PCS Structural Solutions was added to the team list.)

The second proposal was submitted by Valiant Washington LLC, which is led by William Haberman, who is the managing member and president of Thistle Golf Estates in Sunset Beach, North Carolina, and The Idaho Club in Sandpoint, Idaho. Haberman also is a licensed real estate broker in Florida.

Joining Haberman is Escalante Golf, a company from Fort Worth, Texas, that runs luxury golf properties across the country. Renowned golf architect Robert Trent Jones Jr. is also on the team.

“We are enthusiastic about the two comprehensive proposals we've received from the development teams,” said Tony Tipton, the county's director of Parks and Recreation, in a news release. “Both groups have brought to the county terrific ideas and fantastic teams capable of building and managing a successful resort of the type we have envisioned.”

The county wants the resort to be like those found at championship-caliber golf courses, but also one that will complement the natural qualities and golfing experience of Chambers Bay.

The project will be a public-private partnership, with the private team designing, financing, constructing and operating the resort on land leased from the county.

Chambers Bay LLC

Chambers Bay LLC's plan calls for phased development. Phase 1a would include an 80-room boutique hotel, 4,200 square feet of ballroom space and 800 square feet of meeting space, a 4,300-square-foot clubhouse above a spa with six treatment rooms, 200-seat Tom Douglas restaurant and bar, new public plaza and enhanced trails.

The restaurant would be the first for Douglas outside of Seattle.

Phase 1b would add 80 golf “villas” that would start as long-term rentals and then become overnight rentals as the market matures. This phase would be built concurrently with phase 1a, but will finish six months earlier so that the villas can lease up before the hotel opens.

An optional phase 2 would add more golf villas along Grandview Drive West, above the eighth fairway. It would also enhance the trail to create viewing venues for the eighth hole.

An optional phase 3 would build a residential village along the southeastern border of the property, and expand the trail system and south beach access. Housing could be market-rate or for seniors, or a combination.

Construction could start in August 2017, with phase 1b finishing a year later and phase 1a finishing in February 2019.

Benaroya Co. has been identified as the lender/financier for the project. A back-up financing plan relies on EB-5 investors for some of it.

Valiant Washington LLC would build a lodge with up to 120 rooms, meeting/conference space, a view restaurant, spa, clubhouse, outdoor pool and detached casitas.

Valiant Washington LLC

Valiant's proposal includes a four-star boutique lodge with up to 120 rooms, 25,000 square feet of meeting/conference space, a view restaurant and lounge, spa and fitness center, event pavilion and outdoor pool. Additional lodging could be provided in 10-15 detached casitas.

There also would be a 30,000-square-foot clubhouse, pro shop, bar and grill, locker rooms, offices, 18 lodging units and a golf training center.

In its proposal, Valiant said the LEED gold design would reflect the “warm, contemporary architectural style found throughout the Pacific Northwest.”

Valiant said it would take 36 to 48 months to develop the resort. It would pick a general contractor for the clubhouse and golf training center in August 2017, start construction a month later and finish them in December 2018.

A general contractor for the view restaurant and event pavilion would be picked in November 2017, with construction starting a month later and finishing in March 2019.

Finally, a general contractor for the lodge and casitas would be picked in February 2018, with construction starting a month later and finishing in October 2019.

The county will negotiate a lease development agreement with the winning team.

The county had previously issued a request for qualifications in 2008 but then the Great Recession hit and the few proposals that were received lost funding.

Plans for a resort got serious again in 2014, when Los Angeles developer Robert Sonnenblick proposed a $150 million resort that would have included a 258-room hotel with two restaurants and two bars, a conference center and a second golf course.

In the end, Sonnenblick and the county couldn't come to an agreement on the second golf course.

An open house on the latest proposals will be held from 6-7 p.m. on Sept. 8 at the Environmental Services Building. The two proposals can be found online at www.piercecountywa.org/chambersbayresort.


 


Benjamin Minnick can be reached by email or by phone at (206) 622-8272.




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