June 27, 2017

$45M Chambers Bay resort team reaches a deal with Pierce County

Pierce County and Chambers Bay Development LLC have cleared another hurdle in developing a $45 million resort at Chambers Bay Regional Park with the signing of a memorandum of understanding.

The MOU lays out the process for creating a ground lease and development agreement, which covers lease rates and terms, project scope, financing, insurance and other details.

“I'm pleased to see us reach this important milestone,” said Bruce Dammeier, Pierce County Executive, in a news release. “The MOU gives us the opportunity to collaborate on a plan to bring great hospitality and golf amenities to Chambers Bay while also enhancing this beautiful setting for everyone to enjoy.”

The LLC — made up of local businessmen Dan Absher, Tom Absher, Greg Helle and Dan Putnam — will design, build and operate the resort in University Place.

Dan Absher said the development team hopes to finalize a preliminary site plan on Thursday. “It's a bit of an art to get it just right,” he said.

Plans have been tweaked to relocate buildings for better views and improve public access to the trail system.

Absher said the resort would have a Northwest look and be environmentally friendly. There would be 60 to 70 boutique hotel rooms and a clubhouse in the main building, an adjacent restaurant building, and between 75 and 80 separate golf villas. Additional villas and hotel rooms could be built in a second phase, depending on demand.

Absher said they want guests to be able to drop off their suitcases and golf clubs in one spot. He said the hotel lobby and clubhouse would be adjacent to each other in the same building to expedite that.

The main building could be connected by a breezeway or public plaza to the 200-seat restaurant and bar that would be run by Seattle chef Tom Douglas.

There also would be meeting and event space, a spa and enhanced trails.

Absher said the biggest change to the plans was bumping the total number of potential hotel and villa units from 160 to 190.

Absher said they are talking with Benaroya Co. about financing the project. “Now that we have the MOU we can start to pursue financing,” he said.

The original plan was to open the resort by May 2019, when Chambers Bay hosts the U.S. Four-Ball Championship run by the USGA.

Absher said they have been working on the MOU for about a year and that process is pushing the opening date to spring 2020. He said the process involved a lot more public outreach than they initially expected, but that's a good thing because the public is more familiar with the project as a result.

Here is the rest of the development team: KemperSports, Absher Construction Co., Columbia Hospitality, GGLO, AHBL and PCS Structural Solutions.

No county funds are being used to design, build or operate the resort. The county would make money from leasing the property to the developers, and both the county and the city of University Place would receive tax revenue.