Chronicle Story: Another Golf Course in Our Area? ? ?

Comment: With all the talk about saving QVCC by the city we see in this report that another golf course is scheduled for our area in Riverstone (another Johnson Development Co. here in MC) after Sienna, according to the report, lost 2 courses in the South Sienna project after it was sold off in '05. Read on or click the title link for the full story:


Missouri City hires consultant for golf course study

By SESHADRI KUMAR
Chronicle Correspondent


The City Council of Missouri City has hired the National Golf Foundation, a nonprofit group based in Jupiter, Fla., to conduct a feasibility and marketing study for the Quail Valley Golf Course.

The city also hired an appraiser and a legal counsel after an executive session on April 2, City Manager Frank Simpson said.

To help the city make a decision if it should acquire the golf course, an expert study is needed and the Foundation was found to be the best suited for the job, Simpson said. The city of Houston used the Golf Foundation for a golf course study in 2005. Its other municipal clients include Corpus Christi, San Antonio and San Marcos. . .

The Foundation charges a fixed fee of $22,000, Simpson said. In about eight weeks, City Council will have enough information to make an informed decision on the future of the golf course, he said.

The city has retained Alan Dominy of Houston as the appraiser. The property to be appraised in Quail Valley includes two 18-hole golf courses at El Dorado and La Quinta, and two 9-hole courses, Par 3 and the Executive Course, Simpson said. Also, the country club, as well as the tennis center, not owned by the gold course owners, will be appraised, he said. In all 26 tracts will be evaluated as a part of the deal.

Reid Wilson with the law firm Wilson, Cribbs and Goren, will be the outside legal counsel for the city in the golf course transaction, Simpson said. His services will be required if the city decides to acquire the property.

While the Foundation will also get up to $3,000 for expenses, the appraiser and the legal counsel will be paid based on the time and material used for the job, Simpson said. No amount has yet been fixed for their services, he said. . .


"Now, the wheels have been set in motion. In eight weeks, beginning April 9, we will be able to bring together all the information needed for the City Council to decide if the golf course should be acquired or not," Simpson said.

The Willow Wisp Country Club in Missouri City closed down recently and the owners plan to build a business park there. The Old Orchard Golf Course, also in Fort Bend County, was recently closed for building homes.

The trend of golf courses being used for other remunerative developments will have no negative impact on the Quail Valley deal, Simpson said. On the other hand, the closure of two other golf courses could be positive for Quail Valley, he said.

A proposed 36-hole golf course in South Sienna has been abandoned and the plan has been taken off from the developer's agreement by the new owners of the tract, Simpson said.

In the Riverstone development, a golf course figures in the master plan and that will be in the Sugar Land part of the development. There is no indication when that golf course will be built, Simpson said. . .(click the title link for the full story)

----------------

What ever happened to MC's other golf course Willow Wisp. See this Chronicle piece for more:

----------------

Missouri City offers incentive for business park on former golf course
Company has contract to buy 160 acres

By SESHADRI KUMAR
Chronicle Correspondent

Missouri City's Willow Wisp Country Club and Golf Course will be converted into a multimillion-dollar business park, according to a plan presented to City Council recently.

Trammell Crow Development and Investment Inc. has a contract to buy the 160 acres to develop a business park, and the company has signed an agreement with Missouri City for economic incentives.

Jim Casey, Trammell managing director, said the company has not yet closed the deal. It may take another 60 days before the company completes the deal, and it is premature to make any official announcement, he said.

Casey confirmed the company's intention to develop a business park and said the company has reached an economic development agreement with the city, subject to the completion of the purchase.

City Council approved the economic development agreement at its March 19 meeting, City Manager Frank Simpson said.

Missouri City's Development Manager Morad Kabiri said the proposed Lake View Business Park will be the first, true business park in the city, and the developer has sought assistance for building streets and for drainage improvements in the former golf course, Kabiri said.

In the first phase of the development, the city will reimburse $2.8 million toward drainage and street projects and the payment will be made after the developer completes the infrastructure projects — namely street network, water and sanitary sewer and two speculative buildings, totaling about $6 million in total investment. . .

. . .After the second phase of development, the city will reimburse a little under $2 million. In the second phase the street and drainage work for the entire 160 acres should be completed. Also, the developer should have at least $50 million in taxable value on the ground to be eligible for the second-phase incentive. . .

. . .The proposed development includes light industrial, distribution and warehouse and office space. The spec buildings to be built initially will have 200,000 square feet and the total development will have about 2 million square feet of built-up space.

After the complete build-out in about 20 years, the property is expected to have a little more than $250 million in taxable value, Kabiri said. . . (get this full story at http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nb/fortbend/news/4697792.html)

----------------

Final note: A new neighborhood was started right next to the Willow Wisp Country Club (A closed MC golf course now being converted to an industrial/business park) named the Fairways. I wonder if this new Missouri City community will change its name now?






site (c) calvin