4th of July and Golf

This past weekend was the 4th of July here in Park City (and everywhere else). Park City has the quintessential small town 4th of July parade. Entries this year included the Park City junior kid’s hockey team, who periodically broke into fights on main street. The People’s Health Clinic with people walking down main street on crutches and hospital gown’s open in the back. The junior luge team with kids coming down main street on luges. Several local breweries with beer taps on the back of the float. And the girls gymnastic team performing handsprings down the road. The parade was followed by a town party in the City Park with music, children’s games and the annual rugby tournament. As expected, this was capped off with a fireworks display at 10pm (sundown in this part of the world). Parade’s in small town America are a must see and Park City’s is one of the most enjoyable I have seen.

The rains of June have ended and summer has definitely arrived. The sunshine and heat have brought the wildflowers out in such a dazzling display of colors that it is breathtaking just driving around town. The mountains the greenest I have ever seen and the golf courses are plush and in superb condition. This past weekend a new golf course just outside of Park City, called Red ledges opened for play. This is a Jack Nicklaus “signature” course and is one of the prettiest courses I have seen. It is set amongst the red rocks, just southeast of park city in the town of Heber. Typical of a Jack Nicklaus course, it also very difficult with narrow fairways and long 2nd shots to small greens. However the setting and the scenery keep the experience extremely enjoyable.

Several other private golf courses in town are Tuhaye, Promontory, Glenwild, Jeremy Ranch and Park Meadows. Both Jeremy Ranch and Park Meadows are older courses that have been around since the early 80’s. While these are private courses, membership is open to anyone, not just homeowners in the neighborhood. Of the two, I find Jeremy Ranch more scenic and interesting. Winding through a broad valley the course has a lot of elevation changes and beautiful views of the Wasatch Mountains.

Glenwild, which was the first true golf course community in Park City and designed by Tom Fazio, is the course for serious golfers. While the clubhouse is beautiful, and the fitness and spa rooms are excellent, Glenwild is really all about the golf. This is where Michael Jordan has a home and plays golf.

Promontory, the second golf course community in Park City, has two 18 hole golf courses. The first course which has been open for several years was designed by Pete Dye. Their second course, which is going into its second season, is a Jack Nicklaus designed course. While Promontory certainly has a strong golf presence, I consider it more of a family oriented community. Promontory features the best children’s center in the area, a beautiful pool and spa, small lakes where children can fish and sail, and an outfitters cabin for hiking and biking in the summer, snowshoeing and cross country skiing in the winter. Promontory also has an excellent tennis facility with a beautiful stadium center court. For someone looking for golf, and activities for the entire family, Promontory is the best in the area.

Tuhaye, one of the newer golf communities around Park City, is best suited for golf enthusiasts who are also avid skiers. Tuhaye features a Mark O’Meara designed course and in the works is a Fazio course as well. While Tuhaye has an excellent spa and arguably the best pool in the area, the member’s clubhouse has yet to be built. What is unique about Tuhaye is that club members enjoy the golf facilities and a member’s clubhouse called The Tower Club, located on the mountain at Deer Valley Ski Resort. The Tower Club, which has ski-in/ski-out access, features a lounge where members can get lunch during their ski day avoiding the crowded Deer Valley restaurants or stop in après ski for a snack and favorite beverage. While Promontory has a member’s lounge located in the village at Silver Lake at Deer Valley and Red Ledges plans to build a clubhouse at the bottom of the gondola in Deer Crest, Tuhaye is the only club that offers a true ski in facility, on the mountain, where members can dine.

Victory Ranch is a golf and fishing community with the golf course scheduled to open later this summer. This is a spectacular course set high on a bluff overlooking the Jordanelle reservoir and the Wasatch range. I have driven this course and from the looks of it the views are going to be stunning and the course extremely enjoyable. What victory ranch offers that is unique is the Provo river running through it with world class trout fishing. No other course or community in the area can offer this amenity.

For the golf enthusiast Park City offers a total of 14 public and private courses each with their own unique characteristic. Whether you are a serious golfer, a golf/skier, golfer/fly fisher, or golfer/spa person, there is something for every taste. Come enjoy Park City in the summer, see how much father your ball flies in our thin mountain air and take advantage of the activities we have to offer.

New Developments

The weather this first week of June is cool and rainy with a forecast of snow for this weekend, which is pretty typical this time of year. However, the last two weeks of June are historically the driest two weeks of the year, so we eagerly await the expected precipitation this weekend.
The past year has seen a flurry of activity at the ski resorts with new condominium project developments. In the Empire Pass area of Deer Valley a new condominium project called Flagstaff is well under way with an expected completion date of late fall /early winter 2009. Flagstaff offers 3 and 4 bedroom condos with direct ski in/out access and ranges in price from $3,300,000 for a 3 bedroom to $6,000,000 for a 4 bedroom penthouse unit. Flagstaff is a part of The Talisker Club which offers a “members only” lounge on the mountain at Deer Valley Resort as well as access to the Mark O’Meara designed Tuhaye golf course which includes a clubhouse with a restaurant, spa and pool.

At The Canyons Resort several new condo projects are under construction or nearing completion also. Most noteworthy is The Dakota Mountain Lodge which features the Golden Door Spa which will be managed by the Waldorf-Astoria chain. With Talisker Corporation (the developer of Tuhaye Golf Course and the Empire Pass developments at Deer Valley) recently taking ownership at The Canyons resort and the addition of the Golden Door Spa and Waldorf-Astoria, it appears that The Canyons Resort will rightfully claim a spot as our 3rd world class destination resort.

In addition to Dakota Mountain Lodge other new projects at The Canyons are Sunrise @ Escala which features 1-2 bedroom condos starting at $695,000 and Juniper Landing which features 2-3 bedroom condos starting at $825,000. These condominium developments are all located in a new village just below the base area of the resort and will be connected to the ski area with a new chairlift that will be under construction this summer. Also planned for this development is a resort golf course that will wind among the condominium developments.

Park City is continuing to grow and prosper and this would be a terrific summer to come out and see what is new here to get a feel for where we are heading. It will not be long before the resorts are completely built out and the only properties available will be re-sale properties.

Fall Colors

What a weekend! Snow all day Saturday gave way to crystal blue skies on Sunday. The combination of dark blue sky, white mountaintops, the gold aspens and red maples made Sunday one of the prettiest days of the year. It seemed that the whole town was out hiking or biking on the trails. We have been receiving regular snowstorms this fall with more snow forecast for tonight and later this week. The high peaks are very white, and it looks like the snow is here for the year. This is creating a lot of excitement in town, and an added urgency for the ski resorts to finish up their projects. The new Lady Morgan Express Lift at Deer Valley is taking shape and looks like it will offer some excellent intermediate and advanced skiing. Everyone is talking about the new terrain and we are all eager to get up and explore it.

In real estate news, the new Empire Pass development at Deer Valley continues to be the shining star. The Grand Lodge at the base of the Northside Lift is completed and the wait was worthwhile as it is a beautiful building with the best ski access. There are a couple of resale opportunities in the Grand Lodge on the ski slope level with views up the mountain. New at the base of the Empire Lift, work is underway at a feverish pace for the new Montage Resort Spa. This is going to be a very high-end boutique hotel with over 30,000 square feet of spa area. While it is currently under construction, we do not anticipate that sales of the units to begin until the hotel is nearer to completion, in about two years.

In the Village at Empire, the Silver Strike building is nearing completion with about 12 units available. The new Flagstaff condominium building has just started construction with expected release of units in December. Construction has also begun on the new pool at the Talisker Tower Club.

Along with the spectacular colors and early season snows, there is a lot of excitement going on at the resorts and this is a wonderful time of year to come and see what’s going on!