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Glacier Club getting ready to grow

Golf course expansion, luxury hotel envisioned
On June 1, Glacier Club plans to break ground on an additional nine holes that will complete the Glacier Course, an 18-hole design by Hale Irwin and Todd Schoeder. It will allow the private luxury resort to offer two 18-hole courses.

Glacier Club plans to break ground June 1 on the final nine holes at the golf resort north of Durango, enabling the resort to offer two 18-hole courses.

The private luxury resort also wants to demolish Tamarron Lodge, a 74,000-square-foot building that once was the home of a convention center, restaurants and meeting facilities, and replace it with a luxury hotel.

The portion of the building that is occupied condominiums is not part of the planned demolition.

The additional nine holes will complete the Glacier Course, an 18-hole design by Hale Irwin and Todd Schoeder.

The second golf course has been years in the making for Glacier Club.

“This completes the original golf vision for our members – to have a world-class venue that includes an opportunity for a members-only course and a semiprivate course within a resort setting,” General Manager Jim Goodman said in a news release.

The Glacier Course will join the existing Cliffs Course, designed by Arthur Hills. Glacier Club said it anticipates opening the final nine holes no later than the spring of 2017.

The course will be built on 228 acres at Glacier Club’s north end acquired as part of the Chris Park land swap with the U.S. Forest Service that was completed in 2010.

Glacier Club, responding to an improving market nationally for vacation homes, also is looking to add more real estate. A new development called Golf Villa will feature four master suites, targeted to couples or friends on a golf junket. A new condominium facility also is planned.

The expansions come as Glacier Club, 18 miles north of Durango, bounces back from the economic downturn, which hit the real estate and golf industries hard, particularly where the two intersect.

“The downturn in the economy hit Glacier Club just like it hit all real-estate developments, but because we are golf-centric and there is membership associated with real estate here, we got hit hard,” said Bruce Geiss, director of real estate.

Hundreds of golf courses have closed in recent years. Geiss attributed Glacier Club’s survival to having a single owner, Rick Carlton of Nashville, Tenn.

Glacier Club is debt-free, Geiss said.

“We have put ourselves in the position to make this decision to complete the final nine and complete this vision,” he said.

The resort is looking to demolish Tamarron Lodge, a sprawling facility that has seen better days. Once a vibrant convention destination, Tamarron Lodge fell victim to tough competition in the convention industry. Glacier Club plans to replace Tamarron Lodge with a luxury hotel, Geiss said.

Tamarron Lodge is adjacent to Sundowner Inn, which is owned by Tamarron, a separate development. Sundowner Inn has 139 condominium apartments.

Glacier Club has begun discussions with La Plata County officials and Tamarron about the potential demolition.

“We’re trying to be clear and upfront about our intentions,” Geiss said. “It’s a big subject. It’s a challenging subject, and we’re at the beginning of the process.”

cslothower@durangoherald.com

This story has been clarified from an earlier version.



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