-
Proposed Oregon Dunes/Douglas Point Golf Course
A classic example of the creeping golf focus on the south coast is the new mega-proposal in Douglas County. A golf group calling itself Douglas Point Golf Partners LLC states, in their promotional pamphlet, that they have “entered into an agreement” to purchase 775 acres for a large full service resort focused on golf. The 775 acres is bordered by the Umpqua River, the Pacific Ocean and Sparrow Park Road, and is just east of the old Gardiner millsite. Rumors abound that the developers have already bought the property for some $4 million, though the sale is not reflected in the county property records.
The Douglas Point Golf Resort proposal envisions two 18-hole “world-class” golf courses, with a lodge, hotel, and self-catering villas, as well as 300 residential home sites. Phase One, the North Course, is targeted for completion in Fall of 2024. Phase Two, the South Course, is slated for Fall of 2026, along with the lodge, golf villas and residential sites. But this is not the extent of their vision. They also “propose to develop a private/public partnership with Douglas County and local municipalities to access and utilize additional acreage adjacent to the project site for future development” (Prospectus, p. 4). They envision a project that would expand up to 1,500 acres or so at completion. They explicitly cite the success of nearby golf resort Bandon Dunes in Coos County as a principal model for their own resort project.
Who are the developers of this massive project? One principal is George Rhodes, a former Curry County Commissioner well known for pie-in-the-sky proposals, which at one point included turning 627 acres of State Park lands near Floras Lake into a county park, along with other county lands, to develop a golf resort. The other principal is John Fought, a well-known golf course architect who has worked on the design of scores of golf courses nationwide. A third partner is Jeffrey Fought, Director of Golf at Black Butte Ranch.
The prospectus lists several consultants to the project, including GBD Architects, a land planning and building design firm in Portland. The project will use Harper Houf Peterson Righellis (HHPR), an engineering, landscape architecture and planning firm also in Portland, experienced in both engineering and surveying.
This proposal, called Douglas Point (or Oregon Dunes), clearly following the business plan of Bandon Dunes, seeks to emulate its cachet, style and combination of beautiful scenery and relaxed, upscale lodging. ORCA is watching this massive project very closely, as it is clearly unsuitable for this highly rural and rather remote corner of the coast that has very limited transportation, septic and water. Furthermore, the project is to be sited in a sensitive dune area right on the Umpqua estuary and the Pacific Ocean, and very close to protected lands of the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. At this time (Fall 2024) the project is in the conceptual stage only, though the developers have been speaking with the Douglas County Planning Department about the requirements for an application.
DOCUMENTS: