It has taken years but a Kamloops-area golf course is now once again moving forward with residential development after taking a mulligan five years ago; a Cranbrook bid is just teeing up and looking for new players; and a controversial Calgary project may already be underwater, literally.
In Vancouver, the mere mention of a beloved golf course being turned into a park has triggered fear and loathing.
Welcome to the world of golf course development in Western Canada, where even people who have never sunk a putt can sink a proposal.
An example is the former Highland Park in Calgary, where a year ago Maple Projects of Vancouver achieved hard-fought approval from Calgary City Council for an ambitious plan to develop more than 2,000 homes on the inner-city golf course site. The approval was given despite protests from local residents.
Yet, seven years after the Highland golf course closed and five years after the land was sold for development, nothing has been built on the old course, which sits south of McKnight Boulevard at Centre Street north.
Maple Projects did not return phone calls or emails requesting an update on the course.
The City of Calgary said that a big part of the course, including land already approved for development, could end up underwater. According to city plans, the land may be needed as a flood-water site for stormwater drainage.
No decision has yet been made on the flood plain, or what it would mean for Maple Projects’ game plan. “Construction cannot occur until the appropriate storm water management solutions for the entire catchment area are identified and implemented,” according to the city.
Another Calgary golf redevelopment plan is also in hot water. A year ago, Windmill Golf Group, through QuantumPlace Developments, submitted a plan to council to subdivide part of the Hamptons Golf Course to allow for 64 homes on two separate sites. Council approved the plan in April 2017.
But this February the city slapped a stop-work order on the projects after neighbours complained about tree removal on the site. A development permit for the tree removal has not yet been approved.
In the Kootenays of British Columbia, the 188-acre Wildstone Golf Course is seeking investors to buy the course, which has potential for more than 200 residential units. The golf course is listed for $2.5 million and its residential development site for $1.2 million.
The 18-hole golf course in Cranbrook includes a driving range and a small clubhouse. ScoreGolf magazine ranked Wildstone among the top 59 courses in Canada last year.
“Wildstone Golf Course is well run, profitable and positioned to take advantage of the future growth of this incredible community. This is one of the few true championship courses available within B.C. today,” said Ben Hurlbutt of Engel & Volkers, real estate agents for the project.
Near Kamloops, the Tobiano Golf Course along Kamloops Lake is already in the next phase of its residential development.
Tobiano suffered an epic fail five years ago when the Business Development Bank of Canada seized the 18-hole course and put up for sale for $5.5 million.
Tobiano, currently ranked as the No. 1 golf course in Canada by Canadian Golf Magazine, has apparently thrived under the new administration. Twenty homes, including detached houses and strata units, will be developed this year at Tobiano.
In Vancouver, a surprise plan to develop the city-owned Langara golf club into other uses has sparked outrage. Mayor Gregor Robertson introduced a motion to discuss turning the golf course into a park with sports fields. He also wants the city to look at options to partner with Musqueam First Nation, Langara College, the YMCA and the province for future use of the land.
Critics believe the real plan is to turn the popular course into housing. Indeed, in a statement, the mayor noted “tens of thousands of new people and families will be moving into the neighbourhood as the Cambie Corridor is developed.”
