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Canyons Golf Course to be finished by Sept. 30 deadline

Aaron Osowski, The Park Record
This is the view from the tee box of the par 3 Hole 14 of the Canyons Golf Course. Developers of the golf course told Summit County Manager Bob Jasper on Thursday that they fully expect to have a playable course come Sept. 30, the most recent deadline. (Photo courtesy of Canyons Golf Course)
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Despite the recent denial of the relocation of the Canyons maintenance building — where the green of Hole 11 of the Canyons Golf Course is to be built — completion of the golf course is expected by September 30, developers say.

Summit County Manager Bob Jasper held an enforcement hearing on Thursday at the Sheldon Richins Building to check in with TCFC Finance Co., LLC, on the status of the Canyons Golf Course. The purpose was to see if TCFC will be able to meet the benchmarks set forth for the course as stated in Jasper’s Fifth Addendum to his Manager’s Decision.

Summit County Deputy Attorney Jami Brackin reviewed the benchmarks TCFC has had to meet since May 2013, looking forward to those goals which are to be completed by September of this year.

Many of those benchmarks up to the present were completed, with the exception of progress on a new ski maintenance building and the transfer of golf lands from The Canyons Golf Holdings, LLC, to The Canyons Golf Club, LLC. In a letter to Jasper, ASC Utah, LLC, and The Canyons Resort Village Association asked for the deadline for that transfer of lands to be extended from May 1 to July 15.

Scott Kirby, construction manager of the Canyons Golf Course, said the project has had approval, design and financial hurdles — as it is in its fourth year of construction — but said great progress has been made on the course and it will remain on schedule.

"There were many efforts to make this project the best it could possibly be," Kirby said. "We’ve done plenty of work and some excess work. The golf course will be playable September 30."

Since the current maintenance facility on Frostwood Drive has no exact time table for relocation, Hole 11 — the green of which will lie directly where the current facility is – will temporarily be made a Par 4 hole instead of a Par 5 until the building is moved, Kirby said.

Developers have also hired a contractor to do planting work and they have sourced plant materials from three vendors. There is also a landscape plan for the course, Kirby said, which was a benchmark that TCFC had left unfulfilled.

TCFC has spent $21.62 million on the golf course to date and expects to spend over $8.8 million more to finish it, for a total cost of nearly $30.5 million.

Some of the benchmarks over the past year for the grading and completion of holes appear unfulfilled, although in many instances the developers simply completed work on holes other than those that were laid out. As of the end of construction season in November last year, this was the progress of the course:

  • Nine holes substantially completed: 8, 9, 10, 11 (half), 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18
  • Holes 5, 6 and 7 were rough graded with some work on shaping and drainage
  • Holes 1, 2, 3 and 4 were rough graded
  • Hole 12 – no work

    Spencer White, VP of Development for TCFC, stressed that, though the course will be "substantially complete" and playable by Sept. 30, there may be some additional work such as fencing that will take place in the fall of 2014 into spring of 2015. That work would not impact the playability of the course, he added.

    Regarding the denied relocation of the ski maintenance building to Canyons Resort Drive, White said TCFC may consider appealing Jasper’s decision. The company has until Monday to file intent to appeal. If it does not appeal, it will look at other possible locations for the facility with the Canyons Specially Planned Area.

    Other benchmarks TCFC must complete by this month are the posting of additional bond monies and commencing the remaining restoration work of Willow Creek. Jasper said he would sign the letter which requested an extension for the transfer of the golf lands to July 15 and that he was impressed with the work done by TCFC on the course.

    "I’m very pleased with the progress you’ve made and the commitment you’ve made to have a playable golf course," Jasper said. "Irrespective of some dilemmas, you’ve [shown] you’re willing to do what you need to do to get it done."

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