Maybe more so than other developers those who create resorts tend to be visionaries and dreamers. The ones who survive also have a good sense of the bottom line, patience and adequate capital to survive and thrive in a downturn.
In Central Oregon the various criteria are in play with those resorts that have weathered the seemingly endless wave of economic uncertainty, and the others now flailing in choppy waters.
Heading into 2013 the regional standbys of Sunriver, Black Butte Ranch and Eagle Crest remain at the top of the success list, although all have adjusted to meet the daunting, lengthy and unfavorable economic cycle.
Their record has much to do with decades of experience since being founded in the 1970s. With it has come access to working capital to maintain, adjust and improve amenities throughout market fluctuations.
Sunriver ownership has also expanded its offering to include Caldera Springs, a sister property which offers addtional lodging and recreation.
Among the other newer survivors, each shares a brief history of coming to market in the early years of the past decade when access to capital and debt appeared unlimited. When the funding pipeline sprang leaks, each was forced to find new owners or partners, secure other financing, revise pricing models and in some cases delay construction of promised amenities.
In this “new and hanging on” category are Pronghorn northeast of Bend, Tetherow on the southwest edge of Bend and Brasada Ranch farther east near Powell Butte.
Pronghorn emerged early in the past decade with much publicity and high profile twin golf courses designed by the two of the sport’s luminaries, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Fazio. Tetherow started with a links-style course designed by David McLay-Kidd, known for Bandon Dunes on the southwest Oregon coast, and Brasada opened with a course by state native Peter Jacobsen.
Brasada attracts a new owner
Of the three, Brasada has enjoyed a more stable ownership structure, having originally been created by Jeld-Wen, a Klamath Falls area window and door manufacturer which also developed Eagle Crest. In 2010 Jeld-Wen sold Brasada, Eagle Crest and its Running Y property near Klamath Falls to Northview Hotel Group backed by Oaktree Capital Management LP.
Northview has pumped additional capital into the resort accompanied by aggressive marketing to regional and local guests, resulting in The Oregonian naming it a top state resort in 2012. The tourism marketing has also aided in sales of buildable lots, many of which were either short sales or in foreclosure.
Northview has also begun improvements to existing conference and other facilities at Eagle Crest
Tetherow has been impeded by a murky and dispersed ownership structure although in recent months some of the issues have been resolved. There has been major investment in the golf course and club facility and new owners have acquired a majority of buildable lots.
Pronghorn also suffered as the original California-based developers were stretched thin with it and other investments. In the past two years the resort attracted The Resort Group of Hawaii as a buyer of golf and club facilities. Troon Corp. now manages the golf amenities while Auberge Resorts is responsible for managing club and lodging facilities.
Both Tetherow and Pronghorn have delayed expansion of lodging facilities initially required in their permitting by Deschutes County, as the county has acknowledged the developers’ difficulty in a sagging economy.
At the bottom of the list are four projects, only one of which was able to break ground before hitting the economic wall, and three others that are barely footnotes in the planning process.
Remington Ranch near Powell Butte in Crook County barely got off the ground with a clubhouse/marketing facility and nine-hole golf course before going into bankruptcy. It’s now listed for $5 million in an auction with a Colorado company.
Crossing Trails and Hidden Valley, another two projects proposed for Crook County, never made it beyond early stages of the permitting process.
Thornburgh Resort, later know as the Tradition on Cline Butte near Eagle Crest west of Redmond, battled through water and traffic issues before entering bankruptcy without breaking ground on a planned Arnold Palmer course.
Link to an overview of resorts from the archive:
A chart of regional resort land sales since 2000
