by Doug Radunich

STAFF WRITER

A proposed golf course development near Grantsville faces an uncertain future as developers scramble to find funding for the project.

The Tooele County Commission approved plans for the Estates at Baker Canyon in November. The 1,040-acre, 325-home golf course development was to be located along the benches of the Stansbury Range just three miles southwest of Grantsville. However, Curtis Rex, a Las Vegas-based developer who is spearheading the project, said the development's primary financial backers had already pulled out before the project was approved and no new backers have been lined up yet.

"We've overcome the hurdle of governmental approval, but now we have to focus on our second hurdle, which is trying to discover new sources of funding for the project," Rex said. "Our three principal investors were on board in June or July, but by the time the project got approved by the county in November, they had already taken a walk. The land is still owned by the Bolinder family, and they will sell it to us once we put a new investor package together."

In December, Rex and his son Jared secured a contract with the Bolinders to build on the property, formerly known as the Bolinder Ranch, but they fell out of it when their investors left the project. The proposed development, including the land acquisition, is expected to have an overall cost of $30 million to $50 million.

Jared Rex said the sagging economy is to blame for investors pulling out.

"We initially started the project with funding from private sources from different groups in Las Vegas, and as the market turned and more money was needed, they said they couldn't work on it anymore and backed out," he said. "They just thought it wasn't the right time to invest in a development like this. Our private individuals who initially put up money also backed out on us."

Curtis said the subprime mortgage crisis last year also played a part in the decision the investor groups made to walk away.

"Between June and November the whole subprime thing happened and projects everywhere got jerked," he said. "Things like this also happen because it's the nature of this business."

With the unexpected delay, Jared said they are now looking at a completion date for sometime next year.

"We're now predicting to be finished in the spring or summer of 2009, but with the funding we had anticipated earlier, we thought our golf course would be finished and our home sites would be available mid-summer or late fall of this year."

The Estates at Baker Canyon is planned to include an 18-hole golf course, a 30-acre equestrian park, camping facilities, a fishing pond, a trail system, swimming pools and a retail center. Around half of the 325 home lots will be on 1.5 acres and will be situated around the golf course at the front of the development, and the remaining lots will range from 2.5 acres to 10 acres. A site for an elementary school has also been set aside in the plan.

Jared said the Estates at Baker Canyon is the largest and first-ever golf course development the father-son team have worked on, as well as the first development they have planned in Tooele County. Jared said he has developed homes in the Las Vegas area for the past 10 years, while Curtis has spent many years planning residential developments in Wyoming.

Curtis said he is anxious to re-enter back into the contract with the Bolinders once they have secured funding again.

"Things may be on hold right now, but I have hope we'll be able to put a good group of investors back together," Rex said. "I know it will be hard to get the package rebuilt for a project of this size because financial markets are real skittish right now. However, we're still interested in creating a beautiful new development for Tooele County, and we'll keep working hard to put a new group together."

dougrad@tooeletranscript.com