Hidden Lakes to expand
SANDPOINT — The eight resident moose at Hidden Lakes Golf Resort soon will have a few more spectators.
The semi-private golf resort — built among the oxbows of Idaho’s Pack River — is on the brink of a $100 million real estate expansion.
Over the next five years, hundreds of new housing units could spring up at the resort. Also on the drawing board: a 200-slip marina on Lake Pend Oreille, an equestrian center, spa and convention facilities.
“Our intent is to become to this lake what the Coeur d’Alene Resort is to Lake Coeur d’Alene,” said Erin Maher, Hidden Lakes’ director of business development. “We want to be the signature resort.”
Hidden Lakes is owned by North Idaho LLC. The company has been buying up land around the golf course, and now owns about 1,000 acres.
Some of the housing units will be clustered in condos, to avoid sprawl, Maher said. About 300 homes are planned for Moose Mountain, a forested ridge that juts out between the mouth of the Pack River and Lake Pend Oreille.
The development will be planned carefully, Maher said. Native vegetation will be required around the homes. Most of the units will be nestled in the trees.
“When you’re playing the course, you will see nature and not real estate,” Maher said. “We’re committed to creating a resort that will be indigenous to North Idaho.”
Hidden Lakes has the permits to proceed with a 36-unit condo project that will start this summer, but the resort will be working with Bonner County on a planned unit development for other parts of the project, Maher said.
Bonner County Planning Director Clare Marley said the county is “in the talk stages” with Hidden Lakes on its expansion plans.
Those plans follow a surge of interest in Sandpoint’s real estate market. Demand for vacation/investment properties began growing three years ago, after Smart Money Magazine named Sandpoint as an up-and-coming resort town with investment potential. Sandpoint was also featured as a “dream town” in a recent Outside Magazine article.
“The first quarter of 2004 was about as frenzied as I’ve ever seen it,” said Jim Watkins, a Realtor with Tomlinson Black’s Sandpoint office. “People coming here are buying vacation homes, second homes, retirement homes and investment properties.”
At Hidden Lakes, construction of a 36-unit condo near the resort’s clubhouse, called Cottonwood Lodge, is expected to begin this summer. The one- to three-bedroom units range in price from $299,000 to more than $600,000. Building lots on Moose Mountain could cost up to $1 million.
The likely buyers are investors and vacationers from out of town, Maher said. Hidden Lakes already has 171 home sites platted around the golf course. Most of the buyers there spend several weeks at the resort, and put their properties into a rental pool during the rest of the year.
With the rental potential, the 36-unit condo will actually operate a bit like a boutique hotel, Maher said. The $15.5 million project includes a 120-seat conference center for hosting conventions. Future development on Moose Mountain could include a similar set-up, she said.
Hidden Lake’s announcement also follows trends in the golf industry, Maher said. Nationwide, golf resorts are diversifying. Resorts that offer a wide array of activities – such as horseback riding, boating, hiking and tennis – find it easier to attract families, she said.
“We want to be the base camp for all things outdoors,” Maher said.
The $100 million expansion aims to tie the resort to Lake Pend Oreille through the development of a yacht club and 200-slip marina.
Villelli Enterprises, Hidden Lakes’ managing partner, owns two RV parks four miles east of the resort. The 40 acres of RV sites are located on the lake shore, near Trestle Creek. Over time, the land could be redeveloped into cottage sites, with the yacht club, marina and restaurants, Maher said.
It’s a better use for the land, she said. Kokanee spawn in the shallow waters near the shore, and sewage from the hookups is leaching into the lake, she said.
Hidden Lakes describes itself as a “semi-private” golf resort. The resort sells memberships, but its golf course and clubhouse are also open to members of the public.
Villelli Enterprises bought Hidden Lakes nine years ago, and recruited the partners in North Idaho LLC to help raise the capital to expand it. The RV parks have been in Villelli Enterprises’ portfolio even longer.
“In real estate, timing is everything,” said Dick Villelli, president of Villelli Enterprises.
“Real estate markets have cycles, and the timing has to be right for investment.”