Developer Has Big Plans For Lake Project Includes Golf Course, 350 Homes Near Idaho’S Rockford Bay

FOR THE RECORD: September 1, 1999: Title wrong: Tom St. John is chairman of the Worley Highway District’s board of commissioners. His position was incorrectly stated in Tuesday’s paper.

A Colorado businessman with a background in car racing and auto dealerships plans to build a golf course and subdivision on 650 acres overlooking Lake Coeur d’Alene at Rockford Bay.

Marshall Chesrown is planning to build The Club at Black Rock, a public 18-hole golf course accompanied by about 350 homes and miles of trails for horseback riding and hiking.

“I don’t think there’s anything to compare it to in this area. It will be a high-end, gated community with six miles of trails, swimming, tennis and lake access,” said Chesrown, 41. “A lot of the best sites are lakeview as well as golf course frontage.”

Construction on the golf course is to begin next spring. The housing sites will not be available for sale until the golf course is completed.

Born and raised in Spokane, Chesrown graduated from University High School in 1976. He is a seasonal resident of Coeur d’Alene.

“This is home,” he said.

He moved to California in 1976 and began selling cars, then moved to Colorado in 1980. He bought his first dealership in 1986. Two years ago, he sold most of his dealerships to Auto Nation, a nationwide car dealership. Chesrown also had an auto racing business with drivers competing on the NASCAR circuit for 11 years. That business also was sold recently.

Chesrown said he plans to keep about 60 percent of “open space” on the property, between the golf course and the trails. The course will be designed by nationally known golf course architect James Engh.

Chesrown also told the Worley Highway District that he would pave and widen sections of Loffs Bay Road and Rockford Bay Road at a cost of about $700,000, said Tom St. John, chairman of the Worley Fire District’s board of commissioners. Chesrown also has informed the Worley Fire Protection District that he would build and equip a new fire station on the property, for about $300,000.

“Once completed, The Club at Black Rock will be the largest community between Coeur d’Alene and Moscow,” St. John said. “I suspect it’s going to be one of the top caliber courses in the Northwest.”

The land has been targeted for a golf course and housing development in the past. The Pring family of Spokane planned a multimilliondollar development there in the early 1990s, but it never happened.

Chesrown said he bought the land from the Prings a couple years ago. He guaranteed that his project would go forward, saying his company already has the financing in place to complete the project.

One county planner said this project is unique because Chesrown plans to build the golf course first, then follow with the housing development.

“In my experience, it’s usually the other way around,” said Rand Wichman. “They usually want to sell the lots to pay for golf course improvements.”

IDAHO HEADLINE: Big plan at Black Rock