Developer to buy Fairways Golf Course
A local developer and his wife are purchasing Fairways Golf Course as part of a larger plan to build West Terrace, a 440-home golf community.
Golfers can look forward to better greens and reduced fees, said Buster Heitman, who is purchasing the 18-hole course with his wife, Laura.
The couple has taken over Fairways, located in the West Plains in Spokane County, and is buying the course from Charles Klar in a sale that’s expected to close in the next few weeks. Heitman declined to disclose the purchase price.
The course will be the centerpiece for West Terrace, a development featuring some homes on the course priced from about $300,000.
The housing component is being developed by North Division Complex, a partnership with the Heitmans, Mike Hume and Bob Tomlinson. Homes are being constructed by Landmark Builders, owned by Heitman, and by Portland, Ore.-based JLS Custom Homes, which is purchasing lots.
More than 100 homes have already been built in the area and 20 more are under construction, Heitman said. The group hopes to get started on another 25 to 40 this year. There are about 100 lots on the course itself, with numerous secondary spaces.
Jace Romine, a Realtor for Tomlinson Black North, is selling homes at West Terrace and said having the golf course under the ownership of a partner is improving the design and development of the golf community.
“We’re no longer limited by the property lines,” Romine said, adding that the course improvements will strengthen the demand for homes within the community.
“The golf course is the main pull out here,” Romine explained.
Homes range from 1,600 to 2,500 square-feet in size and feature granite and slab counters, hardwood and tile floors with custom cabinets and three-car garages. Four spec houses are open daily viewing.
“We’ve got 10 or 12 of the homes sold,” Romine said.
The course hired PGA professional Dave Lowe, the former longtime pro at Coeur d’Alene Golf Club and past owner of Highlands Golf Club in Post Falls. Lowe will manage the course and oversee improvements that create more water features (four were added last year), green up the greens, add trees and improve the driving range. So far, 30 new golf carts have been purchased and more equipment is on the way, Heitman said.
The clubhouse will boast a full-service restaurant after a commercial kitchen is added, he said.
The group wants to attract local golfers and lowered prices of individual rounds to $19.50 and reduced season prices by half, to just under $500.
“I’m really excited about the way the West Plains is growing and developing,” Heitman said, “and we really want to make this a neighborhood golf course.”