August 12, 2014

Boyle Moves Ahead on New Development


By Andy Meek
– The Daily News –

Boyle Investment Co. is moving ahead with plans to develop an upscale residential community north of Collierville near the 320-acre Spring Creek Ranch Golf Course, in a wooded and natural setting that will ultimately include 500 homes, Boyle officials said.

Boyle vice president Gary Thompson said the company hopes to receive approval for the first phase of the development from the town of Collierville and from Shelby County by the end of this month.

Unique attraction. The company entered into an agreement with the owners of Spring Creek Ranch in 2002 to develop the project on more than 500 acres surrounding the golf course, all owned by the family of renowned surgeon Dr. David Meyer. And when it’s finished, Thompson said the upscale development will be a unique attraction in the Metro Memphis area.

“It will truly be a very special place,” he said. “It’s the only area in eastern Shelby County and Collierville that will have proximity to the only premier series Jack Nicklaus golf course in our region.”

Robb Meyer, general manager for the Spring Creek Golf Club, agreed.

“I don’t think Memphis has had anything like this before, as far as a full golf course community mixed with so many different things we’re going to try to be doing,” he said. Meyer also said that club officials will be planning to bring a charity golf tournament to the area in the next two years.

Thompson said the development project had been slowed, however, partly because the company had to work to get sewer aspects of the project approved. Russell Bloodworth, Jr. executive vice president at Boyle said the company has been in the planning stages for a while and that he believes the sewer issues that had been delaying the project are close to being resolved.

He characterized the project as extremely large.

“It’s in the 500-acre range exclusive of the golf course, which is quite large itself,” Bloodworth said.

Thompson did not have a completion date for the project, which he estimated would require a 10 year buildout. “It really just depends on the market,” he said.

Two trust deeds for the 320 acres of the golf course were each filed in July for $6.8 million, according to the Daily News Public Records Database, www.memphisdailynews.com. Jim Gardner, who handles accounting for Spring Creek Ranch, said the filings were due to Dr. Meyer moving ownership of the property from one of his companies to another in anticipation of the future real estate sales there.

Gardner added that Boyle is currently designing part of the residential development and that the company has a few lots already for sale.

Farm land to golf course. The Spring Creek Ranch Golf Course, which opened in 1999 on property that was once farm land owned by Dr. Meyer, is situated about five miles north of Collierville, at 380 South Collierville-Arlington Road, and was designed by golf veteran Jack Nicklaus. Recently, Nicklaus attended a groundbreaking ceremony for the course’s golf house, scheduled to open in 2005, which is being designed by nationally known architect James Cutler.

Thompson said that Boyle was likely approached to develop the project because the Meyer family wanted the company to put as much care into the development as the family had in developing the golf course, maintaining the aesthetic, natural qualities of the area. He said that it has taken a lot of time for the company to get this far.

Capitalizing on the area. Thompson added that the completed development will be poised to capitalize on a number of important factors in Collierville.

“In terms of what makes it valuable, if you think long-term, this will be inside the 385 loop,” he said. “Private schools are moving out to this area, and in terms of property values, Raleigh-LaGrange is becoming a very high area out there. People are spending a lot of money to be out along that corridor.”

Bloodworth said that Boyle is in the process of putting a portion of the property that fronts the golf course on the market, and he added that the entire timetable of the project will be determined by sales and the economic “pace of absorption.”

“We’ve really been dealing inside of the (golf course) membership at this point, “Bloodworth said, “I do think we will be going out and broadening that at the point when we’re confident we’ve given everybody an opportunity that’s a club member.”

Coming soon. Thompson mentioned two projects that would be available soon with the development. The Retreat at Spring Creek Ranch will include about 10 relatively small lots situated near the entrance of the property he said.

“The main drive that will come in (to The Retreat) will also be the main drive that gets you into the golf course and golf house,” he said.

The Estates at Spring Creek Ranch, which will initially have five lots, will be south of the current location of the temporary golf house.

“Those will be large lots and have access to Collierville-Arlington Road,” he said. “Really these first areas of about 10 to 20 lots are just kind of the first small area. We have plans for the east side of the golf course.”

By the end of the month, Thompson said Boyle hopes to have received approval for the Retreat at Spring Creek Ranch and the overall sewer layout for the project.