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Golf Courses Remain a Focus for Redevelopment

29.11.2020 News about economic development, News about global real estate consulting, News about outdoor recreation venues, News about redevelopment and regeneration, News About the Golf Industry

Golf courses remain a focus for redevelopment and repurposing as property owners explore greater highest-and-best use for their golf assets.

The interest in such redevelopment is straight-forward. Golf courses were overbuilt in the U.S. and in some global regions, and the 2008 recession decimated many golf owner’s financial resources. At the same time golf participation has steadily declined year over year, at least through 2019 (there is an exception in 2020 due to Covid-19). With this confluence of economic difficulties and ever-changing consumer preferences for their leisure-time activities, in many instances golf course assets offered a tantalizing opportunity for adaptive re-use and repurposing. For many cities and communities with increasing interest in local economic development and specific agendas such as affordable (if not more inclusionary) housing, these golf assets are particularly ripe for highest-and-best-use consideration.

The mega project proposed by Hines for Riverwalk Golf Course in San Diego, will likely spur even greater interest in golf course redevelopment. Golf courses are often situated within attractive residential communities, with reasonable roadway access and ingress/egress for feasible re-purposing as residential projects. Hines found such an opportunity with the Riverwalk site in a decidedly “best case” way – the Riverwalk golf course just happens to be so well-located within its region that it can support substantial mixed-use redevelopment. Hines has proposed such a mega redevelopment project there, which could see in excess of $1 billion in new development.

For more information about golf course redevelopment, we have started tracking such projects as part of our ongoing client project research. We expect golf courses to remain a focus for redevelopment, for some time to come. StoneCreek Partners also tracks other major real estate asset classes, with some of our research and tracking published here online. The link is available here:

Golf Course Redevelopment – the Latest

Hotel Project Feasibility Consultants

22.11.2020 News about hotels and destination resorts, News about redevelopment and regeneration

Our work as hotel project feasibility consultants starts with market analysis and the feasibility of new development, the acquisition and disposition of properties, and a role as owner representative and asset manager on behalf of owner.

Of course, as the hotel industry manages through the difficult circumstances wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic, the focus of much of our consulting work has necessarily changed. Operating occupancies in the U.S. remain at or about 40% (less in many international regions) and travelers have changing preferences for their accomodations.

As a real estate investment asset class, branded hotels and resorts are now in a period of focused reexamination.

Many hotel branded products that have depended upon corporate meetings and travel, are currently obsolescent from an economic standpoint, while other lodging products are proving almost pandemic-proof. As one of the significant real estate investment asset classes, branded hotels and resorts are now in a period of focused reexamination.

Some examples of our recent work as hotel project feasibility consultants, include:

Planning as part of collaborative design teams, to support client mixed-use redevelopment opportunities, particularly as part of solutions for failing shopping malls;

Feasibility, business planning, and conceptual design for new glamping and eco-resort products, recreational vehicle (RV) parks and campgrounds, as well as major recreation adventure resorts;

Assistance to local governments in restarting regional visitor destinations, as a means of boosting local economic development;

More traditional consulting support, such as project feasibility studies for new development, and due diligence for client acquisitions – whether single properties or portfolios.

Our firm’s essential value to clients is our hands-on experience in designing, developing, and operating projects and businesses. StoneCreek Partners is led by co-founder Donald Bredberg and his substantial experience as an executive with The Irvine Company, NBCUniversal, and the Riyadh-based family office of Newfield Enterprises International.

Glamping accommodations conceptual design - Adventure Entertainment Cos.

Glamping and eco-resort accomodations are likely to do well in coming years, as travelers adapt to a world of social distancing and health concerns.

The firm was first established in 1984 in Los Angeles, and is now headquartered in Nevada. Our work as hotel project feasibility consultants got started shortly after the firm’s founding. In those early days, as part of managing a portfolio of luxury hotels for a Saudi family office, our firm’s co-founder Donald Bredberg was one of the initial founder members of the Hotel Asset Manager’s Association.

Additional information about our hotel and resort consulting practice, is available at the link below:

StoneCreek Partners – Hotel, Resort, and Accommodations Consulting Practice

Planned Community Consultants - project feasibility consultants

Golf Participation Up 11% Over 2019

21.11.2020 Consumer Products Fresh Monitor, News about economic development, News about local government real estate, News About the Golf Industry

According to the National Golf Foundation, golf participation is up 11% over 2019. The U.S. data through October 2020, is now at 10.8% ahead of 2019’s pace despite losing 20 million rounds in the spring due to the Covid-19 lockdowns. In fact, October marked the fifth straight month that play has been up year-over-year in every state in the continental U.S. This increased play translates to roughly 39 million more rounds nationwide than a year ago.

Operating results for the U.S. golf industry represent a marked improvement over the generally dismal outlook that has existed for the past decade. The reduction in golf participation over the decade has caused an increase in golf course’s being redeveloped or repurposed to new use. Even with golf participation up 11% over 2019, more courses will proceed to partial or full redevelopment. Our golf course redevelopment tracking has started and we’ll begin reporting in January 2021.

According to the National Golf Foundation (“NGF”), in both 2009 and 2016, roughly a quarter of public courses admitted to being in bad shape, financially. Among private clubs, 21% were doing poorly in ’09, but seven years later that proportion had dropped to 14%. This year, there’s been a dramatic rise in the proportion of U.S. golf facilities reporting to be in good financial shape compared to previous NGF studies, including more than half of public courses and nearly 2/3 of private clubs. And, fewer than 1 in 10 (public and private combined) suggest that they’re currently in bad shape (0-4).

The National Golf Foundation article is based upon information from Golf Datatech’s monthly report. According to its website, Golf Datatech provides the golf industry with specialized market research covering retail sales, inventory, pricing and distribution, along with consumer attitude and usage studies and strategic sales and marketing consulting.

The full article by National Golf Foundation about golf participation up 11% over 2019 (year over year), is available here:

Tracking the Impact of Covid-19 on the Golf Business – November 2020

Mall Redevelopment for Entertainment

01.11.2020 Adventure Parks & Extreme Venues, Experiential Design, Family Entertainment Center Consultants, Location-Based Entertainment Consultants, Malls and Shopping Center Consultants, Mixed-Use Development Consultants, Project Consultants for North America, Rapid Prototyping, Redevelopment Project Consultants, Retail-Entertainment Consultants

AEC was retained by this regional mall owner to explore the mall’s redevelopment for entertainment use, in Niagara Falls (New York). As the design consultant for the project, we considered all manner of repurposing options that could best utilize the existing physical configuration and infrastructure of the shopping center.

The starting point established by client Cocov Destinations, was to provide an all-weather “participatory sports” and recreation facility, serving league and sports club enthusiasts of all age groups. One competitive advantage for the property was the substantial grounds at or about the former shopping center and the potential for using additional nearby land also owned by the developer.

Formerly operated as the Summit Mall, the newly-dubbed Niagara International Sports & Entertainment Center (“NISE Center”) transforms a derelict 850,000-square foot shopping mall into a world-class sports facility. More than 900,000 annual visitors are estimated to participate in or view the athletic functions currently committed in the facility’s first years. This estimate includes the athletes, coaches, friend s, families and other walk in event related (coaches, administrators etc.) traffic. The attendance number is expected to increase as additional leagues and events are booked.

Confidential – At client request, the rapid-prototyping (previsualization) image for this exploration of mall redevelopment for entertainment use, includes limited details only. Shown below, a view of the defunct mall prior to commencement of revitalization effort by Cocov Destinations. Note – this is an update to a prior post.

Defunct regional shopping mall, slated for redevelopment.

Marne-la-Vallée Master Plan

01.11.2020 Economic Development Consultants, Golf course redevelopment and adaptive re-use, Land Development Consultants, Master Planned Community Developments, Tourism Destination Strategy Consultants

The Marne-la-Vallée master plan was part of an overall new town economic development plan to relieve urban development pressures on Paris. Our work noted here was conducted by a predecessor company in which our co-founder was a partner. Our work in connection with the Marne-la-Vallée master plan included the land use planning and strategic business planning support for client Walt Disney Co.

The strategic business planning work included product concepting and financial analysis for various sections of the master land use plan, including specific feasibility issues raised by client’s strategic planning department. Work performed also included overall land development consulting analysis such as land residual valuations – a means of depicting build-out value for various master plan and build-out scenarios, as well as financial studies of alternative routings of planning golf course facilities.

Marne-la-Vallée is a new town, an economic development strategy for the greater Paris region of France. It is about a 50-minute drive (by auto) from the center of the Marne-la-Vallée new town master plan which includes Paris Disneyland, over to central Paris (at or about Pont Neuf). By metro the trip is about one-half the time by automobile. The Marne-la-Vallée project was one of five new towns envisioned in the early 1960’s, and emerged among these other concept new towns as the largest.

The new town was intended to take some of the urban development pressure away from Paris and place a new focus in a new location. Paris Disneyland was the business “anchor” for propelling the start and growth of the new town region. From a population of Marne-la-Vallée has a current population of more than 280,000 residents. The Marne-la-Vallée master plan called for a potential of 500,000 residents at full build-out.

Other major institutions that located in this new town include Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée and École des Ponts ParisTech, among numerous others. The Descartes Cluster is also situated in Marne-la-Vallée new town, the largest concentration in France of research centers (50+), higher education organizations and businesses involved in green technologies and city sustainability.

The master planning process for Paris Disneyland (then Euro Disneyland) was comprehensive and wide-ranging. Disney’s overall project included master-planning of a major regional theme park and themed entertainment district in the vicinity of the theme park.

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