Development by Design, which is in the planning stages for a riverside resort, recently opened an office in Sweet Home.
The office is headquarters for several companies involved in the proposed resort project, including Development by Design.
Development by Design purchased an interest in the Mountain View Real Estate plaza located just west of Thriftway on Highway 20. The companies are also involved in other interests, including land in Brownsville, Philomath, Eugene and Springfield. They are also looking at land in Albany and Millersburg.
“We’re officially in business,” Development by Design co-owner Dan Desler said. Office Manager Stacey Murray began working out of the office on Oct. 7, and the office was able to handle a meeting on Dec. 30.
Companies based at the new office include the Resort at Salmon Run, LLC, the proposed resort; Development by Design, LLC; Western State Land Reliance Trust, a nonprofit charitable support organization; Preferred Real Estate Solutions, which will handle special tax-free industrial and commercial land exchanges at an international level; Mallard Construction and Development, Inc., which will oversee construction projects, like the resort; and Lakeside Industrial Park, LCC, a project located in Philomath.
“What we effectively have done is brought several companies together for the efficiencies of scale,” Desler said. The group of companies are primarily oriented to supporting the Resort at Salmon Run, the working name of the proposed Sweet Home resort project.
“Our focus is real estate development,” Desler said. “All of these activities are involved directly or one way or other in real estate development.”
Each company is specialized in different segments of the development process.
At this time, the group is in the final phases of the land acquisition process, Desler said. “We have the majority of it. We either own it outright or we have the earnest money or are in due diligence.”
The project, including a golf course, hotel, restaurant and more, upon completion will encompass 728 acres along the south shore of the South Santiam River. A nationally recognized consultant from Palm Beach, Fla recently completed a feasibility study.
“The market and the numbers look good,” Desler said. “We’re also developing our mix of services we expect to be able to provide.”
Conceptual plans for the project have changed since Desler presented them last year. The project concept now includes only one golf course, with 27 holes and 37 water features, instead of two. A proposed amphitheater has moved from the east end of the project to the west, closer to the downtown area.
The resort will include a “grand lodge,” an early settler theme comparable to the Crater Lake Lodge or Timberline Lodge.
“Right now the plan is for the main lodge to include a mix of restaurants, lodging and specialty retail,” Desler said. The retail portion will include an Orvis outdoor store, including a full continuum of Orvis programs from fly fishing and tying along with catch and release fishing “out the back door.
The project includes investor-owned cottages, with one to three bedrooms, which will be rented. A convention center will offer 25,000 square feet, up from 8,000 square feet in the original proposal.
The feasibility study showed a “tremendous opportunity” for convention center draw, Desler said. “It was a big surprise to me.”
Oregon requires a “staggering amount” of seminar space, Desler said. Typically, the only place that provides enough space with hotel and motel facilities nearby is Portland or east of the mountains.
The east side doesn’t offer much in the way of recreational opportunities unless the visitor is into skis or bobsleds, Desler said. To boost the attractiveness of the convention center in Sweet Home, plans now call for a 30,000 square foot spa “totally unlike anything Oregonians have experienced to date. They call them fat clinics (where) you can lose weight and have some fun doing it.”
Beyond the resort, in the long term, Desler wants to commit 26 acres to senior housing in a continuing care retirement community, an area where Desler has worked previously. He serves on the Oregon Health Care Association Board of Directors.
Development by Design plans to recreate a Calapooia Indian Villag to help preserve American Indian heritage locally.
Western State Land Reliance Trust is a holding company for the 26-acre former Willamette Industries mill site located at the east end of Tamarack Street and north end of 24th Avenue. Proceeds from a “potter’s village” located there will benefit the Oregon Health Care Foundation, the Sweet Home Community Foundation, Life is an Attitude, Sweet Home Habitat for Humanity and the City of Sweet Home.
“We’ll all be recipients and beneficiaries of the success of the Sweet Home mill site,” Desler said. “The city’s visions, we’re going to do our part to see that this becomes reality for the City of Sweet Home.”
Eighty-five percent of net profits generated on the property must be distributed to charitable organizations, Desler said. A sports complex planned for the area would be usable by the community and resort participants.
Development by Design has applied for state “brownfield” money to clean up the contamination from previous uses. A decision whether the cleanup is funded should be forthcoming in June.
“Development by Design is a for-profit company with a community conscience, which is unique in the development business,” Desler said.
Right now, the project is providing land to Riverside Studs, which employs about 38 persons, and New Vision, a wood wholesaler.
Resort at Salmon Run was proposed a couple of years ago when real estate agent Don Lemke convinced Desler to take a look at some Sweet Home property along the South Santiam.
Since then Desler has described a vision of the project, which has been honed through use of consultants and a feasibility study.
Plans remain in the conceptual stage, Desler said. Development by Design is under no pressure to push the project through quickly.
“Because of the scope of the project, it just takes some time to do it,” Desler said. “We’re not forcing anything because we’re not under pressure to do it.”
The project will take five to seven years to complete from the time the first shovel hits the dirt, Desler said. “It’s not like this building, when you break ground and six months later, we’ve got a shell and people can look at it.”
Rather, those involved are focused on spending money and time planning to do the project right, build a quality development and attract the best operators in the business.
“This is like fine wine,” Desler said. “It has to age to make it a success. You don’t plan a project like this on the back of an envelope. Right now we’re just chipping away at the details. The fact that we’re here full-time will make a difference.”
Desler’s always said since initial discussions about his project that “we’re a part of the community; not a part from the community.”
The new office shows how he and his partners walk their talk, Desler said.
Plans may change further as the developers involved bring in specific operators for the golf course and resort, the two key components to the development. Potential operators will have details they want to plan themselves.
One of the next steps is to submit an application for a conditional use permit for the golf course. The hotel project will require no conditional use permit.
Right now, Desler’s team is working with the city on current updates to the city’s Comprehensive Plan and zoning ordinances.
“I’m extremely pleased that the City Council, Planning Commission and (city) staff are taking a proactive approach at stabilizing this community’s economy as well as upgrading its image,” Desler said. “The city has walked its talk in terms of support they’ve agreed to provide us…..
“I’ve got to tell you, I feel really good about this community and the people in it; and I feel we’ll make a positive difference.”
An open house at the new office, Suite D, is planned for February. A specific date has not been set.
Working out of the new office will be Murray, Desler, Preferred Real Estate Solutions broker Don Lemke, Mallard Construction President and Dan Desler’s son Jeff Desler and Development by Design and Resort at Salmon Run co-owner Troy Cummins.
For more information, persons may contact the office at 367-1641.