Pending tying up loose ends, ground for Phase I of Foster Lake Resort could be broken as early as sometime in May, project partners told the Sweet Home Breakfast Club Thursday morning.
The three-phase development will begin with the construction of 12 townhouses ranges in size from 1,400 square feet to more than 3,200 square feet on 5.1 acres on the west end of Foster lake.
Foster Lake Investment partners are Dan McGarry of LND Construction, Philomath; Dennis Gibson, Gibson Enterprises, Philomath and Steve Leith, Buffalo Hump Investment Group, Albany. McGarry has 23 years experience in residential and commerical construction and development. Gibson has 15 years experience in excavation and subdivision infrastructure development and Leith has five years experience in investment property development and management.
McGarry said he has been interested in developing the site since 1994 but the partnership did not purchase the land until October 2002.
“This property was originally platted in 1946,” McGarry said. “The new plotting has been completed and streets have been vacated. Phase I will include moving the dam access road to bisect our property on 60th Ave.”
The townhouses will be developed on approximately one acre. They will be two story, high-profile units. Each unit will include a garage plus one outside parking space, a living room, kitchen and bath on the main floor and two or three bedrooms and baths on the second floor. Exterior styling will be comparable to units found at Eagle Crest resort of Timber Hills in Corvallis, explained partner Steve Leith.
The townhouses will be individually owned and will include a share of actual land in the development. Owners will pay into a tenant’s association that will be responsible for maintenance of the building exterior and landscaping.
“We want to make sure this looks good forever,” McGarry said. “Our goal is that someone can drive into their garage, unload the groceries and enjoy the view of the lake, whether they live here fulltime or come here on weekends. They don’t have to worry about maintenance or yard work.”
Development of Phases II and III will be dependent on how well and how quickly the townhouses sell, the partners say, freeing up cash flow.
Phase II will include development of a 60-70 space RV park catering to higher-end units.
It will include a convenience store/office building and a restaurant/multipurpose room.
“All of the RV sites will include water, sewer, cable, internet and phone hookups,” McGarry said.
The development could employ up to 30 persons.
Phase III will be the development of some 50 boat slips on Foster Lake. No boat ramp is planned and some of the slips will be accessible year round.
“If someone pulls in with a big motor home pulling a boat, we plan to provide them with a service to hook their boat trailer to our truck and launch their boat for them,” McGarry said.
Although companies owned by the partners will tackle the bulk of construction, they plan to bid out jobs as needed.
During a question and answer period, the men were asked if they planned to offer a shuttle service to downtown Sweet Home.
“We need to hear input like that and to integrate this project with the community,” Leith said. “We want to tie this into the city. We hope people come to all of Sweet Home and not just the RV park.”
For more information about Foster Lake Investments, call 541-929-7117.
Next month’s program: Rick Lamplugh of Willamette Valley Consutling, will be the guest speaker May 29 at the Jim Riggs Community Center. A continental breakfast is available beginning at 6:30 a.m. with the program starting at 7 a.m.