SLO County Golf, Wine & Real EstateGolf, Wine & Real Estate News and Events Blog
Hotel Planned for Blacklake Golf ResortSaturday, November 26, 2005A 125-unit hotel is being planned at Blacklake Golf Resort in Nipomo. Course owner Rob Rossi is in the initial planning stages for the hotel that would feature golf villas, traditional rooms, and banquet and wedding facilities. Renderings of the hotel show a multi-story building constructed in a Tuscan-village style. Rossi said he wants to submit a formal application to San Luis Obispo County planners by the end of the year. He hopes, "with a little good fortune," that the project could be approved by 2007 and the hotel could open in 2008 or 2009. The proposed hotel at Black Lake Golf Course in Nipomo would be located where the clubhouse facility is today. If the plan for the hotel and golf villas is approved, Rossi said the current clubhouse would be torn down and replaced. The 41 golf villas would start at the entrance off Willow Road, Rossi said, and continue up to the hotel. The entrance at Willow Road exists but would require considerable improvement, Rossi said. About 200 residents of Blacklake saw a formal presentation of the project about two months ago, Rossi said. The hotel is the result of several factors, Rossi said. Mainly, construction of a hotel will ensure the course stays economically viable. Without such lodging, it's more difficult to attract the golf tourist -- a necessity for making the course profitable. Blacklake originally included condos for tourists when it was built more than 20 years ago. But over the years they were sold off as homes. About 90,000 rounds of golf per year are played on the 27-hole golf course, Rossi said. The course earns between $3 million and $4 million a year. Since he bought Blacklake for about $10 million in 2001, Rossi said he has "easily" put in more than $500,000 worth of capital toward improving the course. The hotel could benefit county coffers too, Rossi said. Many of the courses' tourists -- who come from across the state and as far away as Canada -- now stay in Santa Maria, meaning Santa Barbara County keeps the transient occupancy tax. "If we had those rooms," Rossi said, "there's no doubt we would accommodate many of them. They're already there playing golf." Other county businesses could also profit from the hotel, Rossi said. The resort would attract families, tournaments and couples. While one family member may golf, the others would explore the Central Coast, he explained. Biz Buzz [More] The Tribune, Larissa Van Beurden-Doust |
|
