Bloomington Country Club set for major overhaul

ST. GEORGE –The details are murky but the vision is clear: save Bloomington Country Club. Developer Darcy Stewart outlined a plan to revitalize and expand the St. George icon to a packed auditorium of more than 150 people Thursday night at Bloomington Elementary School. Golf course residents and country club members heard plans for facilities improvements and new residential construction.

Residents of the Bloomington community  look at diagrams of proposed general plan amendments to allow additional residential housing appurtenant to Bloomington Country Club, presented by Developer Darcy Stewart at a community meeting at Bloomington Elementary School in St. George, Utah, Oct. 1, 2015 | Photo by JJ Deforest, St. George News
Residents of the Bloomington community look at diagrams of proposed general plan amendments to allow additional residential housing appurtenant to Bloomington Country Club, presented by Developer Darcy Stewart at a community meeting at Bloomington Elementary School in St. George, Utah, Oct. 1, 2015 | Photo by JJ Deforest, St. George News

The plan calls for a new bar area, fitness center and club rooms in a remodeled clubhouse. Course improvements and redesign are also being considered. The makeover, Stewart said in an interview prior to the meeting, comes with a $6 million to $8 million price tag. Funds for the project will come from a combination of private investment, member dues and the addition of new single and multi-family residential units. Stewart heads SunRiver Group in St. George.

The largely supportive crowd had questions for Stewart on the number and type of residential units to be constructed and expressed concerns about traffic impacts and privacy issues.

Stewart took over management of the club in June after board members told him they would be forced to close the club’s doors in July due to a lack of funds. He told the crowd he was reluctant to take on the project but when no other options were available he felt he had no choice.

“The Bloomington Country Club is an icon for southern Utah,” he said. “So we were concerned about the club’s survival.”

Stewart said his team has already begun spending what will be about $1 million of initial investment to repair aging infrastructure and reinvigorate the course. The aging HVAC system will be replaced and yards of clutter have been removed from the clubhouse. Stewart said the course will reopen for play Oct. 12.

A series of meetings with residents and club members will be held in the next few weeks as Stewart works to finalize a plan to present to the city for approval. New residential construction will require a change to the city’s general plan. If the timeline moves quickly, Stewart said, clubhouse renovations should be complete by the end of 2015 and residential construction could begin as soon as the second quarter of 2016.

Diagrams of proposed general plan amendments to allow additional residential housing appurtenant to Bloomington Country Club, presented by Developer Darcy Stewart at a community meeting at Bloomington Elementary School in St. George, Utah, Oct. 1, 2015 | Photo by JJ Deforest, St. George News
Diagrams of proposed general plan amendments to allow additional residential housing appurtenant to Bloomington Country Club, presented by Developer Darcy Stewart at a community meeting at Bloomington Elementary School in St. George, Utah, Oct. 1, 2015 | Photo by JJ Deforest, St. George News

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