The start of the second season at the Golf Club at
Harbor Shores on April 23 is just one of several signs of progress and accomplishments at the long-awaited Harbor Shores Resort Community along Lake Michigan.
In July, depending on weather, the final eight holes will open, completing the Jack Nicklaus-designed course. Currently, 10 holes, which opened to the public last year, are playable. Tee times became available as of April 23.
On Aug. 10, Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and some of his other still-to-be-announced, famed pro golfer buddies come to town for the official opening and celebration of the course, says Ron Eng, director of marketing for Evergreen Development, the master developer of the project.
The golf course is the centerpiece of a Harbor Shores, a 538-acre planned community that straddles Benton Harbor, St. Joseph and Benton Township.
Harbor Shores is a mix of residential, retail and resort developments on waterways, golf courses and in town, Eng says.
The target market are tourists and second-home buyers from Detroit, Chicago and Indiana, Eng says.
"We are looking to outside residents to come in and invest in our community," he says.
About $80 million has been spent over the last five years on the project, Eng says.
Construction has begun or is starting next week on model homes, spec homes and custom homes.
The community is divided into four districts: the River District, the Harbor District, the Fairway District and the Shores District.
Cottages along the river, houses along the golf course, and townhomes and condos, all within walking distance of Lake Michigan, will make up the residential component.
There also will be retail developments and a resort hotel, spa and restaurant, Eng says.
All of it will mean new jobs and more investment.
Already the golf club has 50 seasonal employees and many of the builders and their employees are local residents.
"We're really trying to influence the economy and create a tourism and hospitality economy," Eng says. "This will result in all kinds of direct and indirect jobs," from hotel housekeepers, restaurant managers and workers to golf pros, massage therapists, builders and electricians.
Evergreen Development was retained by Harbor Shores Community Redevelopment Inc., a nonprofit charged with economically remaking the region by capitalizing on the waters and outdoors and the people who seek them out to live, work and play. Once the nonprofit begins to turn a profit, funds will go back into the community, maintaining roads, supporting schools, improving public spaces and more.
For more information, check out the Golf Club at Harbor Shores website.
Writer: Kim North Shine
Source: Ron Eng, Director of Marketing, Evergreen Development
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