October 01, 2002
Melrose Company CEO Robert T. Kolb announced Tuesday that Jack Nicklaus II, co-designer of the Traditions Club at Texas A&M golf course, will walk the golf course on Wednesday making final clearing decisions prior to the commencement of construction. The construction equipment for the project is en route to the site, and is expected within the week. The Traditions Club is located five miles from the campus of Texas A&M University on 225 acres in neighboring Bryan.
The Traditions Club at Texas A&M is the latest of several golf courses that Nicklaus Design has done with the Melrose Company.
"My dad and I have been working with The Melrose Company for almost 20 years," Jack Nicklaus II said. "As a matter of fact, our first father-son design was with Melrose on Hilton Head. Their courses have been top quality projects that we've been happy to be associated with. Dad and I, along with The Melrose Company plan to design a super golf course for Bryan and Texas A&M."
The Traditions Club at Texas A&M will consist of an 18-hole Jack Nicklaus/Jack Nicklaus II designed signature golf course, a campus style clubhouse complex comprised of a pro shop, dining area, club lounge and locker rooms. In addition to the clubhouse, a Lifestyle Center featuring a spa, fitness and wellness center are planned based upon overall utilization and future membership sales.
Detailed planning meetings have been ongoing over the past several months in the Melrose Company's Hilton Head Island offices to formally launch the Traditions Club in October. Although the full transfer of the project from the City of Bryan and Club Corporation of America to Melrose is not complete, Melrose has begun a full construction mobilization schedule and anticipates ground breaking on the golf course immediately upon completion of the transfer.
Completion of the golf course is projected for late 2003. Construction of the practice facility will be accelerated with a targeted completion of summer 2003. This will allow the Texas A&M golf teams to immediately begin to utilize the facilities.
Simultaneously, Melrose will implement the initial marketing and sales programs for the Club, largely targeting the Club's Founder and Founder Cottage members. There will be only 100 Founder members of the Traditions Club, 25 of which may also purchase a 4-bedroom cottage for both personal use and optional enrollment into the Club's member rental program.
Troon Golf of Scottsdale, Ariz. will manage the Traditions Club. Troon Golf is one of several Strategic Partners on the University Clubs by Melrose team, and one of the country's finest private club operators. Troon Golf facilities have become synonymous with superior golf worldwide. Golf members at the Traditions Club will have full access to the Troon Advantage program, making available all other participating Troon facilities across the country and around the world.
Construction of the Traditions Club golf course, clubhouse and cottages will be done by the Weitz Company of Des Moines, Iowa. Weitz is one of the country's largest and most successful construction companies. Over the years, Weitz has earned a reputation as an innovative company with the tenacity and financial strength to venture into unchartered territory and succeed.
Bruce Downing of the Boulder, Colo. based firm of Downing, Thorpe and James (DTJ) is designing the initial architectural concepts for the clubhouse and Founder Cottages. DTJ has been responsible for some of the finest clubhouse designs across the country.
The residential portion of this project, University Ranch, is under the direction of Jordan Signature Properties of Bryan. Jordan Signature Properties is a division of the C.F. Jordan Company, one of the country's largest commercial developers.
The Melrose Company is a recreational community and club development company with active projects in Colorado, Utah, Oklahoma, Georgia, Indiana and Texas. The company is one of the largest and most active recreational and residential community developer in country. Since its founding in 1984, the Melrose Company has created from raw land over $500 million in homesites and memberships.