Developers launch plan for Dalhousie

Developers Cord Dombrowski and Mark McDowell have been cultivating their dream of a real estate development that envelops Cape Girardeau's Dalhousie Golf Club for years. On Tuesday night, they decided it was time to celebrate their vision with those who helped make it a reality.

The two held the official opening of the Neighborhoods of Dalhousie at Dalhousie Downtown Tuesday night. Attending were more than 50 people, including city officials, Montgomery Bank management, club members and others who've helped the project along.

"This is the result of the collaboration of a lot of people," Dombrowski said. "The golf course is finished, now it's time to begin with the real estate."

The $250 million project calls for 500 home sites and 200 condominiums to be built on the 900-plus acres on the outskirts of Dalhousie Golf Club near Blackford Lane. The development will be broken into four neighborhoods: the Highlands, where the custom home sites are located; the Lochs, where the garden homes will stand; the Glen, with more affordable homes for younger families; and Ramsey's Run, which will consist of townhouses.

The overall design of the development is no different from February 2002, when it was introduced as the Prestwick Plantation. At that time, Dombrowski and McDowell proposed to finance infrastructure improvements on the site using tax-increment financing, an economic development tool that allows the extra taxes generated by a development to be put back into that specific project in order to build roads, sewer systems and other such projects.

However, that plan was withdrawn after meeting with public opposition. The two developers are now funding the entire project privately. To accommodate the new finance plan, the development will be in phases.

"It's in the past," McDowell said at Tuesday's launch. "We just put our heads down, moved forward and kept working."

McDowell said crews should begin pouring concrete for the first homes within 90 days.

Dalhousie real estate manager Jackie Clark-Otto said nine of the 52 sites available in phase one have already been sold in the Highlands. Dombrowski estimates the first phase will take three years to complete.

trehagen@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137