LAND ACQUIRED FOR NEW GOLF COURSE IN CAPE

Cord Dombrowski believes planning for a new golf course in Cape Girardeau is a win-win situation.

Crenshaw Golf Design representatives have been here, and Nicholas Design representatives will be here within a month, said Dombrowski, a partner in the Presswick Group, which will develop and manage the 27-hole golf course.

"You can't go wrong with either of these golf architect companies," said Dombrowski.

The development on separate sites also would include a golf club, condominiums, villas, tennis courts, swimming pool, riding stables and facilities for other outdoor activities.

"We have signed agreements for two parcels of land," said Dombrowski. They are:

* A 770-acre site with milelong access to Bloomfield Road.

* A 525-acre site to the north of the city near 5-H Animal Ranch.

"We'll be purchasing both of these sites," said Dombrowski. "One of them will feature the golf course, clubhouse and condos. The second site will feature tennis, stables and other outdoor activities."

The site for the golf course will be determined after further study, said Dombrowski.

Dombrowski said, "We're looking at a 12-to-15-year project focusing on the golf course."

Although an exact time table has not been established, groundbreaking for the golf course could take place by June or July.

"We could be playing on the course by the spring of 2002," said Dombrowski. He said the golf course initially would be open to the public.

Now that agreements are in hand for land purchases, golf architects and construction engineers could be on site by the first of February. "We could start the permit process by mid-to-late April and be ready to put the spade in the ground by June 1," said Dombrowski.

With 27 holes, about 250 acres of land would be used for the golf course.

The idea for the facility came up about two years ago, said Dombrowski. At that time "we felt we would be looking at two years before starting the project," he said. "We're on schedule."

The new corporation, Presswick Group, has been formed; a feasibility study is complete; and acquisition agreements have been completed, the latest Sunday, said Dombrowski.

"Everything is in order," he said.

A feasibility study indicated the project would be financially and economically feasible. The study was based on the area within a 50-mile radius of Cape Girardeau.

The feasibility study indicated that almost everyone with an appetite for golf craves the excitement of playing a classic course and will travel to do so, he said.

"This will be a classic course," said Dombrowski. "It will be challenging and offer some great scenery with holes climbing uphill, plunging downhill and on slopes.

Golf design architects in early February will be here to prepare preliminary planning for the golf course. Following the final selection of a site, construction and architectural engineers, including Gee and Jansen Co. of Florida, will present preliminary planning.

Although Presswick Group is currently focusing on the golf course, "we hope to see the real- estate planning and golf course go simultaneously," said Dombrowski.

Dombrowski is familiar with golf courses and the planning that goes into them. He has been involved in the turf and grass business for more than eight years. The company, Turfgrass American Inc. of Austin, Texas, provides turf grass for large athletic fields, golf courses, commercial and residential landscaping.