Lots are now for sale in a master-planned community that will eventually add about 200 households to the city of Spearfish.
The Elkhorn Ridge Golf Estates development is part of Elkhorn Ridge at Frawley Ranches, a 4,500-acre property straddling Interstate 90 at Exit 17. Of that, 2,800 acres are set aside as a conservation easement and won't be developed.
Land around the exit, which leads to U.S. Highway 85, is largely undeveloped right now, but the infrastructure is in place to handle the retail, commercial, residential and medical development that will grow there over the next 10 years, said Joe Bennington, the Coldwell Banker Realtor who is handling sales.
Nine holes of what will be a public 18-hole golf course, designed by Rapid City architect Pat Wyss, opened last summer, a golf practice facility is planned, and Regional Health bought 70 acres there for what could be a future hospital development.
The property also includes an RV park and will be home to a network of hiking and biking trails.
The golf estates lots range from about a quarter-acre to a half-acre and start at $79,000. People who buy lots in the first phase will have the first shot at lots in future phases, and the developers will buy back their original land, Bennington said.
J. Scull Construction will build a model home there this spring. Jim Scull is a developer of the project. But property owners can bring their own builder if they wish, Bennington said, as long as the plans conform to the community's strict architectural covenants.
Lots in the first phase are on the seventh and eighth holes and accommodate single-family homes. Bennington said he expects buyers will be retired people or people looking for a second home, but there are no covenants enforcing an age restriction as a retirement community might have.
The community is more than 10 years in the making, and Bennington said the developers are excited to start selling lots in the scenic former ranchland.
"As soon as you start to build out there you can take advantage of all the amenities we have to offer," he said.
Contact Barbara Soderlin at 394-8417 or barbara.soderlin@rapidcityjournal.com.
