A Golfer's Paradise
New Resort on Course's Edge to Provide Upscale Vacation

By K. Robert Wendel

The first phase of an upscale timeshare development is taking shape in north Scottsdale with plans calling for a mix of three and four story buildings with lush landscaping and world-class amenities.

The Phoenix office of W.E. O'Neil Construction is tackling the estimated $20 million job that will be built in phases as the units sell out. Estimated build-out time is two years.

The first phase consists of a sales office, which includes a fitness room, spa and restaurant. While the first floor will remain, the three other floors will eventually be converted to the fractional vacation ownership Two other timeshare unit buildings are also under construction. The timeshares will consist of 1,500-sq.-ft. units and 900-sq.-ft. units, called "lock offs." Each unit is furnished with upscale amenities, including granite countertops and gas fireplaces.

The new timeshares will share an architectural vocabulary with the nearby Westin Kierland Resort.

"This project takes some cues from the Kierland hotel on the exterior, through form and architectural details," said Jamie Moore, a principal and project director with Phoenix-based DFD Conoyer Hedrick. "It's not all based on the hotel, but it is going to be very close in material and detailing of the Kierland property."

Contractors faced tough dirt conditions right off the bat, dealing with soils with a potential to collapse 3-in. The soil conditions, contractors said, are consistent throughout the Kierland area, which also features a master planned residential development nearby.

"The soils were really difficult because the soil integrity is very collapsible," said W.E. O'Neil project manager Tom Maurer. "The soil has a high silt content, so it took a lot of moisture to get it stable."

With water always at the forefront of development, site planners designed the project to retain water for reuse on the golf course when feasible. ‚ The project retains all of the water on site and has been designed to withstand 24 hours of rain in a 100 year flood event, 22 hours more than the code calls for. Eventually, the run off will be absorbed into the Kierland storm drain system.

"The detention areas are part of the design of the overall water features within the golf course," said Ralph Bednar, vice president of Scottsdale-based Primas and Associates. "We are using the water to recharge the aquifer and utilize any runoff available to irrigate the greens at the same time. That probably won't happen to many times, but at the same time, any little bit can help."

All of the buildings sit on slab-on-grade foundation, with the time share units employing structural masonry as a building system. At the sales office, a combination of steel and structural masonry will compose that building. Masonry contractor Brothers Masonry placed more than 150,000 units of block.

Another challenge facing designers was getting enough power on the site for an extensive lighting package.

"The power distribution is kind of a challenge," said David Watson, president of S.W. Engineering in Tempe. It's a big resort and the site isn't set up to have this much power, so we had to bring in another line from the power company and do a loop.

Contractors used a Hambro composite deck system to speed construction on the project, with the sales office registering 100,000-sq.-ft., while the timeshare buildings will each average 50,000 sq. ft. When built out, the project will have an estimated 350,000-sq.-ft.

As with any resort, the amenities are often the main selling point, with landscape designers creating a lush escape from the urban world. The project features three pools, with one for families and the other for adults, as well as a waterslide on the 10-acre project site.

"There is a lot of things going on in a small space," said Mark Swartz, a principal with Phoenix-based E-Group Landscape Architects. "The landscape scheme is drought tolerant and masked in a resort fashion for an immediate impact."

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