Articles
Black Bull Update
Dear Friend of Black Bull,
Thank you for your continued dedication to Black Bull, Bozeman's premier golf community. As spring approaches, we're beginning to see our many years of planning and hard work culminate in a development that will set the standard for residential communities in Montana, and beyond. We'd like to take a moment to update you on the many exciting things that are happening at Black Bull.
Construction on the 18-hole Tom Weiskopf championship golf course began in May of last year. By the time winter set in, grading, irrigation and drainage for the course were almost complete. The greens and bunkers are all in place, and the bunker sand is on the site. The huge irrigation lake is full of water, and greens mix has already been placed on 13 greens thus far. Cart paths have been poured on six holes, and a good number of our anticipated 4300 trees and shrubs have been planted. The plan is to seed the course and sod certain critical areas as soon as soil temperatures allow. If Mother Nature cooperates, we hope to have the practice facility and course ready for light play this fall.
While waiting for the weather to allow us to finish the course, we were able to complete many other important items. In January, work began on the underground utilities, including water, sewer, power, and communications, which will service the residences and golf club facilities. The majority of the underground work has been completed, allowing for road surfacing to commence shortly. We're on schedule, and expect the infrastructure to be completed mid-summer of this year.
If you've driven by Black Bull, you've probably seen several structures in the midst of construction. Work has begun on the Swim and Tennis Center, a part of which is the golfers 'halfway house.' The Center has quickly taken shape, and will be completed by the end of this summer, when we will be having the anticipated soft opening of the golf course. The Center will also act as our pro shop and temporary clubhouse, while the main clubhouse is under construction. Two of the Club Homes are also currently under construction, and will serve as model homes when completed—also anticipated to be open by the end of the summer. In addition, we've almost completed the mail kiosk that will be located near the Durston entrance. That structure will house the mailboxes for the south end of the project, and until needed, will contain brochures and information about Black Bull for prospective members.
Over the next few months, work will continue at full force. In the Swim and Tennis Center, we're completing the installation of windows, allowing us to 'dry in' the building and complete the exceptional interior finish work. The Club Homes will be dried in by the middle of this month, with the interior finish work to follow. The golf course will be seeded late May, with a green, world-class golf course being visible by June.
Over the past few months, there has been quite a lot of discussion about water, so we wanted to cover that topic as well. At the end of March we received a draft order from the Department of Natural Resources (DNRC) approving our application for use of the water. As is standard procedure, all parties submitted comments on the draft order. The normal process is that DNRC reviews the comments and then issues its final order. The final order typically concurs with the draft order, with minor or technical corrections. That process continues, but as usual, there was an added issue that came up—about ten days ago, a judge in Helena issued an opinion in a case (not involving our application) that questioned some exemptions used by DNRC in closed-basin water rights applications throughout the state. That decision requires a review of most pending water rights applications, and will likely slow down the processing of almost all current applications—including ours. At the same time, the legislature is acting on a bill that would resolve all definitional issues in water rights applications, while still preserving all of our water options for the project. Simply put: we are proceeding. We are currently installing our residential water lines and constructing and filling our golf course lakes. As they often say, "In Montana, whiskey is for drinking, and water is for fighting."
And for some truly exciting news: after interviewing golf professionals from around the country, we're pleased to announce that PGA member David Baucom has agreed to join Black Bull as Director of Golf. Many of you know David from his reputation here in Bozeman's golf community (not to mention national-level recognition and awards), so you already know what a great addition he is to our team. David will start on May 1, and will be actively involved in membership recruitment and the completion of the golf course. We'll be sending out more information on David and membership opportunities in the near future.
Finally, for the convenience of our members, we've purchased and are restoring a 1960-era, 15-passenger Yellowstone Touring Bus. It's going to be a fun and classy way to tour Black Bull this summer.
Over the next few months, if you have any questions or would like to schedule a personal tour of the community, please contact Sue Frye at ERA Landmark Real Estate, at 406-556-5011.
Sincerely,
Black Bull Run Development, LLC