Harbor Shores Receives "Development of the Year" Award

Harbor Shores received the "Development of the Year" award for the West Side of the state on Wednesday, November 10th. The award was presented by Crain's Detroit Business and the Grand Rapids Business Journal during the University of Michigan/Urban Land Institute Real Estate Forum held in Flint, Michigan.

Harbor Shores Resorts Managing Director Mark Hesemann represented the development on a panel with the six other award winners. Hesemann, a member of the Urban Land Institute, said, "It is truly an honor to receive this recognition. The partners in Harbor Shores have worked tirelessly to get the project to where it is today. Recognition like this solidifies the efforts of so many to transform the communities of Benton Harbor and St. Joseph for years to come."

Harbor Shores Community Redevelopment, Inc. (HSCRI), is a non-profit entity, investing in the future of Southwest Michigan and building Harbor Shores, a beach and golf resort community in Benton Harbor and St. Joseph, Michigan. The purpose of Harbor Shores is to be a catalyst to support ongoing efforts of community transformation – defined by HSCRI as economic, environmental, and social/ cultural revitalization efforts. HSCRI is comprised of three non-profit organizations that have established relationships and a long history of contributions within the Benton Harbor community: Whirlpool Foundation, Cornerstone Alliance, and the Consortium for Community Development.

Harbor Shores is Lake Michigan’s first beach and golf resort community, located in St. Joseph and Benton Harbor, MI. The community’s central amenity is an 18-hole, public Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course that offers stunning views of Lake Michigan. The 530 acre master-planned resort plans to feature a full calendar of events and world-class amenities, including a marina village and riverwalk, restaurants and shops, deep-water marinas, a boutique hotel and spa, miles of recreational trails and rivers, and acres of parks and green space. Harbor Shores will be home to 750 residences, including charming cottages, custom homes, town homes and condominiums.

To date, over $80 million has been spent in land acquisition, pre-development costs, environmental remediation, golf course construction, infrastructure upgrades and professional service fees.

Harbor Shores Trustee and Cornerstone Alliance President Wendy Dant Chesser said, "This visionary and transformational development is a public-private partnership that is truly one of a kind in the country."

"Our organization, Cornerstone Alliance, is at the forefront of the economic development efforts, which includes job creation, increased local tax base as well as increased consumer spending. Accolades such as being named Development of the Year, truly aids our efforts to market the community and Harbor Shores to prospective investors, companies and potential homebuyers," added Chesser.

With a clear connection made between economic and community development, the goal of Harbor Shores is to be the catalyst to continue positive change in the Benton Harbor community.

Harbor Shores Trustee and President of the Consortium for Community Development Dr. Marcus Robinson said, “While many developers work to create jobs and remediate environmentally contaminated properties, Harbor Shores is unique in its goal of affecting individual attainment. Contractors are required to hire a portion of their employees from the economically distressed neighborhoods of the community and meet targets for doing business with small and minority businesses.”

Robinson noted, “The Consortium in turn works with community-based organizations to assist in job training and small businesses counseling to assist the contractors find qualified parties in meeting their obligations to assure the economic gains from the project help the residents of the area.”

“The impact does not stop there, as the project becomes financially viable and covers development costs, all net proceeds will be re-granted to the community in focus areas that include education, individual capacity building and the arts. The Harbor Shores Development is truly a holistic approach to sustainable development for the economy, the environment and for the residents of the area," added Robinson

Learn more about University of Michigan/Urban Land Institute Real Estate Forum.
Learn more about Whirlpool Foundation.
Learn more about Cornerstone Alliance.

Tremendous First Season

The Golf Club at Harbor Shores enjoyed a very successful season.  Who would have thought that we would receive so much national recognition in our first year? 

The official opening of The Golf Club at Harbor Shores on August 10, with “Four Legends”, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson and Johnny Miller at the Harbor Shores Champions for Change Golf Challenge brought the national spotlight to our corner of Southwest Michigan. An estimated 5,000 spectators watched from the course as these four players paired together for the first time in history, and countless thousands saw the replays of Nicklaus’s legendary 100-foot putt.

And countless more will see the half-hour special on this historic event that will air on Saturday, April 9^th, before the CBS telecast of the 2011 Masters Championship.

The event not only heralded the opening of the only Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course on the shores of Lake Michigan. Whirlpool Corporation donated $1,000,000 to benefit Benton Harbor’s Boys and Girls Club and the First Tee in the opening ceremony.

“The golf course has been many decades in the making in terms of transforming the industrial base in the community into something very productive,” said Jeff Fettig, CEO Whirlpool Corporation. “I can’t think of a better group of people, the four legends of golf, we had here today to kick it off.”  

The Golf Club at Harbor Shores gained national attention earlier in the year when the Senior PGA Championship selected the course as it’s home for 2012 and 2014.  Thousands of people will come into the community, and the tournaments be televised in 80 countries around the world.  These events will be another testament to how golf at Harbor Shores enables social and economic change.

As we close out the season, we have 80 Founders take advantage of the First Annual Founders Pass, and we ended the season with more than 11,000 rounds. Some of those rounds included notable celebrities such as Notre Dames Coach Kelly, retired Cubs player Ryne Sandberg, and the winner of the US Open Graeme Mc Dowell as well as PGA golf pros from all over the Midwest along with members from their Clubs. Yes, it was a grand opening season.

The golfing season is now over, and we begin to prepare for 2011.  Thank you to all who participated in the success of the first season of The Golf Club at Harbor Shores.

   

                             

The River Club at Harbor Shores Now Taking Reservations

Harbor Shores is proud to present our newest neighborhood, the River Club at Harbor Shores.  In the heart of the Harbor District along the banks of the St. Joseph and Paw Paw Rivers, The River Club is a marina village featuring condominium and town home living together with retail shops, restaurants, and a 57-slip deep water marina less than a mile from Lake Michigan.

Life at The River Club will allow water lovers easy access to aquatic adventure on the lake and rivers, or they can simply enjoy the beautiful views.  The River Club residents can take advantage of a host of first-class amenities, including a swimming pool, a health club, a kayak/ canoe launch, and a riverwalk that connects with 12 plus miles of walking/ biking trails, all convenient to Lake Michigan beaches and The Golf Club at Harbor Shores.

The inaugural release offers 45 condominium units and will include one, two, and three bedroom homes.  One bedroom units will start in the $250,000’s.  The First Families incentive for the first 25 residents will include your choice of 5 years of a free marina slip or 5 years of free golf.

Construction of the marina will begin this fall and construction on the first condominium building is planned to commence in late spring 2011 with delivery in 2012.  To learn more, please schedule your appointment today.  You can contact  Kerry Wright II (269) 932-1604.  We start taking reservations for The River Club today. 

Watch for new information as it becomes available at Harbor Shores Resort.

Limited Time to Buy Founders Pass at the Golf Club at Harbor Shores

The opportunity to purchase The Inaugural Founder’s Annual Pass for The Golf Club at Harbor Shores ends October 31, 2010. We are pleased to give our golfers this special, one-time opportunity to enjoy the benefits of being a Founder’s Annual Pass holder.

The Founder’s Pass is available at a reduced rate from our standard annual pass, and as an added bonus, you may renew your pass next year at the same low rate.If you have not taken advantage of the 2010 offer, you still have time. After October the rate for an annual pass will increase from $3,500 to $4,000 for an individual. A limited number of Founder’s passes are available. Limiting the sale of the passes allows us to provide unlimited golf play to our pass holders.

The Founder’s Annual 12-month pass includes unlimited golf with cart, the use of practice facilities which includes practice balls, 3 free guest passes, and 10 out-of-county guest passes at a $75 dollar rate per pass. Also our annual pass holders will receive the first invitations to volunteer at the Senior PGA Championships in 2012 and 2014.

Construction of the clubhouse and Jack Nicklaus Golf Academy begins next spring, and we eagerly anticipate its completion in the first quarter of 2012. As the construction of the Club House continues, you will enjoy more special rewards as a Founder.

The Champions for Change grand opening brought national attention and legendary golfers to The Golf Club at Harbor Shores. The announcement to be the host of the Senior PGA Championship 2012 and 2014 promises to turn the spotlight back to the uniquely designed, Jack Nicklaus Signature course on the shores of Lake Michigan.

Don’t miss your unique opportunity to be a part of golf history by purchasing your annual pass today.
For more information call Joen Brambilla at (269) 926-1200.

Celebrate all 18 at Harbor Shores Golf Club!

All 18 holes officially open this Thursday, July 1st!
Please join us and be one of the first to play the entire course.
July Special - Twilight rate after 3PM will be $75


This Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course is the first of its class in Michigan's Great Southwest. Recognized for the high standards of Nicklaus Design, The Golf Club at Harbor Shores is quickly becoming a showcase for the Midwest. The Senior PGA Championship, the most historic and prestigious event in senior golf, has chosen to come to Harbor Shores in 2012 and 2014.

As the course is receiving national recognition, we are offering an Inaugural 12-Month Founders Pass program for the 2010 season at The Golf Club at Harbor Shores - unlimited range, golf and cart use. The Founders Passes are available at an introductory price of $3,500. Purchase this year and we will lock in the price for your next 12-months.

Harbor Shores Welcomes Jack Nicklaus and Friends

On August 10, 2010 Jack Nicklaus, Johnny Miller, Arnold Palmer and Tom Watson will play a scramble skins format with rotating two-man teams. The Harbor Shores Champions For Change event is bringing together golfers to commemorate the opening of the world-class Golf Club at Harbor Shores, and celebrate the transformation of the community at-large. 

A limited number of tickets to the Harbor Shores Champions for Change golf event are available for $50, which include access to the 18-hole Golf Challenge and a Golf Clinic hosted by the four champions. In addition, an Evening for Champions “roundtable” discussion with the four golf legends will be held at the Mendel Center Mainstage at Lake Michigan College that same evening from 7:30 to 9:00 p.m. – tickets are available for $25. Tickets for both the golf and evening events are available online at www.HarborShoresChampions.com.

“I consider Arnold, Tom and Johnny among my closest friends in golf, so I not only look forward to getting together with them again but also having them with me as we celebrate the opening of The Golf Club at Harbor Shores,” said Jack Nicklaus. “The Harbor Shores Champions for Change event is a great opportunity to highlight how golf is being used as a vehicle for social and economic revitalization, particularly in the Benton Harbor community.”

The legendary foursome, which collectively has 199 PGA TOUR wins and 35 major championship victories, will tee off together for the first time ever in competitive play at the Golf Club at Harbor Shores.

For more information about the event details about Harbor Shores Champions for Change, visit www.HarborShoresChampions.com and sign up to receive the latest news. 

In the Kitchen & On the Radio

Order's up! Our kitchen opened for the 2010 season today. We have a great selection of sandwiches, chili, and salads. Service hours are 11:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. daily. Join us for lunch or after your golf game to try some savory delights!

In other news, developers of Harbor Shores held a roundtable Thursday, April 29, to focus on the project's various social endeavors. You can read more and listen to some great sound bites from Andrew Green's interviews on WSJM's site here.