Sales start quickly at Old Hawthorne, golf course complete
With its golf course complete and real estate sales under way, the Community of Old Hawthorne is blossoming quickly.
Lots are now for sale in the east-central area of the community, according to RE/MAX Boone Realty, the exclusive selling agent for the residential portion of the development. A special section in the northwest part of the property, designated the “Gates of Old Hawthorne,” will hold about 100 homes modeled after those depicted in paintings by Thomas Kinkade, an artist noted for his pastoral scenes. The Kinkade homes will be designed by HST Group LLC of Idaho.
“Interest has been overwhelming,” said Realtor Don Ginsburg of RE/MAX Boone Realty. “We have sold 45 single-family lots in the first phase of the development, and we haven’t even really begun the main marketing effort yet.”
Ginsburg said the marketing campaign is planned for late fall. The Kinkade homes will cost about $1 million, Ginsburg said, while homes on the east side of the development will cost about $300,000 to $700,000. Lots in the development range from $60,000 to $135,000, and condos will cost between $125,000 and $750,000, said Mike Huggans, also with RE/MAX.
Along with its cousin to the south, the Bristol Lake subdivision being carved from the old Phillips tract, the new development marks a large push eastward by Columbia. Resting on land only a mile from the Harg water tower and five miles from the Callaway County line, the development is one of the most ambitious projects ever planned in Columbia, according to Carol Van Gorp, executive director of the Columbia Board of Realtors.
The 639-acre high-end golf and residential community combines commercial property with single-family homes and smaller groups of condominiums centered on a golf course designed by golf course architect Art Schaupeter of St. Louis. The course will become the home of the University of Missouri’s golf team, Huggans said.
Old Hawthorne Drive, the main collector street that circles through the development, is finished, and the side streets are under construction.
Meanwhile, memberships to the club are going fast, according to Dallas Christianson, director of membership sales. Golfers who want to join the club do not have to live in the development. Memberships cost $1,300 for national members who live at least 60 miles away, $6,000 for regional members who live between 30 and 60 miles from the course, and $9,000 for local members. The fees include unlimited golf and unlimited practice, along with access to the clubhouse and all its amenities.
“Memberships are going quite well,” Christianson said. “We are almost at 100 members already. We did not expect this kind of sales this early in the process, and we are pleasantly surprised with how quickly they are selling.”
Residents of the community do not have to join the golf club, but they will be able to use the clubhouse at a cost of $35 a month. Two wings are being added to the original house on the property to create a new building with a restaurant and club on one side and a pro-shop and golf facility on the other. Plans also include a pool and fitness center, Christianson said.
The development is owned by local developer Billy Sapp, along with partners Gary Mitchell and Jeff Whitfield, who are professional golfers.