The Latest in Luxury Living & Real Estate News

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Staubach Firm Developing First Jack Nicklaus Club in Bahamas

(ROYAL ISLAND, Bahamas) -- Hall of Fame football quarterback Roger Staubach is bringing his game to the Bahamas -- real estate development game that is. Staubach, the longtime great with the Dallas Cowboys, is now a star in the real estate industry with his namesake company.

And one of his latest projects is Royal Island (pictured above), a mixed-use development planned to be one of the most luxurious resort-style communities in the Caribbean.  Led by Cypress Equities -- the development arm of Staubach Company -- and Behringer Harvard, Royal Island is a 430-acre island about four miles west of Eleuthera and 50 miles northeast of Nassau.

One of the development's highlights is the first Jack Nicklaus Golf Club of the Bahamas, featuring an 18-hole Nicklaus-designed signature course with 14 oceanfront holes and an oceanfront clubhouse. Besides the course scheduled to open in 2010, other planned amenities are a 200-slip mega-yacht marina, marina village with restaurants and shops, customs and immigration office, beach club and children's activity center.

In another development, Montage Hotels & Resorts has been brought on board to manage Montage Royal Island Bahamas, the island's oceanfront destination resort expected to open in 2011, and to provide exclusive residential services for the private community.

Royal Island's master-plan calls for approximately 270 residences, including custom homesites of 1-12 acres in size and 1- to 4-bedroom townhomes. The townhomes, ranging in price from $2 million to $8.9 million, will front the ocean or be located in a village adjacent to the marina. Homesites are priced from $2.1 million to $13.2 million.

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Puerto Rico Gets Taste of Trump  

(Rio Grande, Puerto Rico) -- An old golf course here along the Atlantic Ocean has new life, courtesy of Donald Trump's growing golf interests. In the process, the newest Trump-branded project - Trump International Residences and Golf Club -- is positioned to set a new standard of design and luxury in Puerto Rico.

More than 75,000 spectators got a taste of this reborn haute living when the $600-million development recently unveiled its model residences during the first-ever PGA Puerto Rico Open last March (the course originally opened in Feb. '04, but was repositioned with the Trump Organization last February).

Situated in the quaint village of Rio Grande only twenty minutes from the Luis Munoz Marin International Airport, Trump International Residences and Golf Club is spread over 1,000 acres and set in the foothills of the El Yunque Rainforest.

This eco-diverse community is the first of its kind on the island and will showcase 500 residences at completion. The first residents will become part of the Founders Club, an exclusive community that will allow its residents to enjoy preferred tee times and access to elite services such as a private jet, helicopter and limousine service.

Overall, the project will feature an array of residences from condominiums to estate homes, with prices ranging from the $600,000s to $5 million. Among the amenities planned are a family-friendly beach club, an intimate spa, state-of-the art fitness centers, tennis courts, a fully-equipped business center and more.

The Trump Organization's partner on this project is Puerto Rican construction conglomerate Empresas Diaz Inc.


 

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Marriott Golf Goes Green

(Orlando, Fla.) -- Marriott Golf, one of the world's largest golf course owners/operators, reported Jan. 7 it successfully completed the company's 2008 environmental program. The goal, announced last March, was sealed when Camelback Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. -- the original Marriott Golf-managed property -- became Marriott's 25th golf property to become a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary.
 
The Marriott Golf environmental program now includes all golf properties throughout North America and one signature property in the Caribbean, positioning the golf company as one of the industry's premier "green" golf management organizations and reinforcing Marriott International's worldwide commitment to environmental consciousness. 
 
Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuaries, which enable golf facilities to protect the environment by enhancing precious natural areas and wildlife habitats, are part of a system-wide commitment by Marriott International to promote environmental stewardship.  In order to achieve Audubon Certification, a golf facility is required to demonstrate that it is maintaining the highest degree of environmental quality in many areas including Environmental Planning, Wildlife & Habitat Management, Outreach & Education, Chemical Use Reduction & Safety, Water Conservation, and Water Quality Management. 

"It is only fitting that our original golf property, Camelback Golf Club, is the final location to achieve certification, completing our environmental program goal for 2008," said Robert Waller, Marriott Golf's senior director of grounds.  "We are extremely proud to be part of Marriott's worldwide green initiative, and equally excited about our leadership position in promoting golf and the environment." 
 
Overall, Marriott Golf manages 61 golf courses at 45 locations in 13 countries, offering more than 1,000 holes of golf. One of its higher profile properties is Doral Golf Resort & Spa in Miami.

Audubon Cooperative Sanctuaries for golf courses, which are endorsed by the United States Golf Association, provide information and guidance to help golf courses preserve and enhance wildlife habitat, and protect natural resources.  Each of these properties have achieved certification through a variety of methods, including the development of water conservation plans; converting formerly managed turf into wildlife habitat; constructing nesting boxes for native birds; and creating butterfly gardens and more.
 
"Marriott Golf's success with this Audubon Certification mandate program is unprecedented in the golf industry and speaks to the level of commitment that the company is making to help preserve and protect the environment," said Kevin Fletcher, executive director of Audubon International.  "This program directly enables golf courses to protect the environment by improving the quality of land, water, and air, along with conserving natural resources and protecting wildlife habitats.  These proven environmental management practices will help preserve the natural heritage of the game of golf for many generations to come."
 
Following is the list of new Marriott Golf Audubon Certified courses: Camelback Golf Club; Cattails Golf Club, Kingsport, Tenn.; Crane's Landing Golf Club, Lincolnshire, Ill.; Desert Springs Golf Resort; Palm Desert, Calif.; Doral Golf Resort & Spa, Miami, Fla.; The Frog Golf Club, Villa Rica, Ga.; Grande Pines Golf Club, Orlando; Grande Vista Golf Club, Orlando; Griffin Gate Golf Club, Lexington, Kent.; Hawk's Landing Golf Club, Orlando; Renaissance Vinoy Resort, St. Petersburg, Fla.; The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Creighton Farms, Aldie, Va.; The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Grande Lakes, Orlando; The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Jupiter, Jupiter, Fla.; The Ritz-Carlton Members Club, Sarasota, Fla.; The Rock Golf Club, Ontario, Canada; The Rookery at Marco, Naples, Fla.; Royal St. Kitts Golf Club, Basseterre, St. Kitts; Seaview Resort & Spa, Galloway, N.J.; Shadow Ridge Golf Club, Palm Desert, Calif.; Starr Pass Country Club, Tucson, Ariz.; Stone Mountain Golf Club, Stone Mountain, Ga.; Westfields Golf Club, Clifton, Va.; Wildfire Golf Club, Phoenix, Ariz.; Willow Crest Golf Club, Oak Brook, Ill.;
 

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