More than nine years after it was closed to the public, City Park’s championship golf course is on the cusp of rebirth. Familiar elements from the old Bayou Oaks East layout, including the existing oak tree canopy, will be retained, and a new self-sustaining irrigation system will bring dramatic cosmetic changes to the property while easing the burden on city drainage.
A $15 million reworking of the two courses on the south side of Filmore Avenue into one 18-hole course was put out for bid last month. Contractors are being vetted for qualifications ahead of the due date for bids on Sept. 29.
The project, which City Park CEO Bob Becker said was originally a “fixer upper” as part of the park’s 2004 master plan, has been in the works since 2006 after levee breaches during Hurricane Katrina decimated its golf facilities. The Bayou Oaks North course and driving range were reopened in 2008, while funding negotiations and planning continued for the east and west course property.
The old east course was closed July 4, 2005, at which time Becker said the decision had been made to streamline the park’s golf offerings.
“Golf has always been an important part of park revenue, but there are other things we believed the park property should offer,” Becker said. “We realized we didn’t need three courses to do that.”
The levee failures required a more intensive project. The full cost for the $24.5 million restoration of the park’s golf facilities is being split three ways, with the state putting up $9.5 million, the Federal Emergency Management Agency contributing $6 million and the Bayou District Foundation providing nearly $9 million in cash and contributions.
The start of construction on the new course will fully actualize the park’s partnership with the foundation, which pledged its financial support to the golf complex for rights to manage it and extract a share of revenues for 35 years.
Once the new course is operational, City Park will receive 75 percent of the first $1.15 million revenues, and the Bayou District will received 25 percent. Beyond that, the split will be 55 percent and 45 percent with the park getting the larger share. Anticipated revenue from the new course, the existing north course and driving range is $3 million a year.
The foundation, which redeveloped the nearby St. Bernard public housing complex into Columbia Parc at the Bayou District, a mixed-income neighborhood, envisions using City Park golf revenues to fund educational offerings for its residents. Its model is based on the East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, which was revitalized in conjunction with the redevelopment of one of the city’s public housing projects.
The Bayou District’s contribution to City Park is expected to cover the cost of building a new clubhouse, Becker said. A timeline for its construction hasn’t been set, said Kittye Rouse, project manager for the state’s Office of Facility Planning and Control.
Using the east and west courses, a 7,300-yard layout has been designed for the new course. Torre Design Consortium of New Orleans and Rees Jones Inc. architect Greg Muirhead worked on the design with consultation from the Professional Golfers’ Association.
“It’s going to be a PGA Tour quality course as well as a challenging one that the weekend golfer can plan,” said Ace Torre, president of Torre Design Consortium.
The PGA Tour stop in New Orleans, the Zurich Classic, is under contract to be played at the TPC Louisiana in Avondale through 2016. The new City Park course is expected to be ready for play in 2017.
Torre described the new design as “more articulated,” with water features and the oak canopy factoring into play.
“This is going to be more of a classic, traditional layout,” he said.
To irrigate the course, two 1,000-foot wells will be drilled to provide a water source, eliminating its reliance on a city water supply. Grasses have been chosen that can withstand the salinity of the groundwater, which will be treated using the existing course reservoir that will have a second pump added.
The existing drainage canals running through the course will be redesigned to look like the lagoons through City Park. As an added feature, a weir is being constructed that will allow the park to lower lagoon water levels in advance of a tropical storm or anticipated heavy rainfall.
“That’s going to let the pumping stations concentrate on getting water out of neighborhoods, and not City Park,” Torre said.
Becker said there are no firm plans for the unused portions of the old west course beyond moving a disc golf course from a site near Roosevelt Mall. Additional soccer fields and a new beach volleyball complex are under consideration, he added.
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