{"id":124,"date":"2009-11-13T05:38:42","date_gmt":"2009-11-13T10:38:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/golfcoursebusiness.com\/?p=124"},"modified":"2009-11-29T23:35:58","modified_gmt":"2009-11-30T04:35:58","slug":"whats-teeing-up-in-the-golf-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/golfcoursebusiness\/golf\/courses-and-travel\/124\/whats-teeing-up-in-the-golf-business","title":{"rendered":"What’s Teeing Up in the Golf Business"},"content":{"rendered":"

Scott Kauffman\u2019s <\/strong><\/p>\n

Global\u00a0Golf and Leisure Real Estate Report<\/strong><\/p>\n

Vol. 1, No. 2<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"KauffmanWhen real estate lawyer Jimmy Crawford started looking into a vacation home two years ago for his family, the foreign investment had to meet several criteria to be considered. Most importantly, the destination had to be English speaking by nature and located in a stable environment. The tropical place also had to have a similar legal system and be within close proximity to Crawford\u2019s Orlando-area home.<\/p>\n

Being relatively affordable would be a bonus. Belize, as it turns out, fit the bill perfectly.<\/p>\n

For those not familiar with Belize, contrary to what many people think, this Central American nation is not an island. Actually, the democratic country formerly known as British Honduras is landlocked alongside the Caribbean Sea by Mexico to the north and Guatemala to the south and west.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Whether anybody can properly place Belize on the map or not, one thing clear about this ex-British colony is it is quickly becoming one of the Caribbean\u2019s up-and-coming destinations. Crawford, who owns a 1,700-square-foot luxury condo in the fishing village of Placencia, has been in love with Belize ever since he first visited the pristine Caribbean country.<\/p>\n

\u00a0And what\u2019s not to love about a country full of untouched waterfalls and rainforest jungles and Mayan mountains full of historic ruins. Or a country considered one of the top ten diving destinations in the world courtesy of a coral barrier reef second only in size to Australia\u2019s Great Barrier Reef.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Belize is also a \u201cvery safe country,\u201d despite its testy Central American location, according to Crawford and numerous other expatriates who have visited the place.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMy family has never worried and we go anywhere we want,\u201d adds Crawford, who has four children ages 7-16. \u201cThere are places in Belize City that I would not go just like there\u2019s places in Miami I would not go. But the tourist areas, even in Belize City, are very safe. We\u2019ve been all over the country and there are a lot of places left to explore.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Basically, whether it\u2019s hiking, horseback riding, fishing, swimming, or simple relaxation, Belize satisfies the entire family, according to Crawford.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMy 7-year-old enjoys it as much as any of them,\u201d says Crawford, whose canal-front condo sells for $375,000-$425,000 in the small development called Sunset Pointe. \u201cShe goes down and when she comes back she\u2019s got her corn rows, the dark skin. \u2026 If we could home school her she would just stay down there. She doesn\u2019t want to come back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 That\u2019s precisely how a lot of well-traveled adults are starting to feel about this pristine place that cost a fraction of the price of comparable Caribbean destinations. Perhaps that\u2019s why Belize is quietly attracting the celebrity crowd, including the likes of Leonardo di Caprio and Francis Ford Coppola, who are involved in a couple resort-related projects. Meanwhile, over on Ambergris Caye, the most developed of Belize\u2019s 100-plus islands, \u201cTemptation Island\u201d has showcased the country as the backdrop to its popular television show.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Of course, fueling a lot of the foreign investment and tourism growth in Belize \u2013 a country the size of Massachusetts — is its pro-Western roots. For instance, Belize has been a democratically elected country since 1980, pegs its currency to the U.S. dollar, features a mostly tax-free environment and offers London as its court of that after last resort, according to Crawford.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 One group bullish about the long-term future of Belize is Hopkins Bay Development, a consortium of Canadian, American and South African investors behind the eponymously named Hopkins Bay Resort. Located two hours north of the town of Hopkins, Hopkins Bay is an ambitious 7,000-acre eco-sensitive mixed development planned for nearly three miles of linear beachfront, four branded hotels,\u00a0 three golf courses and an 800-slip marina, among other amenities, according to Michael Anderson of Glacier Lake Management Company.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 For now, Anderson is focused on Hopkins Bay Resort and Sittee Point, a 48-acre enclave of resort-style villas now open and a gated luxury single-family home community, respectively. According to Anderson, Glacier Lake\u2019s vice president of operations, 18 villas are completed and occupied at Hopkins Bay Resort with another 30 under construction; four homes are finished in the upscale Sittee Point neighborhood.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 One of Anderson\u2019s Canadian friends is building a 12,000-square-foot home at Hopkins Bay, where some three-bedroom villas can cost around $800,000.<\/p>\n

\u201cBelize is an emerging hot spot,\u201d says Anderson, whose Hopkins Bay project is conforming to Audubon International sustainable development standards. \u201cIt\u2019s got the second largest reef in the world and we\u2019re just a half mile from the reef. You can be in the mountains or rainforest in the morning, then go snorkeling or fishing in the afternoon. It\u2019s all that close.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s just so much diversity you can have in one day from cave tubing to zip lining to world-class fishing. Another nice thing is Belize is not very populated (approx. 300,000 residents). The highest building is four stories on the island and most of the travel is by golf cart or boat. So it\u2019s got a lot of different appeal. Everybody is able to get away and really relax, take off the watch and shoes and get down to basics.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Picture_1002That\u2019s precisely how Crawford feels about his many journeys to eco-based Belize.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s so many small things I like about it, but one overall thing is I always feel more relaxed and healthier when I\u2019m down there,\u201d adds Crawford, who practices law for Clermont, Fla.-based Schmid Development.\u00a0 \u201cAnd it\u2019s hard to quantify that. All I know is when I go down there I exercise more; I\u2019m out in the fresh air and not stuck in an office. It\u2019s just a healthy simple way to live. It really is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0It\u2019s a lifestyle that more and more people are bound to begin appreciating. Until Belize begins investing in more infrastructure throughout the country, however, don\u2019t expect this destination to look anything like Cancun \u2013 the Mexican tourist mecca approximately 350 miles to the north.<\/p>\n

\u201cBelize is going to develop very slowly because there\u2019s no major roads so everything has to be brought in by barge,\u201d Anderson points out. \u201cThe infrastructure\u2019s not there. So it will develop, but not at a great pace like Mexico, which is fortunately great for the tourists.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crawford is counting on that.<\/p>\n

\u201cBelize is completely unspoiled,\u201d he says. \u201cIf they develop it correctly, it can largely stay that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

–30–<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 For more information:<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Hopkins Bay Resort \u2013 www.hopkinsbayresort.com<\/a>; toll-free 800-456-7150 (rentals); toll-free 877-467-2297 (sales)<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Sunset Pointe \u2013 www.sunsetpointebelize.com<\/a>; 904-471-3599<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Government of Belize \u2013 www.travelbelize.org<\/a> or www.governmentofbelize.gov.bz\/<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n\"Picture\n\n\n\n
\u00a0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Scott Kauffman\u2019s Global\u00a0Golf and Leisure Real Estate Report Vol. 1, No. 2 \u00a0 When real estate lawyer Jimmy Crawford started… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":125,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-courses-and-travel"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/golfcoursebusiness\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2009\/11\/Kauffman-Hollywood.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/golfcoursebusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/golfcoursebusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/golfcoursebusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/golfcoursebusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/golfcoursebusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/golfcoursebusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":215,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/golfcoursebusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124\/revisions\/215"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/golfcoursebusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/golfcoursebusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/golfcoursebusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/golfcoursebusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}