Multi-million donation powering new community center at Warm Springs Golf Course
The Warm Springs Golf Course is getting a makeover.
Earlier this year, an anonymous donor approached the City of Boise with an offer to donate $3.5 million for a new community center and clubhouse for the Warm Springs Golf Course near the Beltway. greenery in southeast Boise. The facility will serve golfers, as well as those using the Greenbelt or nearby hiking trails in the foothills near Tablerock.
Currently, the Warm Springs Golf Course is serviced by two fifty-year-old double-wide trailers that have reached the end of their useful life. Boise Parks and Recreation Director Doug Holloway said the timing of the donation when the city considered replacing the trailers was fortuitous and asked the city council to be prepared to fund the difference between the donation, the balance of the city’s golf reserves and the final price of the project. tag in the next budget.
“It’s more than just a place that serves the golf course, it’s a place where people in the community, Greenbelt users and trailhead users can access and it becomes a real community space,” Holloway said.
City council members unanimously gave him the green light to accept the donation and use $4.1 million from the city’s capital fund to complete the $9.6 million project.
Holloway said the project will be funded by a combination of the donation, $2 million from the city’s golf course reserve fund and $4.1 million from the city’s capital fund. But, part of the deal is that the $4.1 is paid back to the city’s capital fund over a decade with revenue from the city’s golf courses. He said this reimbursement model had also been used in the past under the Brent Coles administration to help defray the costs of developing a YMCA facility in West Boise. An interior shot of an entrance to the planned new community center at Warm Springs Golf Course. Courtesy of the City of Boise
Boise city spokeswoman Maria Weeg declined to identify the donor, saying he wished to remain anonymous. BoiseDev filed a public record request to find out his identity, but it had not been completed as of this story’s publication.
What would the installation include?
Holloway said this part of downtown needs a community event and gathering space.
This facility will seat 200 people and will include food and beverage services, a pro shop, a 5,300 square foot terrace and a cart barn to store the fleet of golf carts that visitors can rent. Currently the carts are stored outside in the elements making it difficult to keep them in good condition.
The construction of the new building would entail a slight reconfiguration of the golf course, with the new building being constructed on what is now the 9th green. Once the building is completed, the course will change direction so that golfers move up the 18th hole to the new community building and finish there. The current on-site trailers supporting the golf course will become additional parking for the community center. An aerial rendering of the planned community center at Warm Springs Golf Course. Courtesy of the City of Boise
Holloway said the city is still trying to decide whether it will operate the sale of food and beverages inside the facility on its own or contract it out to a private company. He said preliminary analysis found the costs to the city would be about the same with either option, but staff are weighing which option is better because they still want to be in control of the situation. space if a private company manages it.
He noted that the cost of the installation had been verified by the city’s public works staff and included inflation plans to ensure it did not exceed the city’s budgeted cost.
“It’s not a Taj Mahal,” he said. “It’s designed to be highly efficient and serve a specific purpose and has no wiggle room for bells and whistles.”