SBDC at the Center of a Critical Economic Development Project

In June of 2003, the Longwood SBDC began working on a project with the Poplar Hill Community Development Authority to build an 18-hole golf course and an inn/conference center. A group of local business leaders took it upon themselves in 1999 to purchase a large tract of land on which to build this complex. They believed that if Farmville/Prince Edward County was going to be able to attract the kind of businesses to locate here that would enable our young people to “come home” to find employment upon college graduation, this type of facility was very much needed.

Efforts to secure permanent financing for the project proved to be extremely difficult. After some diligent study pertaining to how other golf complexes have been financed, the Poplar Hill Group persuaded Prince Edward County to form a Community Development Authority which would allow the developers to pursue a loan guarantee from the USDA Community Facilities Program. Upon formation of this Authority, the SBDC began working with the local developers and the consultants to put together the proformas and the loan application document for submission to the USDA.

This too proved to be a long and drawn out process. The USDA pared down the project on several occasions. The original application requested around $40 million dollars. Included in this price was the full cost of the golf course development, the inn/conference center, golf clubhouse and all associated infrastructure and maintenance facilities. The Community Facilities Program wouldn’t allow the inn/conference center or any of the associated infrastructure for such a center. We worked diligently to “make the numbers work” and after 4 submissions, our application was approved in September of 2004 for an 80% guarantee on an $8.8 million dollar loan request. The total project cost, including local and private funding totaled $10,200,000. Construction has begun and a targeted "soft opening" for fall of 2006 is looking very realistic.

Scott Harwood, Chairman of the Poplar Hills CDA thanked the SBDC personally in his year end client satisfaction survey. We hope this project will be a wonderful community/economic development asset for many years to come.