EUREKA – Developer Dave Rogers was there decades ago when the Canadian towns of Banff and Fernie transformed into resort destinations. And he watched as Whitefish, south of the border in Montana, went through a similar transformation.
Now, when he closes his eyes and envisions the future, he sees the same thing happening in Eureka.
Rogers is one of three owners of Indian Springs Ranch, located off U.S. Highway 93 between Eureka and the Canadian border. Indian Springs Ranch, which opened in 2009, is a roughly 450-acre residential development – not including 120 acres of leased grazing land – with a public golf course and more than 300 home sites.
While Indian Springs Ranch may seem like an ambitious project for a Northwest Montana town with a population of just over 1,000, Rogers believes the development is a logical addition to a community on the verge of booming.
Rogers was confident of an approaching boom in 2005 when he bought the property because he “knew this place was prime for future development.” And now, even after a recession brought the development’s real estate business “to a screeching halt,” he remains confident.
“Eureka is going to change dramatically in the next 10 to 20 years,” Rogers said last week as he stood on a hill overlooking his golf course. “I saw it in Fernie. I saw in Banff. You’ve seen it in Whitefish. Absolutely, I think it will happen here.”
Just across town is another major golf course development betting on a Eureka surge. The Wilderness Club opened in the fall of 2008 as a private golf club with a world-class course designed by former PGA star Nick Faldo. The 540-acre development quickly fell on hard times when the housing market, along with the greater economy, collapsed. Glacier Bank took over in early 2010.
This year the Wilderness Club began offering public play under the guidance of golf director Bob Veroulis, who Glacier Bank brought in to manage the course in March. Veroulis said golfers played about 60 rounds per weekday over the summer and 90 on weekend days.
On Aug. 30, seven partners became the official new owners, bringing in a fresh business philosophy and vision in accordance with market demands. Of the 340 home sites initially zoned for the Wilderness Club, Veroulis said only two have homes, one of which is owned by the original developer. Veroulis said the new owners are planning smaller, more affordable homes to fill the lots.
Like Rogers, Veroulis sees good things in Eureka’s future, with Canadians – some flush with oil money – already ushering in more prosperous times in this age of economic recovery.
“This really is the Canadians’ playground,” Veroulis said. “They love coming down here.”
One potential obstacle in Eureka’s evolution as a tourist destination is the lack of a ski hill, often a cornerstone of Rocky Mountain resort towns. But Rogers and Veroulis say the area has all the other essential ingredients for a robust outdoor community – most notably Lake Koocanusa and other lakes. And they point out that ski resorts are just a short drive away in Whitefish or across the Canadian border. Resort towns such as Bigfork have thrived without their own skiing.
Lake Koocanusa, a 90-mile-long reservoir that stretches from the Libby Dam into British Columbia, is a popular recreation lake that remains largely undeveloped because it is federally managed. Rogers says people can enjoy public access to the lake’s sandy beaches and open waters without large homes obstructing their views.
“You’ve got miles of beach,” Rogers said. “You have to go to Jamaica or the Bahamas to get that.”
Additionally, Eureka is located on the region’s main artery, Highway 93, only miles south of the Canadian border. Canadians on their way to Whitefish, Flathead Lake, Glacier National Park or other Montana destinations often stop in Eureka. Some come to town specifically to play on the two first-rate golf courses.
“I think the golf courses are a wonderful asset for the community,” Lincoln County Commissioner Marianne Roose said. “They’re employing local people and they’re attracting people who are traveling through. People stop and shop. I think it’s great.”
But she cautions that the golf courses are only one piece of the puzzle.
“They’re not enough to sustain a community,” she said.
Roose, who says “we’ve always felt we’re somewhat of a destination,” largely shares Rogers’ vision of Eureka turning into a bustling resort town, though she said “we’ll never become Whitefish.” She believes the community, at least in part, will need to stay true to its blue-collar roots, with an emphasis on locals as well as providing services for tourists.
“We’ll be a combination of both, but to say that we’ll become a total resort destination town like Whitefish, I kind of question that,” Roose said. “I don’t see Eureka as just a resort town.”
Eureka’s economy, like the rest of Lincoln County, has long been based on resource extraction, particularly a once thriving timber industry. To what degree that industry recovers after the housing market crash remains to be seen, but Roose concedes that the community “will never see the huge mills again.”
Roose estimates that 75 to 80 percent of Eureka’s workforce is working in the North Dakota oilfields. While those are bleak statistics, Roose sees positives on the horizon, including the development of a business park. She also said that promising entrepreneurial endeavors have taken root and “we have some potential clients interested in natural resources.”
“We’re hoping to get some jobs back here,” she said.
But Indian Springs Ranch and the Wilderness Club are not only betting on the future, they are also trying to establish themselves as viable businesses right now, using very different models.
Whereas Rogers considers golf almost a secondary aspect of his vision at Indian Springs Ranch, the Wilderness Club is striving to make a name for itself as a “top-100 golf course in the nation,” according to Veroulis. Summer rounds at the Wilderness Club cost up to $125, while at Indian Springs rates are less than half that much, which means the courses often attract different clientele.
“I’ve been around the best golf courses in the West,” Veroulis said, “and this is as good as any of them.”
Indian Springs Ranch, as an “active lifestyle community” with an emphasis on creating a Montana-flavored residential environment, offers horseback riding and walking trails, and will eventually have a fitness center and community garden, among other features. Rogers, who has been known to ride up to golfers on horseback, said these characteristics help distinguish his course from the Wilderness Club.
“We’re completely different,” Rogers said. “It makes it a very compatible relationship. We’re not competitors.”
Recalling his years in the ski and golf development business in Banff and Fernie, Rogers speaks in long-range terms. His development build-out plan encompasses many years, which is why he seems unfazed by the economic downturn. In time, he says, it will all come together.
“What we did in Banff and what we did in Fernie,” he said, “now we’re just duplicating that role all over again.”
