Neighborhood Golf Club has Rich History

10/1/07

Located right next door to Crown Ranch, the 18-hole Blaketree National course at the Blaketree National Golf Club facility in Montgomery, Texas features all the hallmarks of Texas golf. Designed by Thomas Blake, the Blaketree National golf course opened in 2000. Sam Chapman manages the course as the Golf Professional. Blaketree is the pride and joy of Montgomery, Texas, but few know about its rich and colorful history.

For the late Thomas W. Blake, this golf course was the culmination of a lifelong dream. Blake was an accomplished golfer himself, having led the University of Rice golf team to the Southwest Conference finals in 1929 and 1930. He was golf buddies with such famous Hollywood celebrities such as Clark Gable, Bing Crosby and Jimmy Demaret, all of whom later visited Texas to play on Blake's uniquely designed course.

Blake amassed a fortune as a corporate lawyer and businessman in the oil and gas industry. He acquired the 175-acre Sandy Ranch in 1937 as payment for legal services and began to dream of building a golf course on this site. In the early 50's he began to build the course, hiring the renowned team of Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore to make his vision come to life. Unfortunately, construction came to abrupt halt during the oil bust of the 80s.

It wasn't until the age of 90 that Blake was able to resume his project, but this time he finished the design himself. He wanted to create an upscale course that would amuse, delight and befuddle good players, and leave them wanting more each time. Originally, Blake had no intentions of opening the course to the public, or even to large private memberships, but that changed in 2000.

Toward the end of his life, Blake was very ill and couldn't see very well, so did a lot of green contouring with his feet! Blake died in the fall of 2001 and, sadly, he was wheelchair-bound during the last year of his life and was unable to enjoy the beautiful golf course that he built.

Since that time, the course has gained a loyal following, mostly through word-of-mouth. Blaketree National Golf Club is open for daily fee play Tuesday through Sunday. They specialize in small corporate group outings of 80 players or less.

Blaketree was voted in the Texas Golfer magazine as "A Best Kept Secret" in August 2004, and was ranked number 4 in 2004 by Dallas Morning News for medium price range golf courses. It's signature hole number 12 received a number 6 ranking in the Houston area, by the Houston Chronicle Golf Guide, March 2004, for the most difficult par 4's in the area. And lastly, Blaketree was voted as a "Must Play" by Avid Golfer magazine in July, 2005. Part of the rich history of Montgomery County, Blaketree makes for a memorable and challenging golf experience.

New Development Team

10/10/07

Crown Ranch Development LTD has entered into an agreement with WoodCreek Reserve Development Company to manage the development of the Crown Ranch master-planned community. The existing Crown Ranch team will stay in place and will be joined by the extensive experience of the WoodCreek Reserve Development principals.

Troy Maxwell, Larry Boudloche and Robert Anthony with WoodCreek Reserve Development are now working to complete development of Section I of Crown Ranch and planning the development of future sections. Troy Maxwell has more than 15 years of development experience and founded his development company in 1999. He is the developer of WoodCreek Reserve, a 500-acre residential and commercial high-end project in Katy, Texas, where homes have been built by Trendmaker Homes, Emerald Homes, and David Powers Homes, KB Martha Stewart, and seven custom builders. In addition, Mr. Maxwell has acquired 14 properties totaling over 3,000-acres in the Houston Area since 1995, which have been sold, developed or held for investment purposes.

Working closely with Maxwell is Larry Boudloche, who has worked on some of the Houston area's largest and most prestigious residential developments. Boudloche served as Vice President of development for Trendmaker Development Company, Senior Vice President of Parkway Investments, Vice President and Director of Development for Wolf, Morgan and Company and Vice President of The Mischer Corporation and Planner in charge of major thoroughfares and subdivision activity for the City of Houston. He is considered one of the "top" developers in the entire state and is widely respected in the development community. A sampling of projects Mr. Boudloche has managed are the development of The Parkway - Eldridge Road between Westheimer and Buffalo Bayou, Grand Lakes, Greens Trails and Green Tree Center subdivisions, Park 10, Briargrove Park subdivision, Inwood Forest, the creation of the first in-city (Houston) single family MUD #335 (Lakes of Parkway), and Green Tree Commercial Center.

Robert Anthony is a seasoned real estate professional who has been involved in Commercial Real Estate Acquisitions and Dispositions since 1989. He began consulting with WoodCreek Development Company in 2004 on contract and title issue and joined the development team in late 2005. He is currently the Director of Land Acquisitions for WoodCreek Reserve Development Company and President of LandStar Realty Advisors, Inc., full service Commercial Real Estate Brokerage Firm.

Michael Weingrad, who joined Crown Ranch Development LTD last year, will continue as Director of Sales and Marketing for the community. Last month, Weingrad successfully recruited Steve Zachry to join the development as Sales Manager. Zachry's real estate career includes sales management at 12 different developments such as Walden on Lake Conroe, Grand Lake Estates, Suntex Fuller and Bentwater increasing sales in each development by 40%-45%. At Bentwater, Zachry was #1 producer in sales every year from 1987 to 1994. In 1995 to 1996, Zachry was Director of Sales taking Bentwater to new heights. He rejoined Bentwater in 2003 through 2006 and his sales reached $158 million, a number Bentwater had never reached. Eric Estes has recently joined the team after completing a seven year tour in the Marine Corps. Eric, who has a background in structural steel construction, will be involved with on sight development, mergers, and acquisitions for Crown Ranch Development LTD.

Dan Thompson, whose extensive background in building ranges over thirty years, will be overseeing onsite construction at Crown Ranch. Dan's long career began in Houston where he eventually contracted with Louisiana Pacific to become superintendent, constructing and maintaining 4600 miles of roads and bridges. He has also run his own underground storm, drainage, and sewer systems company. His diverse resume makes him a uniquely qualified asset to Crown Ranch. We also want to thank David Cromwell who has helped Crown Ranch with his wealth of knowledge over the past couple of years. David, who has been developing in the Conroe area for more than 35 years, will be retiring in the next year and will be missed by team members and property owners alike.

"The WoodCreek Reserve Development team is really one of Houston's finest and we are very excited about how their involvement is going to enhance Crown Ranch," said Weingrad.

With the new team in place, roads and all utilities are now complete in Section I and IA of Crown Ranch and development is progressing quickly on Section II.

 

First Home Owners Move In

10/5/07

The Daigle family moved into their brand new Possibility Custom Home in Crown Ranch in August and officially became the first home owner in Crown Ranch. "We never dreamed we would be the first, but it's very exciting," according to Jennifer Daigle. The family moved from Frisco, Texas. Because Joe's job with a Management Consulting firm takes him all over the country, the family was really able to live anywhere as long as it was in close proximity to a major airport. "We looked everywhere between North Dallas, Mesquite and Houston," said Jennifer. "We found lots of 'one street wonders', but we really wanted a community that offered more."

"Joe wanted land, but I wanted a neighborhood. I wanted a good school district, neighbors, somewhere family-oriented with amenities," she said. "Crown Ranch was a good value and Joe got his dream spot and I was able to have all the things I was searching for plus my dream home, which I designed. We own 5.5 acres and it was a good investment in addition to being everything we wanted."

"Joe's dream was always to have lots of land and privacy. We envision this home as a place we'll share with our grandchildren. Not only was this the perfect place with all the amenities we wanted, it was also gated," said Jennifer.

The Daigle children, Jake (14) and Jillian (16) both attend Magnolia West High School. Jake is on the freshman football team and Jillian is trying out for the drill team. Joe and Jennifer met in high school and have now been married for 18 years.

The couple chose Possibility Custom Homes as their builder because they wanted someone to walk them through the entire process. "He really held our hand, was fair and offered us a lot of advice. He was very honest and we would definitely recommend the company to our friends and family," said Joe, who is involved with the Crown Ranch HOA.

Since Section I of the community is sold out, the Daigles will soon have the neighbors Jennifer wants, but for now, Joe says the critters in the woods are keeping them company.