“Larry has a lot of strong suits, but clearly his technical and financial skills rate among his best qualities. Larry does not purport to be a Tom Fazio or Robert Trent Jones, but rather handles these projects on a businesslike basis with a very close eye to crunching the numbers and looking towards the bottom line. His follow up has been outstanding and the attention to detail was something that we frankly were not expecting.”

Larry Winn III
Chairman Johnson County
Kansas Airport Commission

Sand Creek Station

sand creek

The Sand Creek Project is located south of the City of Newton, Kansas in Harvey County. The project is located within the metropolitan Wichita, Kansas Statistical Area. The site is approximately 600 acres. The project concept was:

  1. Provide an economic stimulus for the City of Newton and Harvey County
  2. Develop an educational laboratory for turf equipment maintenance and irrigation operation/maintenance studies
  3. Provide final remediation and use of grey water for irrigation purposes as discharged from the City of Newton’s Waste Water Plant

The project involved a multi-party transaction, including:

  • City of Newton: Golf course owner, funding agency, and planning and zoning responsibility. The city accepted the obligation to provide municipal services to the site.
  • Lundine & Associates, LLC: City of Newton’s Project Coordinator
  • J.Russell Communities: Housing developer
  • Stifel Nicolaus: Investment banking and finance

The project’s primary driver was to take the site and develop it into its highest and best use. A major portion of the site included the Sand Creek floodway and provides minimal economic benefit and tax base to the area. The development of the golf course in the floodway portion of the site provided a catalyst for much needed housing development in the area.

The City of Newton and Harvey County funded the project using a combination of federal earmarks and grants, tax increment pledges, impact fees, and positive cash flow from the golf course operation.