When Wesbild purchased Predator Ridge in Vernon nearly two years ago, deputy chairman Randy Zien called it "the best golf resort community in Canada". It's about to take a couple of big steps forward. Mike Weir's first venture into course design -- in concert with architectural partner Ian Andrew of Brantford, Ont. -- will almost certainly be a public course at Predator Ridge, which will give the 1,200-acre site 54 holes of golf and a Mike Weir winery when complete.
If there's a recession, you wouldn't know it from the aggressive activity that Wesbild has undertaken since buying the place from the Paterson family on July 18, 2007. Predator Ridge was launched with a Les Furber 18 in the summer of 1991. "It's speculation at this point," said Predator Ridge general manager Rod Cochrane on Tuesday, acknowledging that he was flying to southern California to have dinner with Weir and International Management Group Canadian head Brad Pelletier. "We're going to see if we can make it happen." In helping to select Weir's design partner, 22 Canadian architects were asked to submit drawings for a new course at Predator. Four of them were interviewed by Weir, his brother Jim and Pelletier. Ten months later, Andrew was chosen. "I think all parties are equally excited," said Pelletier in Los Angeles Tuesday. "There are three partners, Wesbild, Ben Thorlakson, who owns the adjacent property, and Weir Design. We just don't want to get ahead of ourselves because the City of Vernon has to do all the approvals. But we're inching our way closer."
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Don Quixote Note: See orginal posting from Nov. 19/2008 at http://vernonblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/mike-weirs-growing-career.html
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