Despite setbacks that have stymied the progress of Indian Ridge Resort Community for more than three years, project leader Jim Shirato is optimistic that the planned $1.6 billion, 850-acre development will be completed.
The Stone County project was flung back into the spotlight Nov. 21, when Shirato, representing his company, Indian Ridge Resort Inc., pleaded guilty to violating the federal Clean Water Act.
A lawsuit, with investigations by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, claimed construction activities such as clearing, grading and excavation disturbed roughly 600 acres southeast of highways 76 and 13 between August 2006 and June 2009, and the company’s failure to abate, control or slow the erosion persisted until at least the end of August this year, according to the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri.
By pleading guilty, Indian Ridge officials admitted a failure to prevent storm-water runoff at the construction site from funneling silt into Table Rock Lake. Under the terms of the guilty plea, Indian Ridge Resort must pay a fine of $215,000 and will be subject to a five-year probationary period, which includes a compliance clause to prevent further erosion and discharge of sediment from the construction site into the lake and its tributaries. Denver-based North Shore Investments LLC, which purchased a portion of the land in 2005 to build 13 townhouses, also was docked in court in a separate appearance. Represented by owner Donald Snider, the company agreed to pay a fine of $100,000 and be subject to the same compliance clause Indian Ridge faces. Sentencing hearings will follow completion of presentence investigations by the U.S. Probation Office.
Shirato, a Springfield developer, said Indian Ridge’s compliance with the EPA has been made difficult by continued dealings with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Construction of the Branson West project has been on hold since August 2008, when the FDIC shut down the project’s lender, Topeka, Kan.-based The Columbian Bank and Trust Co. With funding frozen, Shirato said construction could not move forward, and he said the FDIC warned his company that a lien could be incurred if the value of the development were to change.
Columbian Bank’s assets, excluding commercial loans such as Shirato’s, were purchased by Chillicothe-based Citizens Bank and Trust Co. According to Shirato, the loan is now under management by FDIC’s Dallas regional office.
“We got squeezed between two federal agencies, and it has been very difficult to bring this thing to fruition,” Shirato said.
FDIC Director of Public Affairs Andrew Gray said the FDIC does not comment on ongoing cases.
Shirato said Indian Ridge received FDIC approval to perform remediation work late last year and has instigated three remediation plans to stem the flow of storm-water runoff by adding check dams. The company also has hired Belton-based Habitat Architects LLC, which has an emphasis on environmental protection, to make sure the development adheres to federal guidelines.
Clearing the EPA hurdle was one step toward continuing construction, Shirato said, adding that he expects the FDIC to fully release the development’s funding in first-quarter 2012.
“There was no way to proceed with this project without taking the actions that I took,” Shirato said. “It’s been a long, arduous, expensive journey, and I do see it coming to an end now.”
Shirato’s company has spent roughly $25 million on the development, largely infrastructure work and land acquisitions. Shirato estimated it would take another $215 million to build a planned eight-story hotel, water park, golf course and conference center.
The remainder of the $1.6 billion comprises the sale, and subsequent construction by the buyers, of lots for condominiums, single-family residences and commercial developments. Shirato said his company is awaiting FDIC approval to close on contracts, and he said eight companies are interested in building condos in the development, and there has been commercial interest from seven restaurants, an attorney’s office, a title company and a movie theater.
Development plans call for 642 single-family lots, 1,264 golf course condos and 15 commercial tracts, which front highways 76 and 13.
“We’re not about to abandon the project,” Shirato added. “It’s not my style to go this far, spend this much money and give up. It’s not in my DNA.”
Shirato said the community that broke ground in 2005 could be finished by 2015.[[In-content Ad]]
