Better to “hit a house” than to “hit the wall” any day
Brownsville, Texas, August 15 – Jeremy Barnard likes to joke that his golf course is the only one in the world where your tee ball may need its own passport.
“A big power fade off the 5th tee will take your shot over the Rio Grande and into Mexican territory,” says Barnard, the general manager of River Bend Resort & Golf Club, in Brownsville, Texas. Jeremy’s father, Mark, and uncle, Jimmy, co-own the resort.
You don’t need to be Jordan Spieth, though, to appreciate that the river is the preeminent natural feature of the 319-acre residential and golf community, 135 acres of which comprise the par 72 layout, 6,735 yards from the back tees.
Hence the property would be decimated if plans to build a border wall became a reality: Due to the Rio Grande’s roughly S-shaped path – which in turn is protected by a 1970 treaty with Mexico – construction of the wall on the levee would mean that 15 of the course’s holes and 200 homes would be segregated from the rest of River Bend.
The situation oozes irony. Having purchased the property in 2015, the Barnards, natives of the area with an already-established real estate practice, voted for President Trump, as did a substantial majority of River Bend’s residents and members. Most of those customers are retirees, many of them military veterans, and American flags are visible throughout the property. So while most concede that immigration reform is a wholly legitimate issue, few seem to agree that a wall is the most effective strategy.
One point of consensus, however, is that the landscape would be unalterably damaged by a border wall that might rise as high as 30 feet.
“It’s tough to sell a $200,000 town home with a view of a prison wall,” says Mark. “Not very inviting.” As proof, he points to walls built during the Bush administration, in 2006, which currently stop at the periphery of the resort.
Says Michigan-based golf course architect Raymond Hearn, who the Barnards have retained to help master plan expansion of the resort: “The quirky shape of the Rio Grande defines the appealing character of the property. It’s not just a question of relocating a couple of buildings or rerouting the odd hole here or there.”
“What’s more, River Bend epitomizes the kind of affordable, playable layout that the game needs. The green fees top out at $45, it’s not intimidatingly long, they have a great junior program, and the RV Park that’s part of the property makes for an accessible golf vacation destination. We’re eager to move forward on capital improvements.”
Indeed, River Bend is one of numerous recreational options within easy reach of the South Padre Island beach resort area, including deep sea fishing, dolphin watching, and other water sports. Its proximity to the Gulf of Mexico – South Padre is a barrier island – provides cooling breezes in a tropical climate atypical of most of Texas.
Affable, patriotic Texans, the Barnards have nurtured collaborative relationships with border control agents, who often launch patrols from the resort’s riverside facilities. They have also helped to clear brush along the Rio Grande’s banks to make it more difficult for illegals to hide.
At the same time, the Barnards and the resort’s patrons agree that the colossal expense of building the wall could be better spent for other border-securing measures: more drones, surveillance equipment, boots on the ground. This would in turn eliminate the immense costs to taxpayers associated with land acquisition, since the Government Accounting Office estimates that two-thirds of the land on the nation’s southern border is privately owned.
Few such property owners have deeper connections to the Brownsville area, however. Mark’s grandfather arrived there during the 1920s and the Barnards have weathered boom-and-bust cycles in real estate and other business interests. Mark and Jeremy hit their first golf shots at River Bend. An aunt’s house overlooks the 18th tee; Grandma lives adjacent to the 1st hole.
The Barnards have retained legal counsel to explore their options, although they have yet to hear from government representatives about the next step in the process – whatever that may be.
Still, they’re hopeful that the interests they share with President Trump – golf course and real estate development – could help to find a mutually acceptable outcome.
“President Trump loves golf, business, his family,” says Jeremy. “It would be great to have him come play the golf course and have an open dialogue. I think we could work out something that would be good for them and good for us.”
Adds Mark: “Non-golfers and others who’ve never seen River Bend may say, ‘Gee, it’s only a golf course, after all.’ But it’s more than that; it’s a family business. And if there’s anyone who understands what that means, it’s President Trump.”
Contact:
Tom Harack
518 / 794-0356 (O)
646 / 352-1629 (C)
tomharack@aol.com
Raymond Hearn
616 / 403-6181
ray@rhgd.com
Jeremy Barnard
956 / 371-4007
jeremy@riverbendresort.com
