Source: The Berkshire Eagle (Pittsfield, Mass.)
A former ski area owner is building a golf course on the site of a former cross-country ski area on Route 7.
Jim Kelly, who owned Brodie Mountain Ski Resort, envisons the 18-hole course straddling the Route 7 on the former Donnybrook Farm property. At one time, the Kelly family operated a cross-country skiing facility on the site.
Construction of the front nine holes of the Donnybrook Golf Course began last summer and is 50 percent to 75 percent complete, said project manager Bob Fournier of Pittsfield-based SK Design Group Inc.
The proposal calls for the front nine holes of the course to be built on the east side of Route 7 and the back nine holes on the west side.
Plans for the course include a clubhouse, a maintenance building, a fire pond and on-site parking, said Fournier.
The course is being designed with golf carts in mind, said Fournier, because much of the land is hilly. Current plans call for a tunnel beneath Route 7 for the carts to pass from one side of the course to the other, he said.
The Massachusetts Highway Department must review the plans for the tunnel before it can be approved, Fournier said.
If the weather cooperates and all approvals are received in a timely fashion, the front nine should be completed by the fall, said Fournier. He estimated the entire course could open as soon as 2007.
"Right now, constructing this is sort of a hobby, but [Kelly] could change his mind and put a lot of money into it" and construction could move along rapidly, said Fournier.
A proposal for the back nine holes of the course was presented to the town Conservation Commission in October 2004 and is currently under review.
Back nine under review
The commission has hired an independent consultant to review the plans for the back nine holes on the proposed course, said Fournier.
"There is some technically complicated work on the back nine," he said.
Conservation Commission Chairwoman Stacy Chapman said Monday that a hearing is set for Feb. 7 at 8 p.m. at Town Hall to discuss proposed changes to the front nine at Donnybrook.
Fournier said the Kellys are seeking commission approval for the relocation of some sand traps and tee boxes on the front nine of the course.
Town Manager Paul Boudreau said plans for the course are "very complicated" and have been in the works for several years.
Kelly could not be reached for comment.