ROCKFORD BAY, IdahoWhat do you know heaven does have a golf course, says the come-on line for Black Rock, the swanky golf-and-housing development here.


That may be so, but for some, playing the private 18-hole Black Rock course could prove to be an experience closer to, well, the opposite of heaven.


This course is not a course for the macho guy who has a poor handicap and wants to hit from the back tees; its gonna kick his butt. Theres just trouble everywhere, Black Rock owner Marshall Chesrown says of the new golf course overlooking Coeur dAlene Lake.


Most of the 7,200-yard course is ready for its July 10 opening, although work still is under way on Black Rocks palatial, 31,000-square-foot clubhouse, which will include a swimming pool, tennis courts, a wine cellar, a spa, and numerous dining rooms. In addition, some 20 homes are under construction in the residential development surrounding the course, and the first residents could move in as early as next month, Chesrown says.


Two years after the first shovel of dirt was dug here, Black Rock is looking a lot like the kind of high-end development Chesrown said from the start he wanted to build. When its finished, it could well be the most expensive residential project ever developed in the Inland Northwest. Chesrown estimates that the combined value of the 376 homes to be built there, plus the golf course, clubhouse, and other amenities, could reach $500 million by the time the last home is completed, although that could be years from now.


About half of the 331 lots offered for sale in the first phase of development have been sold or spoken for, he says. A second phase, which will include 45 estate-sized lots, plus an equestrian center, will be offered for sale beginning in late 2004 or early 2005.


Unacknowledged impact


Chesrown says he doesnt think most people in the Inland Northwest are aware of Black Rocks economic impact.


We have over $30 million to $40 million worth of construction going on. There are 200 pickups on the hill right now, he says, referring to the construction workers who are erecting the homes and the clubhouse.


Whats more, the property tax bills that some Black Rock residents will pay to Kootenai County each year will equal what Chesrown paid in property taxes on the 650-acre, undeveloped parcel when he bought it, he says.


Lot prices at Black Rock range from $200,000 to $1 million, and the value of the typical home and lot there will exceed $1 million, Chesrown says. Yet, 80 percent of these people will never use (Kootenai County) schools, and Black Rock will maintain its own roads, he says.


Behind the fence


If Black Rock is under most peoples radar now, it likely will stay that way.


The exclusive community is ringed by a vast, black, solid-oak fence, and even now, no one is allowed beyond that fence except workers and visitors who have been approved in advance. When Black Rock opens, not even delivery drivers will be allowed onto the premises: theyll be instructed to leave their parcels at the elaborate stone gatehouse, Chesrown says.


The developments wrought-iron gates, however, will swing open automatically for residents thanks to electronic sensors that will read stickers the residents will affix to their cars, he says.


Chesrown wont divulge the details of the residences thereincluding who owns them, although plenty of well-known names have been rumoredbut says folks from all walks of life have bought lots at Black Rock. Everybody from pizza moguls to you name it, he says.


Most buyers are coming from desert areas such as Southern California and Arizona, he says. About 70 percent of Black Rock buyers plan to use their North Idaho home as a second residence, while about 20 percent plan to live there full time, and 10 percent merely are adding Black Rock to their multi-home collections, Chesrown says.


For the majority, their home at Black Rock will be just like people in Spokane have always used their lake cabins, he says.


A golf cart in every garage


Thats only, however, if your lake cabin is the sort of place that has a plasma-screen television hidden behind a painting, which glides out of the way with one touch of a remote control to reveal the screen.


That little gizmo is located in one of 14 cabins at Black Rock, which are speculatively-built residences that have an average of 2,700 square feet of floor space and will sell for $1.1 million to $1.5 million, depending on the view. The cabins are turnkey products that come fully furnished, down to napkins and silverware in the drawers, Chesrown says. There also will be a golf cart in every cabins garage, he says.


While Black Rock also will offer 36 cottages, which will be arrayed in nine four-plex buildings, everything else in the project will be custom construction.


Owners house plans are scrutinized by a Black Rock committee to ensure that the development retains a cohesive, natural look, including mandating what plants can be used in the landscaping, Chesrown says. The goal is a native North Idaho effect.


Its much tougher to get through our design review committee than it is to get a county building permit, he says, only half-jokingly.


Towering pines


The golf course, designed by James Engh, of Castle Rock, Colo., echoes the natural theme, with nary a geranium in sight.


The course features sheer rock outcroppings, towering Ponderosa pines, and small, deep bunkers. The front nine holes are challenging, the back nine brutal, one requiring a shot to the green between two waterfalls.


The good news is, you dont need a tee time to play Black Rock. The bad news? You wont be able to play there at all, unless youre a club member or a members guest.