Feature: Living on the Links
July 2, 2004
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The Santa Lucia Preserve
One golf community directed at the well-heeled
clientele is the Santa Lucia Preserve in Carmel, Calif. About 3 miles inland as
the crow flies from Pebble Beach’s famous 18th hole, the development is set amid
more than 20,000 mountainous acres of towering redwoods, thick forests, ponds,
streams and mountaintop meadows. Amazingly, the property has survived largely
intact from its early days as a Spanish ranchero more than 200 years ago. Santa
Lucia was once zoned for as many as 6,000 homesites, but the owners decided to
deed more than 18,000 acres of the land to a permanent environmental trust and
develop just 300 homesites. (Click image to enlarge); function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
All lots are environmentally engineered; homes
must be built on a tight footprint to leave much of the land open and
undisturbed for migrating deer, coyotes, wild boar and other wildlife. The
result is a community with a sense of purpose—to uphold and respect the
landscape’s sense of space. That sensitivity for boundless space extends to the
Tom Fazio–designed golf course, which is virtually devoid of bordering homes.
For the most part, soaring hawks and the occasional grazing deer are the only
company golfers will confront. (Click image to enlarge)
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Facts & Stats
The Hacienda clubhouse, built in 1924, provides
lodging and dining and offers magnificent views of the Santa Lucia Mountains. If
you don’t golf, there are 100 miles of hiking and riding trails, plus all the
modern-day amenities of Carmel and Monterey just minutes down the
mountain. (Click image to enlarge)
Santa Lucia is a private club with 300 equity golf memberships.
The membership initiation fee is $150,000. Most homesites are sold; some are
still available from $1 million. Amenities include an equestrian center, tennis
and croquet courts, fitness center and access to Moores Lake for fishing,
swimming and canoeing.
The Santa Lucia Preserve
831.626.8200
www.santaluciapreserve.com
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