After years of discussions and negotiations, Mike Keiser and the state of Oregon are closing in on a land swap that will pave the way for the construction of a Gil Hanse-designed, 27-hole municipal golf complex on property roughly seven miles south of Bandon Dunes.
“I think it’ll happen,” says Keiser, the owner of Bandon Dunes. Keiser said he’s reached a preliminary agreement with the state’s governor, the first step in a three-step approval process. Next, the board of state parks must sign off on the agreement. The board has been the hang-up all along, as its members must be assured that there’s an “overwhelming public benefit” in the land swap. In the original proposal, Keiser would have received 210 acres in the Bandon State Natural Area in exchange for 110 acres elsewhere in the BSNA plus 97 acres adjacent to Bullards Beach State Park. Since then, however, Tim Wood, the director of the state’s parks and recreation department, has apparently squeezed a better deal out of Keiser.
“I give him credit for milking me along,” says Keiser. “He’s done it brilliantly.”
The board isn’t expected to take a vote for several months. Keiser’s target date for construction is the fall of 2014.