ELKHART -- The ambitious proposal to build a European-style vacation complex next door to the American Countryside Farmers Market, announced in January, hasn't been forgotten.
Seven months later, though, the promoters have yet to secure the financing needed to move ahead with the project, which has an estimated price tag of $165 million to $170 million.
A groundbreaking this year has "been our desire all along," said Dale Weaver, a farmers market investor who's involved in efforts to develop the so-called holiday village complex. "But unless we get our financing secured, nothing will happen."
The down economy makes would-be investors jittery about putting up funds. "Everything is scrutinized and people look into projects very carefully because they want to make sure what we're proposing is good," Weaver said Monday. "It just takes time."
Still, he noted "five good leads" on possible financing and holds out hope that dirt can be moved yet this year on what's been tabbed the American Countryside Holiday Resort. Efforts to attract investors continue on "an ongoing basis."
The American Countryside plans call for construction of a resort with 600 two- to four-bedroom villas spread out over 300 acres surrounding the farmers market south of Elkhart. The villas would be centered around two interconnected, 90-foot-high glass domes, one housing a water park, the other with stores, restaurants and a bowling alley. Other recreational offerings -- climbing walls, perhaps, or small lakes for boating -- would be scattered across the complex, creating a self-contained vacation spot.
The proposal is based on a resort model common in Europe that would be transplanted here in the United States for the first time, boosters say. It would be geared to visitors from as far away as Chicago or Indianapolis seeking a family-friendly getaway.
Seeking U.S., international partners
The original price tag was $205 million, but that's since been reduced to $165 million to $170 million based on lower estimated costs, according to Weaver. The project specs haven't changed.
The promotors, guided by London-based Carpathia Global Capital, are seeking out large, institutional investors, including U.S. and global banks, to partner in the project.
Moreover, they're hoping for $30 million to $40 million in funding via bonds. Up to $10 million of that would be bonded under a federal stimulus program meant to spur economic development, as per a decision by Elkhart County commissioners in January. Those buying under terms of the federal program would still come from the private sector. But they would not have to pay taxes on the interest they earn, potentially allowing for a lower interest rate and savings for project boosters.
The holiday village plans are a key element of the grand scheme American Countryside owners have always maintained as part of their plans south of Elkhart. Tenants in the farmers market there sometimes ask about the resort plans and Weaver said officials always tell them that the efforts continue.