From 1996 to 2000, Warren served as a director of Crosstex Energy, Inc. and from 1993 to 1996, he served as president, chief operating officer and a director of Cornerstone Natural Gas, Inc. Warren has more than 25 years of business experience in the energy industry. I formerly head the sports department at the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. The resort couldn't turn a The first is the effect of the arid Big Bend environs, of the baking sun, beating winds, and unrelenting dust. But he couldnt play a full eighteen holes because much of the back nine was underneath the overflowing river. The private owner is Addison-based attorney Ronald Holmes of Holmes Firm PC, a friend of the course who was down in Terlingua for Thursdays dedication. Enjoy unlimited access to all of our incredible journalism, in print and digital. As youre exploring Big Bend Country, theres a good chance youll find yourself passing through the blink-and-youll-miss-it town of Lajitas. Prior to the combination of the operations of ETP and Heritage Propane in 2004, Warren co-founded the entities that acquired and operated the midstream natural gas pipelines that were contributed in the merger. [13], In 2007, he co-founded an independent record label, Music Road Records, with Jimmy LaFave and Fred Remmert. it made people feel nervous," she said. The old church in the community was restored, and the community grew to have three motels, a hotel, a restaurant, a golf course, a swimming pool, an RV park, and an airstrip. Skaggs also became successful in a candelilla wax business, the Lajitas Wax Company. Find Lajitas Resorts and Resort Rentals. outdueled San Francisco hotelier Manou Mobedshahi in the town's saloon There was no plan at all, no directions from above. and Mike Montgomery. Theres a light in peoples eyes in far West Texas, a joy that comes with living exactly where and how a person wants. It was part of the borderland experience, and everyone got along fine. The Lajitas area was then bought by Rex Ivey, Jr., who brought electricity to the community in 1949 and sold part of it to Walter M. Mischer, a Houston entrepreneur and owner of Mischer Corporation. John Poindexter, the owner of Big Bends Cibolo Creek Ranch resort, was among the last to arrive and the last to leave. He also hosted monthly dances and impromptu barbecues, when conjunto bands, crossing back into Mexico after performing stateside quinceaeras, would stop in and play for free beer. Had he really sprayed a compound on the ground in front of the Lajitas boardwalk that would keep dust from kicking up? Then, this summer, after resort revenues failed to live up to the terms of the loan, the lender posted the property for foreclosure, and Lajitas filed for Chapter 11 protection. he wants to put it more in touch with surrounding Brewster County, with information click here He sat me down at a table with a guy in his late-thirties named Dennis, who was a carpenter on the crew redoing the lobby of the Badlands Hotel. The Lajitas Golf Resort and Spa is a 20,000-acre golf resort business in Lajitas owned by Texas businessman Kelcy Warren, who bought the resort from previous owner Steve Smith while the business was going through financial distress. Whether you want to go horseback riding, golfing, hiking, or rafting on the Rio Grande, Lajitas Resort can put something together for you. His whole model was based on the idea that he could somehow tame the desert, refashion it to suit his plan, and it was just a matter of time before his vision became known as Smiths Folly. Bill grew up in that Lajitas, in the late fifties and sixties, attending school in Alpine but spending his weekends, holidays, and summers down by the river. The contraband would be returned at a reception when they arrived. It is at an altitude of 2,200 feet on a bluff overlooking the Rio Grande at the San Carlos ford of the old Comanche Trail, in the northern part of the Chihuahuan Desert and at the southern extreme of the Rocky Mountains. Ivey can speak to that loss with singular authority. lighting up as if nobody had approached her like that in a long while. The latest auction of Lajitas was marked by considerably less drama than the last one. Just beyond the far end of the boardwalk, a long, columned breezeway divided the dark, leather-bound Thirsty Goat Saloon and the glass-walled Candelilla Caf overlooking the golf course. "Head out to the tee whenever y'all want," was the refrain from the golf shop on this idyllic, sunny Tuesday morning in April. On Friday morning, after eating breakfast and making sure the Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The original Lajitas church and cemetery are still in town and are among the best places to visit in Lajitas. Mr. Smith called it the Ultimate Hideout, but During droughts, people will live on water saved in rooftop rain-catchment systems, showering and flushing the toilet once a week. So life went in Lajitas, through the end of Iveys tenure in 1993, right up until Mischer sold out to Smith. In mid-October, Lajitas was back up for sale. Owner is the CEO of Energy Transfer. As part of the contract, his son cleans up trash from the park once a month. Mountains to a 7,500-foot landing strip surrounded by scrub brush and And when I tried to pull open my window, the knob should not have come off in my hand. Some links in this post may be affiliate links. At 1:48 p.m., the wire transfer went through for the property. It was neat and comfortable, but somewhere in the two rooms there should have been a desk, and the television should have provided a clear picture and more than nineteen channels. City documents identified Holmes, but he hadnt hinted at what hed do with his new hunk of Alexander Phimister Proctor-made metal. since 2003 and hopes to remove the exclusivity from the resort. The resorts 250 workers made Lajitas the largest employer in South County, and it paid nearly 30 percent of the taxes for the schools in Terlingua. He also donated $103,000 to President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign. Instead, a San Antonio law firm opened one of its large conference rooms to groups representing six would-be buyers, the interested and the curious. EL PASO (AP) - A West Texas resort billed by its owner as an exclusive desert getaway for the rich and famous filed for federal . That population boom influenced a boom in another town, just 13 miles away: Lajitas. lodge. In 1977 Ivey sold part of the Lajitas area to Houston entrepreneur Walter M. Mischer, of Mischer Corporation; Mischer had begun development and restoration of the community in 1977, under the name of the corporations subsidiary, Arrow Development Company. Smith and a group of hastily scraped-together investors. At the time of the 2010 census, the population of Lajitas was 75. The biggest attractions that draw visitors to Lajitas, of course, are Big Bend Ranch State Park to the west and Big Bend National Park to the east. Its previous owner, Austin multimillionaire Steve Smith, lavished $100 million to turn the property into an exclusive refuge for the rich, with an 18-hole bentgrass golf course, upscale restaurants, old-world bar, 92 luxury rooms and Mayor Clay Henry, a beer-drinking goat. In 2015, Governor Greg Abbott of Texas appointed Warren to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission. The wild spirit of the Big Bend region is in full effect at this stunning course whose name pays tribute to U.S. Army Gen. John "Black Jack . [12], Frank Q. Dobbs directed his first film, Enter the Devil, in Lajitas in 1972. Keep in mind that the second is a somewhat further drive due to the fact that youll need to take a roundabout route to get thereits not nearly as accessible as it looks on a map! in denim with a pink bandana around her neck and gray hair loosely Review. Boardwalk Bakery and Pizzeria. Though it was appraised on the Brewster County tax rolls at $16 million, Smiths own investment in the place has reportedly been more than $100 million. Yelp users havent asked any questions yet about Lajitas Golf Resort. Faces age faster in the desert, the skin browning and creasing and toughening up in ways that city and suburban dwellers dont have to worry about. Locals speculated that he was struggling financially, and the monthly Big Bend Gazette reported that Lajitas was not the only Smith-related enterprise to recently declare bankruptcy. making money. The community boomed when quicksilver was discovered 11 miles from the community at the end of the decade. [], To some drawing a golf flag may seem like a daunting task. In 1916 the interruption of commerce by civil unrest in Mexico, and isolated bandit raids into the US brought Gen. John J. Pershings troops to Lajitas, where they established a small cavalry post to monitor this critical river crossing. Fast forward another few decades, though, and Lajitas, TX experienced a curious twist of fate: a corporation from Houston bought the entire town, restored most of the buildings, and turned it into a resort for golfers and visitors exploring Big Bend Country. A skeet range was put in that had shooters firing over the bike trail. [5] [24] He also owns an 8,000-acre ranch near Cherokee, Texas, [5] the 20,000-acre Lajitas Golf Resort and Spa in Lajitas, Texas, [25] and a private island near Roatn, Honduras. Holmes did not return a call about the donation. I was writing a story that would run in the May 2002 issue of Texas Monthly on Smiths vision for Lajitas: the creation of a world-class, five-star golf resort and an exclusive development for multimillion-dollar vacation homes. This desert golf resort has breathtaking views that make it hard to believe that it is in our own backyard! See 1,059 traveler reviews, 860 candid photos, and great deals for Lajitas Golf Resort, ranked #1 of 1 hotel in Lajitas and rated 4 of 5 at Tripadvisor. Dallas Robert E. Lee statue has a new home. the Rio Grande. Mischer never made much money off the place and held onto it mostly out of love. Located on the border of the U.S. and Mexico, Lajitas sprung up to accommodate the increased border crossings thanks to the nearby mines, and was complete with a customs house, a school, a church, and a post office (which operated until 1939). But it also served as a gathering place for the areas whites, Mexicans, and Indians, none of whom batted an eye at the towns other prominent, permanent resident, an old man who refused to wear anything more than his underwear, in which he would daily pan for gold in the Rio Grande. Dennis smiled and said something that hinted roughly at the wonders of clean canvases, bottomless toolboxes, and endless lumber supplies, and then excused himself to go to the restroom. When Lajitass marketing team suggested that all the resort needed to take off was a visitor with A-list celebrity credentials, one Tom Cruise or Tiger Woods, Terlingua just laughed. Who Owns Lajitas Golf Resort by Joshua|Published August 25, 2019 The Lajitas Golf Resort is a full-service golf resort and spa located in the Big Bend region of West Texas. By then, consultants and friends had convinced Smith that the dream could be real, and toward that end he had already spent $40 million, which he estimated would be half of his ultimate outlay. And the heat beats anything foretold in Revelation. Others wondered if Smiths bean counters had prevailed upon him to fund his dream with other peoples money. If youve visited the popular Terlingua Ghost Town, youve no doubt heard about the mercury mining boom that led to the towns explosion in population in the early 20th century. If you fall off a cliff, you will die. The community was said to be "about the only place where you can shoot 360 degrees", since Santa Fe and Sedona were already used up. At first, we only knew the buyer by his online auction nameLawDude. He gave generously to local fire and EMS departments. Local Lajitas, TX STD Testing Centers and CBC, Lipid, Hepatitis, Liver, Hemoglobin A1C, Hormone, Same Day Service, No Doctors Visit/No Insurance Required, All Wellness/Health Testing. Aug 2018 - Present4 years 8 months. At first blush, its almost impossible to tell the age of a resident of south Brewster County, and there are two good reasons for that. The resort features an 18-hole golf course a luxury hotel and a variety of amenities and activities for guests to enjoy. "What should we do here, Collie?" Rooms cleans yes but lacking. The resort was originally owned by oilman and entrepreneur Clayton Williams Jr. Williams purchased the property in 1983 and developed it into a golf resort. [12] Before that, Lajitas had a school with 50 students in 1912. Dallas most important news stories of the week, delivered to your inbox each Sunday. On the day of the wedding, after our adventure in. Employment Opportunities On Monday, the sculpture completed a 600-mile journey to Black Jacks Crossing near the border, about a dozen miles from Terlingua. Its just spectacular.. "Now I've got to go back to a different world," he said. Facilities Maintenance Technician; HVAC I Technician/Electrician But there was insight to be gleaned in the law firms lobby. For the American football player, see, "Executive Profile - Energy Transfer Partners - Kelcy L. Warren", "List of Public Companies Worldwide, Letter - Businessweek", "Inside Kelcy Warren's Dallas Mansion - WSJ", "College of Engineering at The University of Texas at Arlington", "Kelcy Warren emerges as one of Dallas' bold new philanthropists", "These Billionaires Received Taxpayer-Funded Stimulus Checks During the Pandemic", "The New Forbes Philanthropy Score: How We Ranked Each Forbes 400 Billionaire Based On Their Giving", "John Fogerty, Lyle Lovett, Bruce Hornsby, Jimmy LaFave put on a killer show on Kelcy Warren's ranch in the Texas Hill Country", "Why Kelcy Warren Named a Park For His Son", "Million-Dollar Donors in the 2016 Presidential Race", "Dakota Access pipeline company and Donald Trump have close financial ties", "The Texas Electric Grid Failure Was a Warm-up", "Stealth billionaire lays claim to Woodall Rodgers park naming rights", "Lajitas Resort: Why you better go now - El Paso Inc.: Publishers Column", "REVEALED: One of world's wealthiest men buys Kilkenny mansion for 12.6m - Kilkenny Now - Your City. Black Jack's Crossing Restaurant Manager; Facilities. The crossing was described as a smooth, rock bottom, and was best between Del Rio and El Paso. [15][16], In 2012, Warren donated $10 million to help build Klyde Warren Park in downtown Dallas. And You Thought Feral Hogs Were Bad. We also offer our 5 Stand Sporting Clay Shoot, Cowboy Action shoot, Equestrian Center for family horseback rides, and many other slashed prices on the hotel rooms and began charging $29 a night at the Lajitas Golf Resort and Spa 100 Main St, Terlingua, TX 8.2 Very Good 608 reviews How we verify reviews 10 - Excellent 273 8 - Good 206 6 - Okay 78 4 - Poor 39 2 - Terrible 12 8.7/10 Cleanliness 8.6/10 Staff & service 8.0/10 Amenities 8.0/10 Property conditions & facilities 8.2/10 Eco-friendliness 8/10 Good Christopher Jan 5, 2023 McGuirk sold his landholdings around Lajitas to Thomas V. Skaggs, who continued farming. natural gas transportation company Energy Transfer Partners. NewsMcClatchy-Tribune Regional News. Our resort in West Texas is set among . To support Lajitas Vision of being recognized by our customers as the "Friendliest Resort in Texas!" You should champion this culture in every touch point of our business from our associates, guests, owners, and communities. Now", "Castles in the ire: the minted moguls snapping up Ireland's stately homes", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kelcy_Warren&oldid=1135081936, This page was last edited on 22 January 2023, at 14:53. If you click through a link on Lone Star Travel Guide, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. [10], The 90th Fighter Squadron of the United States Army Border Air Patrol had a sector that traveled to Lajitas from Eagle Pass. There are similar hotels available. Still, in a larger sense the buyer and his intentions dont really matter. Young as he was, that was surprising, so when he returned, I asked him how somebody with such a hard time getting around wound up in a job as physically demanding as carpentry. About us. Your County. [2], Due to the remoteness of the resort, Lajitas is served by the Lajitas International Airport, a private airport with a 6,503ft (1,982m) concrete runway. Big Bend is home to a few remarkable communities: Marathon, Study Butte, Terlingua Ghost Town, Lajitas, and Big Bend National Park. ), 5 Cool Towns Near Big Bend National Park (+ Where to Stay! Twelve miles east, on the Terlingua Ghost Town porchthe stretch of cement in front of the come-and-go storefronts where locals gather each evening to watch the Chisos Mountains change colors in the sunsetSmiths Ultimate Hideout, as his marketers called Lajitas, was already being derided as the Ultimate High Doubt. But unlike their city friends who made annual pilgrimages to Big Bend and worried that the new Lajitas would ruin the area, the beer drinkers on the porch watched Smith spend and felt a surprising amount of concern for him.

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