The city of Liberty Lake’s capital facilities plan has committed $8.4 million to upgrade the city’s 55-acre Trailhead Golf Course, located at 1102 N. Liberty Lake Road, next to City Hall.

The city plans to tear down the existing 7,200-square-foot clubhouse and build an upgraded facility with meeting rooms and a banquet hall, says Lisa Key, director of planning and engineering for the city of Liberty Lake.

Plans also include a reconfiguration of the driving range that will be more efficient and open opportunities for additional parking, Key says.

The need to renovate the 50-year-old clubhouse has been listed as a top priority in recent years and has been a topic of conversation for at least 10 years, she says.

“It’s something the community talks about often,” she says. “It’s in a very prominent location and really has the potential to be a centerpiece for the city.”

Some minor improvements will be made to the golf course, but the main focus is the clubhouse, driving range, and parking capacity, Key says. The project team hopes the renovation creates flexible space where events such as corporate meetings, weddings, and other social gatherings can take place. She adds that the city lacks such event space.

The city also is looking for a restaurateur to occupy the clubhouse and has created a selection committee to review formal proposals, Key says. The current tenant, Palenque Mexican Restaurant, is on a month-to-month lease while it’s building a new location at the southwest corner of Country Vista Drive and Whitman Lane.

Spokane-based Bouten Construction Co. will be the contractor on the Trailhead project, and Coeur d’Alene-based Architects West Inc. will design it, she says.

The project is being funded in part by real estate excise tax revenue, and the city also is looking into issuing bonds for further financing.

“We have funds in reserve to do this project, but I think the intent is to go after a bond because it makes sense in this economy,” says Key.

Currently, the city is trying to finalize costs before sending the final design to the City Council for approval, she says.

She estimates the permitting stage of the project will begin in the spring, and construction is projected to be completed by mid-2023.

Key says the project team is mindful of potential delays.

“We’re going to try and stage this as the timing makes sense,” she says. “In our construction (projections) right now, there are items that have a long lead time. As we move through the design process, we will be ordering some of those longer-lead-time items to make sure we are going to meet our schedule.”

The city of Liberty Lake’s capital facilities plan is an outlook for the city’s needs for capital investments over the next six years. It’s updated on an annual basis.

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