A few months back AT&T Senior Vice President Ron Spears said, “He is making it clear to anyone who wants
to be involved that they can cover their time and costs and nothing else.”
Thus began the search for an architect for a new golf course project in
Dallas.
In the end the golf course architecture firm of Coore & Crenshaw was
selected to lay out an 18-hole championship course to be built on 400 acres of
city-owned land in southern Dallas today. Ben Crenshaw will help direct the
design of Trinity Forest Golf Course. They will barely be
paid…
I have no issues with Coore and Crenshaw or any other architect doing
pro bono work for worthy causes such as The First Tee, and yes there is a first
tee component to this project, but this stinks. Private clubs are run as
non-profit entities to avoid paying taxes. AT&T is building a high end private
club, no more and no less.
The only small difference is this one will be built on public land under
a long term lease used to revitalize a poor section of town. I support that idea,
but that is good planning and not relevant to this discussion. This course will
have a $150,000 initiation, so how do you justify not paying the architect?
It’s such a drop in the bucket compared to the expected cost of $20 million
to build the project. I’m sure the clubhouse will spend more on lighting fixtures
than the architect’s remuneration will be. This is not good for golf
architecture because other “rich” people will try and use the precedent not to
pay.
My issue stems from the fact that AT&T are heading this up and I don’t
remember any of the executive offering not to take a salary to help out those
who are having trouble to make ends meet.
I see a project where the architect will not make their fees and members
of a massive corporation will play their free golf.
Couldn't agree with you more, Ian. The premise of requiring the architect not to make any profit on the project is counter-intuitive to the free enterprise system. Why run a business if you aren't allowed to make a profit? This project is not simply a First Tee project where the architect is motivated to give something back to the game. Rather this project will seek private memberships and will host a PGA Tour event....as far away from the tenets of the First Tee as anyone could imagine. Disgraceful on the part of AT&T.
ReplyDeleteMr. Andrews, in the 1st. paragraph it state's that they can cover their time and cost.
ReplyDeletefind out what their cost was for their time. everyone gets paid some how.
it all comes down to where and how they submit it.
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