Renderings courtesy Brookwood Equities
Strategy
What’s on Tap for The Ridge at Table Rock Lake
An ambitious development is in the works at the former Indian Ridge property.
By Rose Marthis
Nov 2018
Mark Troen, senior vice president of the Brookwood Group Inc., is bringing the next big thing to Branson: The Ridge at Table Rock Lake, an 810-acre mixed-use development that could change Branson West’s landscape.
Biz 417: Why did your company want to take over the failed Indian Ridge property?
Mark Troen: Brookwood [Group] is, in effect, the development advisor to MD&D Investments LLC, a Denver-based company that purchased the property at an FDIC sealed bid auction back in 2014. MD&D purchased the property and said this is an excellent investment opportunity. They thought the market and the other fundamentals for Branson made sense. The concept is designed to sustainably accommodate hospitality, entertainment, recreation, commerce and a variety of residential uses.
Biz: What about the Branson market appealed to you?
MT: We looked at the fundamentals and said this is a great site for two different parts. The west side, accessed by State Highway 13B, is for housing, retail and development oriented to the local environment. The east part that comes up against Silver Dollar City and [Highway] 76, which is where a new intersection has recently been completed, can build upon the entertainment destination that Branson is. We believe you can put almost 1,000 hotel rooms in this site. You can put various residential units. You can do the commercial, the retail, the entertainment uses that fit and are an extension of the Branson strip. This site is 1.5 miles with Highway 76 at the top of the site and Table Rock Lake at the southern boundary. All the great ridgelines offer great opportunities to build and develop many vantage points throughout the property.
Biz: What does the Project timeline look like?
MT: The market says the first part of the property to be developed will most likely be the entertainment, hotel and retail uses because that’s where the demand and opportunity exist, and that comes right off of Highway 76. Once we’ve got the retail and entertainment uses in place, then the residential use becomes much more viable. Right now, we’re actually out there marketing across the nation to the usual suspects—the entertainment and hospitality industry. In our best estimate, I [think] those first parcels probably will be the first ones to be built and developed starting off in the next couple of years.
Biz: How are you working with the local community?
MT: We are working with and have a great relationship with the City of Branson West, Stone County, our neighbors next door in Branson and Taney County, with the economic development folks and talking to people of all levels because this is really a public-private transaction in the sense that everybody can benefit from this development. From the get-go we have been keeping everybody informed. It’s through those relationships that we’ve built with the community that’s really going to move this forward in a way that perhaps the other development may not have.
Biz: What will the residential part of the development look like?
MT: Part of what’s really neat about what we’re doing is creating, for our development, a new main street and creating walkable neighborhoods within the site that are connected by the natural topography, streets and trails. It’s not sprawl in the way we see it in so many places. Doing that differently and creating a sense of place that will announce that this is The Ridge at Table Rock Lake, a unique and exciting destination in the Branson region, is really our objective.
