A Des Moines-based developer is finalizing plans for an 18-hole golf course and large-scale retail and residential development encompassing 500 acres on the south side of Sprit Lake.

Originally conceived as a sizeable town-center type project, Benskin Developers Inc. started exploring the idea for a golf course in 2007 “before retail really went south,” said Alex Benskin, vice president of the firm.

“We went a different route with it,” he said.

Dubbed the Iowa Great Lakes Golf Resort, the current plan is to build about 700 homes, but the number of dwellings may ultimately exceed 1,000, which would equal about 35 percent of the homes currently in Spirit Lake.

“Seventy percent of people who buy into these communities pay cash for their units,” Benskin said of the targeted 50-year-old-plus market – people who have enough savings to not require financing – but there will be no age restriction placed on potential buyers.

The course, under design by Nicklaus Design – founded by golf legend Jack Nicklaus – will not be considered a Nicklaus Signature Golf Course, Benskin said.

“It’s a different level of design service,” said Julie Boggs, marketing communications assistant with Nicklaus Cos. “On a signature project, Jack is designing the course.”

Benskin said that he heard that Nicklaus is personally involved with the project.

The average price point of a home at the Iowa Great Lakes Golf Resort will be considerably less, averaging around $300,000, in part because “everything is really uniform.”

Due to the large number of proposed units, the development will be subdivided into “sub-associations,” including six or more individual villages that each will have its own clubhouse and other amenities.

“It leaves the price of retail residential units pretty standard across the board,” Benskin said.

The developer is looking to recruit one, possibly two, hotels – up to 240 hotel rooms – and up to 40,000 square feet of convention-center space, Benskin said, in addition to about 300,000 square feet of retail.

He said the company had initially intended to develop a one-million-square-foot retail center anchored by a big-box store, such as Target, but reconsidered the approach because retail has done so poorly in recent months.

Plans are under way to break ground this spring and “depending on weather and other components,” should be completed in May 2011. The price tag could potentially exceed $400 million.

“The scope of the project is changing and evolving,” Benskin said, adding that more details will be available in coming weeks.

The developer will also decide whether to “recognize (the development) as an asset to (the) company or sell it to a group of investors,” Benskin said, adding the course could potentially generate revenues of approximately $1.5 million per year.

The entire development, including the infrastructure, golf course and residential component, will be funded with private equity.

Simonson & Associates Architects LLC, which was the architect for the original retail center that was contemplated, drew up a preliminary design for the project based on the firm’s knowledge of the local market, but will not be involved in designing the actual course. Simonson will, however, be retained for the retail portion.

Nicklaus Design is in the process of putting together a blueprint for the course and Ohio-based Epcon Communities, a franchisee residential builder, is laying out the residential portion, which will include seven different floor plans. Weitz Golf International will ultimately construct the course, which will be managed by upscale golf-course operator Troon Golf LLC, based in Scottsdale.

The development is expected to create a number of jobs in the community of approximately 5,000 as local builders and business will be utilized as needed.

Though projected employment figures are not yet clear, Mark Stevens, Spirit Lake’s city administrator, said he’s certain the proposed golf course, clubhouse and hotel will create a significant number of jobs and spur other commercial development in the area.