1 / 2

A rendering of the proposed Three Bridges development in Salem.

Courtesy Three Bridges

2 / 2

A screenshot of a map of the proposed Three Bridges development from the Salem City Council meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023.

Courtesy Salem City

❮ ❯

During the most recent Salem City Council meeting, the city approved the master plan for a 532-acre luxury resort and golf course development bordering Woodland Hills.

The resort will be called Three Bridges and is envisioned to be a “luxury residential resort community,” according to a press release. It is being developed by High Ground Development and is tucked in between Woodland Hills and Loafer Mountain.

According to the press release, the resort will be home to an 18-hole golf course, surf lake, luxury hotel, event venue, pickleball courts, a fitness center and spa, and trails. Residential lots are also part of the plan, with quarter-acre to 1-acre lots for homes ranging in price from $300,000 to $1 million.

The first nine holes of the golf course are anticipated to be completed by the summer of 2025, with the remaining being finished in 2026, according to the agreement presented at the Nov. 15 City Council meeting. The anticipated schedule slates the opening of the hotel, spa and event center for 2027.

Three Bridges will begin taking limited membership applications at the beginning of January, according to the press release.

There were two public hearings held before the approval of the master plan, one during the city’s planning commission meeting on Nov. 8 and another during the Nov. 15 City Council meeting where the plan was approved.

While the master plan was approved by the City Council, Bruce Ward, the city manager and engineer, said a master utility plan for water, sewer and power usage still needs to be created before construction can begin.

The development also needs to update the traffic study, Ward said, to address fire evacuation. Residents of Woodland Hills brought this concern to the planning commission meeting, some citing the Bald Mountain and Pole Creek fires in 2018 that caused the mountainside community to be evacuated.

Another concern addressed by residents in the planning commission meeting was regarding two proposed access points into the Three Bridges community through Maple Drive in Woodland Hills. According to Ward, it will be up to the Woodland Hills City Council, not Salem or the developer, if those access points get approved.

Ward said the company did acquire some water rights when buying the property from a local Salem family, but he is unsure if they have purchased additional water rights.

“We don’t have the total water requirements yet because those will get calculated further down when things move from concept to more of a final layout,” he said. “So we don’t know how much water it will ultimately need.”

Ultimately, the developers will be required to bring in any additional water that the luxury community will need, Ward added.

While the city did approve the development agreement, that doesn’t mean everything is set in stone and “ready for construction tomorrow,” Ward said.

“If you think of a master plan, it’s a zone change with a proposed concept and rules or sideboards with which they (the developer) have to operate within,” he said. “It’s got a lot of engineering, a lot of detailed studies, a lot of detailed reviews to go through.”

The next step for the project is the preliminary planning process, where the studies for traffic, utilities and hazards — like earthquakes and fires — will be updated and reviewed.

The golf course itself has a looser process because it is an open space, Ward said, and the city won’t be as heavily involved aside from addressing utilities and emergency response.