Developer: ’Nothing’ changes with Fianna Hills Country Club plan approved in 2024
by June 5, 2025 6:39 pm 2,084 views
Developer Sam Seeger (center, back turned) on Thursday (June 2) explains his redevelopment plans to area residents.
Reuse plans for the former Fianna Hills Country Club and parts of the golf course are similar to what developer Sam Seeger outlined in early 2024, with “slight physical adjustments” that includes a larger subdivision area, and a price tag now “north of $50 million.”
The property around the club will be used for retirement housing for those 55 and older. Property immediately north of the former club will be used for a residential subdivision, and land at the corner of Jenny Lind and Brooken Hill would be used for commercial development. The entire project will sit on a little more than 32 acres.
Seeger, with Van Buren-based WCR Development, met Thursday evening (June 5) in the former club building with any residents who wanted to hear his plans. Seeger at numerous points in his presentation told the small crowd that “nothing changes on the concept” around the former club. There is also a public meeting at the club at 5 p.m. Friday (June 6).
The first phase will be to redevelop the club and adjacent property into the retirement facility. The following phases will be the subdivision — which will include more land than the original plan — and the commercial development will be primarily for “professional office space and retail,” Seeger said.
He said work will begin as soon as the city approves the plans, and will take between 18 and 24 months to complete. The Fort Smith Planning Commission and the Fort Smith Board of Directors approved the initial plan.
The “upscale, high-end” active lifestyle community around the former golf clubhouse will include a main facility — including all of the former club building — of between 130,000 and 135,000 square feet. Initial plans are for 90 units in two structures, with the existing clubhouse structure used to house most of the primary amenities, such as dining areas, lounge, entertainment areas, and other services.
Seeger pushed back against reports that his original plan stalled because of lack of funding. He said land sale negotiations with property owners David Millé and Brooks Norris, and engineering and architecture work took longer than expected.
“Nobody is at fault here,” Seeger said. “This is development. When you do a project of this size, it can take some time. … We’ve been working on this consistently since we had it under contract the first time (in early 2024).”
THE NORRIS PLAN, HISTORY
Fort Smith-based Norris Group bought the former club building and 12 acres for $1.1 million in April 2023 with plans to open a social club and apartments, create space for commercial development and build a “55-plus active lifestyle center.” That plan was scrapped when Seeger offered to buy and develop the property.
Norris told Talk Business & Politics in June 2024 that with Seeger unable to fund the project, he planned “a great new direction with details to come” on bringing in a new operator for the club’s restaurant, bar and meeting space. Norris also said his new plan would include “multifamily development” with a focus on “active lifestyle” amenities. That development did not happen, with Seeger now making another run at the mixed-use development plan.
David Millé was the former owner of Fianna Hills Country Club. He closed the club and golf course on Dec. 31, 2018. At the time, the club had around 50 full- and part-time employees and around 250 members.
On-again and off-again efforts by a group of local investors to buy the country club and golf course fell through in September 2020. Millé noted at the time that he tried to make the club work, and “for many years” operated “on a negative basis” despite having “one of the best restaurants in the surrounding area, a world-class chef, and an excellent menu.”