Big Cedar Wilderness Club Opens For Founding Families

Press Release: Bluegreen Corp.
August 2, 2001
BOCA RATON, FL -- Big Cedar Wilderness Club, a vacation ownership project being developed in partnership between Bluegreen® Corp. (NYSE: BXG), a leading developer and marketer of vacation ownership resorts, golf communities and residential land, based here, and Big Cedar LLC, has opened next to Big Cedar in Springfield, MO, in the heart of the Ozarks.

Some Founding Families, among a limited number of charter purchasers of this unique vacation ownership partnership, have already taken advantage of the opportunity to visit the resort, even though the grand opening is still months away.

The first three couples to stay at Big Cedar Wilderness Club received a special welcome, including a hand-crafted cedar box , which, when opened, revealed a Brighton watch for the ladies and a gold money clip for the men.

Big Cedar Wilderness Club visitors can avail themselves of all the amenities of Big Cedar Lodge, including its marina, stables, Jack Nicklaus-designed executive par-3 executive golf course, tennis courts, heated pools, 10,000-acre private nature park, fitness center and spa and children's facilities. Table Rock Lake, which the resort overlooks, offers fishing, water-skiing, canoeing and other water activities.

The Founding Family couples vacationed in the Wilderness Club's new, upscale, rustic-styled, two-bedroom cabins, which mix the ruggedness of an Ozarks Mountain setting with the luxury Bluegreen Vacation Club members have come to expect. The 1,085-square-foot cabins have 350-square-foot decks overlooking the lake, woods or resort. Constructed of rough-hewn logs, the cabins are designed to function as a home-away-from-home. Their living areas are vaulted with warm-looking wood, and the use of historic-themed fabrics and shades, wood blinds, crafted furniture and artwork creates a lavish Ozark wilderness feeling. Well-equipped kitchens, gas grills, whirlpool baths, oversized showers and individual washers and dryers are just some of the cabins' amenities.

When completed, Big Cedar Wilderness Club's accommodations will include 60 cabins and 232 lodge units, as well as a state-of-the-art Clubhouse. The lodge units' design focuses on the regional charm associated with the lake country, sandstone bluffs and woods of the Missouri Ozarks. Interior details include a river boulder fireplace with a split log mantle, ceilings delineated with wood planking and beaming and flooring treatments that include narrow, weathered wood planking, slate tiles and homespun area rugs. Spa-size tubs, hickory sapling furniture with rawhide-laced joinery, mountings of trophy bucks, trout and game birds, and animal print tapestries and prints add to the luxurious feel of the rooms.

Big Cedar Wilderness Club has already received the prestigious Resort Condominiums International (RCI) Gold Crown Resort designation, RCI's top quality honor. With this designation, Big Cedar Wilderness Club, an RCI affiliate, joins an elite group of resorts around the world formally recognized by RCI for attaining the highest levels of excellence, quality and service standards. RCI, headquartered in Indianapolis, IN, is the world's leading timeshare-exchange company, with more than 3,750 affiliated resorts in nearly 100 countries.

John Maloney, Bluegreen senior vice president, resort division, operations and business development, said "Founding Families has been a runaway success as a charter ownership program. We are excited to welcome our first group of Founding Families to Big Cedar, and look forward to our grand opening which should be held in the fall of this year."

--------------------------------------------