The developer of a $1 billion resort on top of Lookout Mountain in northwest Georgia has added a second golf course to the project and is designing the course to host some of golf’s top championships.

Scenic Land Co., based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, plans to construct the new course at McLemore, a luxury housing development that already has one golf course, company President Duane Horton told CoStar News.

Developers continue to raise money for luxury resort properties that feature golf courses, even amid warning signs of a recession, including Hines' and USAA's $4 billion Riverwalk in San Diego and Reef Capital Partners' $820 million Black Desert in St. George, Utah. Both Riverwalk and Black Desert are expected to comprise multifamily, retail and residential components in addition to golf courses.

The new golf course in Georgia, which wasn’t part of the original McLemore plan, is scheduled to open in early 2024, the same time as a new hotel at the resort. Rees Jones, who co-designed the course with Bill Bergin, said it will be built to host major golf championships such as the U.S. Open. Bergin and Jones also co-designed the existing course. But the main reason for adding the second golf course is demand from the local community, Horton said.

“We’re really designing it for everyday play,” said Horton, who revealed the resort’s expanded plans on Monday at a meeting in LaFayette, Georgia.

McLemore is expected to contain a mix of luxury. custom-built single-family homes and townhouses. The 245-room Curio Collection by Hilton hotel will have a 25,000-square-foot conference center, a spa, a large fitness center, pickleball courts, two restaurants and a swimming pool perched on the mountain ledge.

McLemore is located on a 400-acre site about 27 miles southwest of Chattanooga. It’s situated on a rocky ledge on Lookout Mountain, a 75-mile ridge that stretches from Chattanooga to Gadsden, Alabama.

The area around McLemore is largely rural, and the site overlooks the Crockford-Pigeon Mountain Wildlife Management Area, a state-owned property known for its rare salamanders, flowers, rock formations and caves. Hiking trails will connect the resort to the wildlife area, Horton said.

McLemore is also near Cloudland Canyon State Park, a gorge cut into the side of Lookout Mountain.

Scenic Land Co. has thus far spent about $250 million on construction and development of McLemore, Horton said. The company issued $188 million in bonds last year to finance the project.

Walker County, Georgia, where McLemore is located, waived the resort’s property taxes for 10 years as an incentive. The state of Georgia is also providing sales tax incentives.

GenTech Construction, an entity affiliated with Scenic Land Co., is the general contractor for most of the McLemore project. Hart Howerton and Tinker Ma are the architects. Miller & Martin is legal counsel. Valor Hospitality will manage the hotel and New South Construction is the hotel’s general contractor.