COUNTRY ESCAPE HUNTERS’ CREEK

Hunter’s Creek is one of those rustic but ritzy resorts where the elite (or at least monied) Texans go to get close to nature. Not too close, mind you, but close enough to breathe fresh air, spend a morning quail hunting, throw out a line to some healthy bass and then call it a day with a gourmet meal prepared by chef David Pisegna.

The 700-acre spread in Blue Ridge (near McKinney) is the brainstorm of Suzanneand Bob Boundsand Suzanne’s mother, real estate dynamo Paula Stringer.The trio held a gala membership party in March. The first guests to sign up paid $3,000 for a first-year membership. Suzanne says that the turnout was good despite the rainy weather.

The property was previously owned by former Syntex Corp. chairman Frank Crow-ssen. Stringer and the Bounds purchased it for $2 million and began early this year to transform the old ranch into a resort. The former ranch home has now been turned into a restaurant that features American cuisine prepared by Pisegna, the former sous-chef and pastry chef at Agnew’s.

In addition to the restaurant, Hunter’s Creek has stables, kennels, a 35-acre lake and 14 ponds stocked with bass, as well as a 2,700-foot grass airstrip for light planes. Facilities for skeet and trap shooting are available. Game birds will be raised for hunters and for Pisegna to cook for guests.

Stringer and her daughter say they envision Hunter’s Creek as a possible site for corporate retreats or family gatherings, since it’s only a 45-min-ute drive from North Dallas.

A pool, spa and overnight accommodations will probably be ready by fall, Stringer says. Membership is limited to 350 families until more land is acquired for bird hunting and fishing. The resort will have a larger social membership, but it will only include access to the restaurant. Stringer says that although the new resort is similar to the Willow Bend Polo & Hunt Club in Piano, the two won’t compete for business.