Little River Resort rolled out its master plan for public view Tuesday.

It is an ambitious future vision for the former horse farm the town of Carthage turned into a municipal golf course, then sold at a profit to its first developers. Little River lies between U.S. 15-501 and N.C. 22 on rolling hills.

The resort grew in stages, from its original clubhouse flanked by condominiums to a series of planned unit development proposals approved by the town's Planning Board and commissioners again and again as new partners worked to attract some national hotel chain and develop a proposed shopping center just across the road.

Nothing came of the original shopping mall idea, though the property with all its approvals is on the market.

Last year, OceanicoGroup bought the resort, planning to make it the centerpiece of an American golf resort operation based on the company's European experience, where Oceanico has developed a number of resorts in Portugal.

Terry Schieber heads up Oceanico's golf and resort management for the United States. Key to his management concept is remembering that people who buy into the project -- who own condos, own homes or fractional ownership -- are really Oceanico's partners.

Other partners are companies that take over various aspects of a resort.

"Troon Golf manages the day-to-day operation of the resort, report directly to me," Scheiber said. "I do the operations side, set up future projects that fit in with what we are trying to accomplish, then Troon will take it over and manage it."

Troon tends to the details, with Scheiber overseeing the whole picture. The company has 180 golf courses around the country and its own architect on staff, he said.

"We are remodeling this golf course right now," he said. "They brought their construction crews in. They have learned a lot."

Golf course work had to come first so that by the time the first of the new Oceanico structures are complete next spring, the course would be ready, grass full green on its redesigned tees.

"When new buildings come out of the ground in March, we were not going to have any change to the golf course," he said. "So we changed that around to do it now so that next year we will have something to show."

At Monday's session, the Carthage commissioners approved Oceanico's master plan, as recommended by the planning board, for Little River.

Oceanico's Little River Golf Resort will start at a new "gate-less" portal opening on sweeping entry roads that approach the clubhouse and lead to a hotel slated to be completed and open in three years' time. The hotel's preliminary design shows two Y-shaped wings on either side of a central area down from the present clubhouse.

The first completed structure will be a sample house of the kind to be sold to fractional owners who purchase in eight-week shares -- though there will be nothing to prevent a single owner buying more shares.

"You could own the whole thing if you wanted to," he said. "In phase one, we will build three types of buildings, then continue on with the hotel, then little condos you drive golf courts to get to, tennis facility. That is all in phase one. We will sample test which we will continue with. We haven't actually picked phase two, yet. That will include assisted living."

A small shopping center is planned for the area behind the hotel. A walking trail, open to the public, surrounds the whole resort. The master plan for Oceanico's Little River Golf Resort shows new lakes and ponds -- and waterfalls.

The first finished building will be a sample home of the kind offered for fractional ownership where buyers actually own property in eight-week fractions of each year.

"It will be owning one eighth of it," he said. "It is a deed."

No matter what happens with Oceanico property, fractional owners still own theirs.

"It is similar to time share," he said. "But if somebody wants to give it to their son, they can do that."

Setting up fractional ownership means scrupulous work to make sure everything in the deal meets legal requirements, not only where the property itself is, but also where its future owners live.

"You go to sell fractional ownership here to somebody in another state, you have to be registered in that state as well," he said. "If you are in Montana, and you talk to them while they are in Montana, you have to be registered in Montana. That's what makes it tricky. That person will own that and can do anything they want with it. The part I like about it is, you get the total home. It's not a condo. It is hard to vacation 40 days a year. It is unlimited usage, that's how we sell it."

Before coming to Oceanico, Schieber worked for Pinehurst. He ran his own resort with two partners in Michigan before coming to the Sandhills.

"I was at Mid Pines and Pine Needles last year -- up until April," Schieber said. "Then I came to work for Oceanico."

He likes the way Oceanico partners Gerry Fagan and Simon Burgess work together and he also likes the way they study things out, then act.

"Oceanico looked around the country for where they wanted to go," he said. "They studied Pinehurst and came here. They like the Carolinas."

Contact John Chappell at 783-5841 or by e-mail at jchappell@thepilot.com.